Energy Efficient and Environmentally Responsible Landscaping

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Energy Efficient and Environmentally Responsible
Landscaping An Introduction

• Prepared by
• Debra Rowe, Ph.D.
• dgrowe_at_oaklandcc.edu
• Prepared for CERET under a grant from the
  National Science Foundation

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Why should we care about energy supplies?

• It is a national security issue causing the
  following threats to our well being
• Political Instability
• Economic Instability
• Environmental Instability

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Political Instability Dependency on
foreign oil

• The U.S. imports 54 of its oil consumption.
• U.S. oil production has declined continuously
  since 1974.
• Thanks to John Richter for this slide

Source University of Minnesota
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Political Instability Dependency on foreign oil

• Much of our oil comes from
• Middle Eastern countries whose policies we dont
  like

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Economic Impacts

• "Paid predominantly by the US, the costs of
  protecting our Middle East oil supplies are as
  high as 15-25 a barrel - that is about a dollar
  a gallon.
• Peter Hain, UK Europe Minister

USS Stark, 1987
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Economic Instability

• Globally, the largest item in the U.S. trade
  deficit is our importing of foreign oil
• Nationally, our economy is hampered by energy
  costs which decrease the bottom line of profits
  and economic health
• Locally, people on stressed budgets - many have
  to choose between heating and eating

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Environmental Impacts - Disease

• power plant particle pollution causes more
  than 603,000 asthma attacks per year..
• Source Abt Associates Death, Disease, and Dirty
  Power Plants
• Thanks to John Richter for some of these slides.

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Environmental Impacts - Death

• Abt Associates finds over 30,000 deaths each
  year are attributable to fine particle pollution
  from U.S. power plants.
• Source The Clean the Air Task Force

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Burning Fossil Fuels Produces the Greenhouse
Effect and Climate Change
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Environmental Effects -Climate Change

• Disruptions of food production
• More extreme weather events
• Unknown disruptive effects on cosystems
• Spread of disease to temperate climates
• Submersion of land masses
• up to 45 feet of sea level rise
• 140,000 deaths per year attributed to climate
  change
• Sources Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
  Change (2000 scientists from around the world
  EPA of the U.S. )

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Terrorist threats

• Centralized power plants are much more
  vulnerable to terrorist attacks than distributed
  generation via wind, solar and other renewable
  energies

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Why should we care about energy supplies?

• It is a national security issue causing the
  following threats to our well being
• Political Instability
• Economic Instability
• Environmental Instability

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What can we do about it?

1. Learn energy/environmental literacy as it relates
   to landscaping
2. Become environmentally responsible landscape
   designers, technicians, marketers, etc.
3. Provide upgrade training to existing
   professionals in architecture, construction,
   landscaping, HVAC, building inspectors, community
   planners and more
4. Make better choices as consumers/investors

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Energy Efficient Landscaping

• Landscaping is a natural and beautiful way to
  keep your home cool in summer and reduce your
  energy bills. In addition to adding aesthetic
  value and environmental quality to your home, a
  well-placed tree, shrub, or vine can deliver
  effective shade, act as a windbreak, and reduce
  overall energy bills.

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Energy Efficient Landscaping Reduces Our
Dependence on Fossil Fuels and Saves Energy And
Money!

• Carefully positioned trees can save up to 25
  of a typical household's energy used for heating
  and cooling. Computer models from the U.S.
  Department of Energy predict that just three
  trees, properly placed around the house, can save
  an average household between 100 and 250 in
  heating and cooling energy costs annually.

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Energy Efficient Landscaping Reduces Pollution
Too!

• Studies conducted by Lawrence Berkeley
  National Laboratory found summer daytime air
  temperatures to be 3 to 6F cooler in
  tree-shaded neighborhoods than in treeless areas.
  That could be a 9 to 20 savings in cooling
  costs. The energy-conserving landscape strategies
  you should use for your home depend on the type
  of climate in which you live.

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Landscaping and Your Regional
ClimateThe energy-conserving landscape
strategies you use should depend on which region
you live in. The United States can be divided
into four approximate climatic regions
temperate, hot-arid, hot-humid, and cool. See the
map to find your climatic region.
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Temperate Region This includes Michigan

• Maximize warming effects of the sun in the
  winter.
• Maximize shade during the summer.
• Deflect winter winds away from buildings.
• Funnel summer breezes toward the home.

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Hot-Arid Region

1. Provide shade to cool roofs, walls, and windows.
2. Allow summer winds to access naturally cooled
   homes.
3. Block or deflect winds away from air-conditioned
   homes.

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Hot-Humid Region

1. Channel summer breezes toward the home.
2. Maximize summer shade with trees that still allow
   penetration of low-angle winter sun.
3. Avoid locating planting beds close to the home if
   they require frequent watering.

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Cool Region

1. Use dense windbreaks to protect the home from
   cold winter winds.
2. Allow the winter sun to reach south-facing
   windows.
3. Shade south and west windows and walls from the
   direct summer sun, if summer overheating is a
   problem.

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It's also important to consider your home's
microclimate in your landscaping strategy. Your
home's microclimate may receive more sun, shade,
wind, rain, snow, moisture, and/or dryness than
average local conditions.
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Microclimate (continued)

• If on a sunny southern slope, you may have a warm
  microclimate, even if you live in a cool region.
• Even though you live in a hot-humid region, your
  home may be situated in a comfortable
  microclimate because of abundant shade and dry
  breezes.

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Microclimate (continued)

• Nearby bodies of water may increase your site's
  humidity or decrease its air temperature.
• Microclimatic factors also help determine what
  plants may or may not grow in your landscape.

.
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Shading

1. Deciduous trees with high, spreading crowns
   (i.e., leaves and branches) can be planted to the
   south of your home to provide maximum summertime
   roof shading. Trees with crowns lower to the
   ground are more appropriate to the west, where
   shade is needed from lower afternoon sun angles.
   Trees should not be planted on the southern sides
   of solar-heated homes in cold climates because
   the branches of these deciduous trees will block
   some winter sun.
2. Although a slow-growing tree may require many
   years of growth before it shades your roof, it
   will generally live longer than a fast-growing
   tree. Also, because slow-growing trees often have
   deeper roots and stronger branches, they are less
   prone to breakage by windstorms or heavy snow
   loads. Slow-growing trees can also be more
   drought resistant than fast-growing trees.

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Shading (continued)

• 3. A 6-foot to 8-foot (1.8-meter to 2.4-meter)
  deciduous tree planted near your home will begin
  shading windows the first year. Depending on the
  species and the home, the tree will shade the
  roof in 510 years. If you have an air
  conditioner, shading the unit can increase its
  efficiency by as much as 10.
• 4. Trees, shrubs, and groundcover plants can also
  shade the ground and pavement around the home.
  This reduces heat radiation and cools the air
  before it reaches your home's walls and windows.
  Use a large bush or row of shrubs to shade a
  patio or driveway. Plant a hedge to shade a
  sidewalk. Build a trellis for climbing vines to
  shade a patio area.

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Shading (continued)

• 5. Vines can also shade walls during their first
  growing season. A lattice or trellis with
  climbing vines, or a planter box with trailing
  vines, shades the home's perimeter while
  admitting cooling breezes to the shaded area.
• 6. Shrubs planted close to the house will fill in
  rapidly and begin shading walls and windows
  within a few years. However, avoid allowing dense
  foliage to grow immediately next to a home where
  wetness or continual humidity are problems.
  Well-landscaped homes in wet areas allow winds to
  flow around the home, keeping the home and its
  surrounding soil reasonably dry.

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Landscape windbreaks

1. Basically, a windbreak can lower the wind chill
   near your home. Wind chill occurs when wind speed
   lowers the outside temperature. For example, if
   the outside temperature is 10F (-12C) and the
   wind speed is 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers
   per hour), the wind chill is -24F (-31C). A
   windbreak will reduce wind speed for a distance
   of as much as 30 times the windbreak's height.
   But for maximum protection, plant your windbreak
   at a distance from your home of two to five times
   the mature height of the trees.
2. The best windbreaks block wind close to the
   ground by using trees and shrubs that have low
   crowns. Dense evergreen trees and shrubs planted
   to the north and northwest of the home are the
   most common type of windbreak. Trees, bushes, and
   shrubs are often planted together to block or
   impede wind from ground level to the treetops.
   Evergreen trees combined with a wall, fence, or
   earth berm (natural or man-made walls or raised
   areas of soil) can deflect or lift the wind over
   the home. Be careful not to plant evergreens too
   close to your home's south side if you are
   counting on warmth from the winter sun.

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Landscape windbreaks (cont.)

• 3. If snow tends to drift in your area,
  plant low shrubs on the windward side of your
  windbreak. The shrubs will trap snow before it
  blows next to your home.
• 4. In addition to more distant windbreaks,
  planting shrubs, bushes, and vines next to your
  house creates dead air spaces that insulate your
  home in both winter and summer. Plant so there
  will be at least 1 foot (30 centimeters) of space
  between full-grown plants and your home's wall.
• 5. Summer winds, especially at night, can
  have a cooling effect if used for home
  ventilation. However, if winds are hot and your
  home is air conditioned all summer, you may want
  to keep summer winds from circulating near your
  home.

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Landscaping Water ConservationYou can design a
landscape that not only conserves energy but also
water. Here is a brief overview of some
water-conserving landscaping strategies.Xeriscap
ingXeriscaping is a systematic method of
promoting water conservation in landscaped areas.
It's based on seven principles
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• 1. Planning and design
• Provides direction and guidance, mapping your
  water and energy conservation strategies, both of
  which will be dependent upon your regional
  climate and microclimate.
• 2. Selecting and zoning plants appropriately
• Bases your plant selections and locations on
  those that will flourish in your regional climate
  and microclimate.
• 3. Limiting turf areas
• Reduces the use of bluegrass turf, which usually
  requires a lot of supplemental watering.
• 4. Improving the soil
• Enables soil to better absorb water and to
  encourage deeper roots.
• 5. Irrigating efficiently
• Encourages using the irrigation method that
  waters plants in each area most efficiently.
• 6. Using mulches
• Keeps plant roots cool, minimizes evaporation,
  prevents soil from crusting, and reduces weed
  growth.
• 7. Maintaining the landscape
• Keeps plants healthy through weeding, pruning,
  fertilizing, and controlling pests.
• Xeriscaping is mostly used in arid regions, but
  its principles can be used in any region to help
  conserve water.

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WateringIf you can determine how much water your
plants actually need, then you won't overwater
them and waste water. It is important to not only
understand a plant's particular watering
requirements, but also evapotranspiration.Evapotra
nspiration is the amount of water that is
evaporated from the soil and transpired through
the plant's leaves. This amount of water needs to
be replaced through watering. If you know your
area's Et rate, you can plan the amount of water
to be replaced through irrigation. Call your
local water district or cooperative extension
service and ask about your Et rate. However, your
particular microclimate will also affect
evapotranspiration in different areas of your
yard. Also, it's best to water or irrigate your
plants in the early morning when evaporation
rates are low. This also provides plants with
water before mid-day when the evaporation rate is
the highest.
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Additional Resources on Water Conservation

• Evaluation Tools
• 1. WaterAideDOE Building Energy Software Tools
  Directory
• 2. Xeriscaping Creative Landscaping -
  http//www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07228.htm
  l Colorado State University Cooperative
  Extension
• 3. XeriscapingToolbase Services
• 4. LandscapingH2ouse.org - California Urban
  Water Conservation Council

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A note about solar energy. If designing a
building to use solar

• Unobstructed access to the sun is necessary for
  the optimum performance of active and passive
  solar energy systems. There is generally no
  guarantee a solar system will always have
  unobstructed access to the sun. Every day,
  decisions about the built environment and
  landscape effect the future shading of existing
  or potential sites.
• Solar access protection is clearly advantageous
  for the following systems in the associated
  locations
• Rooftop- solar water heater and space heating
  collectors and photovoltaic arrays
• South facing walls- passive solar systems such as
  Trombe walls, attached solar greenhouses, and
  direct gain systems such as windows and glass
• Lot (south-facing)- ground-mounted or detached
  active collector systems.

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Permaculture

• Permaculture philosophy is landscaping and
  agriculture that works with, rather than against
  nature to create sustainable human environments.
  It is sometimes described as low maintenance, low
  energy and oftentimes edible landscaping.
• For more information, go to
• ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture
  Information Service at
• http//www.attra.org/attra-pub/perma.html

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In conclusion

• Landscape practices can help or hurt ecosystem
  and human health
• There are principles of environmentally
  responsible landscape design that should be
  incorporated into all landscaping projects
• There are precedents and resources to assist you
• What you do makes a difference