Increasing the Value of your Moncure Home by Enhancing your Landscaping

Orientation of your Moncure house and surrounding landscaping has a large effect on energy consumption. A well-oriented, well-designed home admits low-angle winter sun to reduce heating bills; rejects overhead summer sun to reduce cooling bills; and minimizes the chill effect of winter winds. Fences, walls, other nearby buildings, and rows of trees or shrubs block or channel the wind. Bodies of water moderate temperature but increase humidity and produce glare. Trees provide shade, windbreaks, and wind channels. Pavement reflects or absorbs heat, depending on whether it is light or dark in color.

: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Are you looking for a Landscape, Lawn/Tree professional? The Gallup Organization found that good references and reputation, satisfaction guaranteed, and free estimates were the top three reasons when choosing a Landscape professional. See the full results of the Gallup survey.

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Contact your Chatham County county extension agents, public libraries, local nurseries, landscape architects, landscape contractors, and state and local energy offices for additional information on energy-efficient landscaping and regional plants and their maintenance requirements.

Trees around your Moncure home can save money and increase the real estate value of your home. It is not just your imagination your parent's air conditioner runs less because of having trees in their yard. The Department of Energy (DOE) has done sophisticated computer models showing just three properly placed trees can cut your utility bills by up to $250 per year.

There are many other benefits from landscaping your yard with the proper type and placement of trees. By shading your house, the walls, shingles, even curtains indoors, will last longer because the sun's rays are blocked. The air immediately around your home will be less polluted and the oxygen level will be higher. Trees also create a sound barrier from road noise.

: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Natural cooling for your Moncure real estate. Trees around your Parkwood or Lakehurst home can function as natural air conditioners. People often think of shading as the primary cooling effect, but trees also function as natural air conditioners through a evapotranspiration process. As the leaves on trees give off water, they cool the air similarly to how our own perspiration cools our skin. The air temperature near the house on a well-landscaped yard can be 10 degrees cooler than on a treeless one.

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0pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The key to efficient landscaping is selecting the proper species and placing them in the proper location for your specific climate. A well-landscaped yard in the hot, dry Southwest will look totally different from one in more humid North Carolina. Draw a layout of your yard and decide where you need trees for your climate type. Also determine the height, shape, type (evergreen or deciduous), and growth rate of the trees. Next, talk with a local garden store expert to make sure you are planting trees which will thrive in your climate zone.

0pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">In a temperate climate, you will also be concerned about winter heating bills. Plant deciduous trees on south and west leaving a small gap to the southwest for breezes. During winter with the leaves down, the sun will shine through. Plant evergreens on the north side for a winter windbreak. James Dulley energy consultant

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0pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">People often think of shading as the primary cooling effect, but trees also function as natural air conditioners through a evapotranspiration process. As the leaves on trees give off water, they cool the air similarly to how our own perspiration cools our skin. The air temperature near the house on a well-landscaped yard can be 10 degrees cooler than on a treeless one. James Dulley energy consultant

Are you looking for a Landscape, Lawn/Tree professional? The Gallup Organization found that good references and reputation, satisfaction guaranteed, and free estimates were the top three reasons when choosing a Landscape professional. See the full results of the Gallup survey.

For more information on landscaping for energy efficiency, contact:
American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), (202) 898-2444, www.asla.org
National Arbor Day Foundation (NADF), (402) 474-5655, www.arborday.org
U.S. Department of Agriculture County Extension Service Local Chapter
U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC), (800) DOE-3732 www.eere.energy.gov/erec/factsheets/landscape.html/

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Updated: 2/8/2008; 1:08:30 AM.