Professional Practice

Increasing Energy Efficiency: Residential Tree Placement for Energy Efficiency

The project reduces electricity costs for the house by leveraging shade from the site¡¯s mature trees. Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ 2010 Professional Residential Design Honor Award. Lily Lake Residence, Dalton, Pennsylvania / Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, Ltd.

Homeowners can strategically plant trees on their property to increase the energy efficiency of their home. Shade trees can be sited optimally to provide building insulation and minimize heating and cooling costs.

Certain types of trees can provide seasonal benefits. For example, planting deciduous trees or vines on the western side of a home or building can provide cooling effects in the summer.

Tree planting organizations can help educate the public on the benefits, proper care, and maintenance of shade trees. Cities and local governments have programs to encourage residents to plant trees to improve a region¡¯s canopy cover and help mitigate stormwater runoff.  The city of Portland, Oregon, for example, has a seasonal program that incentivizes residents to plant yard trees that coincide with the appropriate time of year to plant trees. The resident receives a credit to their city water/sewage utility bill depending on the size of the tree and its stormwater management potential.

Sources: , City of Los Angeles tree-planting initiative

Organizations







, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington







Tree Planting Programs

, City of Portland

, City of Erie, Colorado

, City of Los Angeles

, NYC Parks

Resources

, MIT Sensible City Lab

, Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series, University of Minnesota

, Sacramento Municipal Utility District

, Sacramento Shade and Energy-Saving Trees Program

Morton Arboretum

, Washington, D.C., Casey Trees

¡°,¡± Davey Institute / USDA Forest Service

Government Resources

, City of Chicago

, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  

, United States Forest Service



Research

"," James Kachadorian, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2006

¡°,¡± Timothy Beatley, Island Press, 2016

Projects

Lily Lake Residence, Dalton, Pennsylvania
Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, Ltd.

Vineyard Retreat, Napa Valley, California
Scott Lewis Landscape Architecture