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FRANKFORT,
Ky. — Summer is near, and with it comes high cooling
costs. Effective landscaping can keep you cool
and lower your electric bills.
Garden
centers offer a wide variety of trees, shrubs and other
plants that, if used correctly, can actually cool your
house and cut down on air conditioning use. With
more than 800 garden centers, greenhouses and nurseries
growing plant material throughout the state, consumers
can find what they need to cut down on summer heat in
the home on lots of any size.
“Just
because someone has a small yard and can't use an oak
or maple doesn't mean that they can't use landscaping
to cool their home,” said Hope Crain Gardiner, greenhouse
and nursery marketing specialist for the Kentucky Department
of Agriculture. “There are trees for any size
lot and every taste. You want something you'll be satisfied
with.”
Kentucky
Proud plant material generally is more acclimated to
Kentucky conditions. There currently are 42 retailers
and 29 growers who participate in the Kentucky Proud
program. The Kentucky Proud logo program tells consumers
that garden center carries products grown in Kentucky.
Consumers who buy Kentucky Proud support Kentucky
growers.
After
purchasing plants for the purpose of having a cooler
home, Gardiner suggests
following these steps to get the best results:
•
Plant trees or shrubs
to shade air conditioning units but not block the airflow.
A unit operating in the shade uses less electricity.
·
Vines such as ivy or grapevines grown on
trellises can shade windows or the whole side of a house.
·
Avoid landscaping with lots of unshaded
rock, cement, or asphalt on the south or west side of
the house because it increases the temperature around
the house and radiates heat to the house after the sun
has set.
·
Deciduous trees planted on the south and
west sides of a house will keep the house cool in the
summer. Just three trees, properly placed around a house,
can save between $100 and $250 annually in cooling and
heating costs. Daytime air temperatures can be 3 to
6 degrees cooler in tree-shaded neighborhoods.
Gardiner'
s suggestions
for beautiful summer shade and fall color are the October
Glory or Red Sunset Maple. For smaller yards
needing smaller trees, a Dogwood, Styrax or Golden Rain
tree would be good, Gardiner said.
For
more information about growers and varieties, visit
the KDA Web site at www.kyagr.com or
the Kentucky Proud Web site at www.kyproud.com.
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