Building Strategies



Landscaping

Planting certain vegetation around your home can help to reduce your energy consumption. Trees can break wind currents, which can prevent heat loss and/or redirect the wind flow to enter the home for natural ventilation. Deciduous vegetation can shade the home from unwanted summer sun but let in winter sun as the leaves fall in autumn. Planting a greenroof can act as insulation as well as reduce the surface temperature. To learn more, visit the US DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s page on Landscaping and/or discuss energy-efficient landscaping with your architect or landscape architect.

To learn more, visit our Case Studies database.