Goal For The Green

Landscaping can be a lot of work and a lot of expense. Mowing the lawn, trimming trees and shrubs, planting flowers, and pulling weeds adds up quickly. But what if the landscape around your house saved you money?

The EPA reports that well-planned, energy-efficient landscaping does just that by lowering heating and cooling expenses. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that energy-efficient landscaping saves 30 to 50 percent on heating and air conditioning bills. Landscaping for energy savings, or enviroscaping, can be part of the overall construction of a site, but is also beneficial for landscape enhancement or rehabilitation.

Landscaping Techniques for Energy Savings

Various landscape techniques create energy savings. Deciduous trees planted on the south side of buildings produce shade and keep heat off the roof and sides of buildings during the summer. Bare trees allow the winter sun through. Hardscaping on the north and west sides of buildings with rocks, fences, walls, shrubs and trees shields buildings from harsh winter winds and controls snowdrifts. Landscaping for energy savings can require digging and moving earth. Do-it-yourself homeowners may need special equipment such as backhoe rental or the assistance of landscaping professionals.

Using the Right Plants

An important part of landscaping for energy savings is choosing the right plants for the right purposes. Native plants will do best with little maintenance or water because they are adapted to the local environment. For extreme environments such as parking areas and urban streetscapes, it’s important to use plants that are very hardy and tolerant of the environment they’ll be in. Tough growing conditions include compacted soil, drought conditions, high temperatures, and air pollution.

Deciduous trees and shrubs are best for shade in summer and let winter sun through to warm building roofs and sides. Evergreens are best for windbreaks and screening undesirable views and utility areas.

If you don’t want to plant trees, but still want to provide some shade for your home or building, use vines. They’ll keep a building’s walls cooler than bare walls and block sunlight (and the resulting heat) from hitting walls and raising indoor temperatures.

Water in the Landscape

Using water in the landscape helps reduce water usage and conserve energy. Installing a small pond or other water feature tempers heat in outdoor areas around buildings. Planting drought-resistant plant varieties reduces water consumption. Planting shrubs and plants with similar water needs together in the landscape cuts down on water usage during the hottest parts of the year.

Windbreaks

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse reports that windbreaks on north, west, and east sides of a house cut energy consumption on average by 40 percent. Buildings in windy climates especially benefit from well-placed landscaping windbreaks. Evergreens and shrubs are commonly used windbreaks, but can be combined with physical structures like walls, fences, or berms to keep strong winds from hitting buildings. Windbreak plantings should be planted about fifteen feet from the building and 50 feet further than each side of the area being protected to be most effective.

A few generations ago, your grandmother had a wooden spoon that she used forever. You, on the other hand, use a cheap metal or plastic spoon that you probably will toss within a year. Modern society is filled with disposable items with a short shelf life. With so much waste surrounding us, it seems impossible to be green and repurpose used items. It’s easy, however, to be environmentally conscious. Recycle, upcycle and repair everyday things and transform them into something useful, again, with the following suggestions:

Clothing

Photo by normanack via Flickr

When you and your children attend camps, conferences and special events, you probably bring home a T-shirt. You can take it to a charity shop when you are done wearing it, but chances are high that no one will buy it and it will end up in the landfill anyway. Instead, gather all those shirts and make yourself a charming quilt that will keep you warm for years and contain memorable stories.

Plumbing

Photo by Cayusa via Flickr

Even though it’s one of the scariest home repair jobs for the amateur to tackle, most plumbing can be easily done on your own. A leaky faucet can be fixed with a few tools and a couple of Apple Rubber o rings, while a toilet can be unclogged by detaching the toilet from the floor and grabbing the offending clog from the S-bend. If you have never tried your hand at these kinds of jobs but are interested in saving cash on plumbing bills, check out an instructional video on a site like YouTube. Best of all, when you fix the problem on your own without making a plumber drive out to your house, you save fossil fuels.

Memories

Photo by nashworld via Flickr

After a loved one has passed, the ecological thing to do is donate his or her clothes. But sometimes it’s too hard to let go. You don’t have to with a memory bear, which is made from articles of clothing, uniforms, fur coats, blankets or other items from a loved one. For example, Carrie Bears will make a 20-inch stuffed bear out of your loved one’s personal belongings or you can download a template and make your own, which is a heartwarming way to hold onto and upcycle the memories of a special person.

Home Decor

Photo by SOCIALisBETTER via Flickr

Home decorating is not an inexpensive hobby but when you introduce upcycling as part of it, it becomes greener and more affordable. Most home decorations go out of style and end up in the landfill after a few years so you may as well make your decorations with objects that are headed that direction. There are countless books to get your ideas flowing. Upcycling Celebrations by Danny Seo focuses on holiday decorations and Upcycle That is a fabulous blog with detailed instructions on all kinds of green projects, ranging from decorative egg carton flower lights to cork planters and crate coffee tables.

Guest Post by Rosie French

Wholesale energy costs might be lowering, but monthly prices for the end consumer are going up.  Bill prices have been rising above the rate of inflation for a long time in the UK, so knowing how to minimise your costs is essential.  Sieving through the vast amount of information on this topic around the web can be tiring, so we’ve created a short guide to beating the energy companies.

Energy prices/BTU, 1980-2030 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Price Comparison

Sites like Go Compare are excellent at giving you a top-down picture of what the energy market looks like at any given time.  The best thing you can do when you’re looking to save money on your bills is be proactive. Look for fixed term prices, as variable cost rates can fluctuate wildly depending on fundamental factors such as wars in the raw-material countries or strikes at production plants.

Insulation Grants

There are lots of ways to get free roof and loft insulation if you’re in the right financial circumstances.  If you can’t afford to pay for insulation outright, you could be entitled to file a claim for the job to get it done for free.  So, take a look at an online tool that explains whether you’re eligible or not.

Natural Light

Although you might take preventative measures at night to ensure that your thick, winter-proof curtains are closed to prevent heat loss, during the day you should open them wide to let in the natural sun light.  As it passes through the window it is magnified and the light energy is transferred into heat.  Remember, drawing in heat from the sun could let you keep your heating off for an extra half-hour every day, saving you a fortune on your overall bill.

Low-Tech DIY

There are plenty of DIY fixes that can prevent heat loss at home.  For instance, try placing sheets of tin foil against the walls behind your radiators to prevent heat escaping through the walls to the outside.   Similarly, you could create draft excluders to help block drafts which lower the air temperature in your rooms.

If you’ve been worried about the price hikes in the energy sector and wondering about how you’re going to come up with the funds to pay your new bills, use some of these techniques and you’re sure to see the effects of the new prices minimised.  Nobody wants to pay for expensive energy, so beat the energy companies and save money.