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Landscaping Design to Decrease

Heating and Cooling Costs

Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

Summer LandscapingHeat absorbed through windows and roofs drives up cooling costs. By incorporating shading techniques into your landscape design, you can reduce solar heat gain. Shading an air conditioner can increase its efficiency by as much as 10%.Large deciduous trees with high and spreading braches should be planted on the south side of the building to provide maximum summertime shading over the roof.Trees with leaves and branches lower to the ground should be placed on the west side of the house to shade from afternoon sun.

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Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

Winter LandscapingCreate windbreaks with dense evergreen trees on the north and northwest side of the building. In snowy areas, plant low shrubs on the windward side of windbreaks to trap snow. Deciduous trees used to block the sun’s heat in the summer will lose their leaves and let sunlight pass through in the winter.

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Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

Landscaping example

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Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

Air Flow around House

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Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

Cost effective?

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Cost analysis study done for the cooling savings in the Lower Midwest by the USDA.

Average annual net benefits varied from $12-$60 per tree depending on the tree size.

Additional benefits are improving air quality, absorb gaseous pollutants, intercept particulate matter, reduce water runoff, beautification, etc.

Using their method, the benefit-cost analysis was done for a CBL Mall with a similar climate.

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Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

Model Steps

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Determine tree planting numbers 30 medium deciduous trees placed on the southern side 10 medium deciduous trees placed around the entrance on the southwest

side 40 evergreen trees on the north side to provide a windbreak

Adjust for local prices of benefits Model assumes $.068 per kWh and $.973 per therm St Clair utility prices are $.0712 per kWh and $.8 per therm

Calculate net benefits and benefits-cost ratios for public trees

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Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

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Net benefits over a 40 year period = $553

Utility price Year 5 Year 10 Year 15 Year 20 Year 25 Year 30 Year 35 Year 40

Cooling (kWh) $0.07 $1.07 $3.49 $6.27 $8.69 $10.32 $11.46 $11.61 $11.53Natural gas (thems) $0.80 $0.13 $0.25 $0.25 $0.21 $0.16 $0.15 $0.19 $0.22

Benefits/tree/5yr $5.98 $18.68 $32.57 $44.47 $52.42 $58.08 $58.99 $58.79

Tree and planting $32.00Remove and dispose $0.34 $1.39 $2.05 $2.67 $3.25 $3.79 $4.28 $4.73Cleanup $0.33 $0.65 $0.91 $1.12 $1.29 $1.41 $1.49 $1.53

Costs/tree/5yr $163.35 $10.20 $14.80 $18.95 $22.70 $26.00 $28.85 $31.30

Net benefits/tree/5yr -$157.37 $8.48 $17.77 $25.52 $29.72 $32.08 $30.14 $27.49

Net benefits -$6,295 $339 $711 $1,021 $1,189 $1,283 $1,206 $1,100

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Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs

Summary

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Model did not include benefits from heating. St Clair’s heating cost is less than 10% of total energy costs and would not make a significant difference on the net benefits.

CBL requires a 4 year pay back so this is clearly not a viable option.

However, if they were already doing a landscaping project, they could implement a design to decrease their energy costs.

Landscape Design to Decrease Heating and Cooling Costs CONCLUSION . . .

THANK YOU.