Provo City

Conservation

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Energy Conservation
Trees can save you money. Many homeowners go to great lengths to build energy efficient homes, but do not realize that the simple act of planting a tree can result in additional energy savings.
 
Planting the right tree in the right place is the key to saving energy in the home. Trees provide wind protection and shade, while adding beauty, privacy, and wildlife habitat to the landscape.
 
The right tree in the right place also means proper tree selection and placement to minimize conflicts with power lines, buildings, and other obstructions. Many residential power outages are caused by trees conflicting with power lines.
  

The Right Tree
Selecting the right tree for the right planting site is critical when planning for energy conservation in your landscape. Deciduous Trees (trees that lose their leaves each fall) save energy in the summer by shading houses, paved areas, and air conditioners. In the winter, when the leaves have fallen, the sun’s warm rays can heat the home. Evergreen Trees (trees that keep their leaves all year) and shrubs save energy by slowing cold winds in the winter. When evergreen shrubs are planted near the foundation of the house they create a dead air pocket around the house thus helping to conserve energy by reducing heat loss.
Deciduous trees can provide cooling summer shade and winter warmth.

The Right Place
When planting a tree for either summer or winter energy conservation, it is important to plant the right tree species in the right place. Matching the proper tree species to the desired planting site is very important. When determining the best location to plant a tree on your property look around the planting site for any possible obstructions the tree might grow into, such as your home or power lines. Once the site is selected it is important to choose a tree species that will give the home optimum shading. After selecting the desired tree, proper planting and care of the tree is vital to maintain health and longevity.
 
Summer Energy Conservation
Utility bills are usually their highest in the summer months of June, July, and August due to the large amount of energy that is required to run even the most efficient of air conditioners. These costs could be lowered 30% to 50% by proper placement of trees around buildings, air conditioners, and paved areas. Shade trees also make non-air conditioned homes more comfortable.
 
Shading Your Home
Trees act as a natural air conditioner reducing heat and reflection from the sun’s hot rays. This natural cooling happens as water evaporates from the leaf surfaces into the surrounding air. For summer cooling, deciduous trees should be planted on the east and west sides of the home. This will shade east-facing walls and windows during the morning hours and westfacing walls and windows in late afternoon and early evening hours. For protection from early morning and late afternoon sun, smaller trees with lower branches or shrubs should be planted on the east and west sides.
 
Trees planted on the southeast, south and southwest sides of your home also provide significant cooling and energy savings if properly chosen and located. It is highly recommended that the trees planted on the south side of a home be deciduous. This will allow the tree to shade the home in the summer and let the sun’s warm rays in the winter. These trees must be close enough for some branches to extend over the roof.
 
Shading Your Air Conditioner
Air conditioners should be shaded from mid-morning through evening. Trees shading air conditioners should be pruned high enough to encourage air flow and increase cooling efficiency and capacity.
 
Shading Pavement
Trees should be planted to shade paved areas. Solar energy that strikes dark pavement is absorbed, causing the air above to be heated. Light colored pavement absorbs less energy than dark pavement, but can reflect it towards your home.

 
Used with permission from the National Arbor Day Foundation www.arborday.org.

If you have additional questions regarding trees and energy conservation,
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