
Finding ways to increase your energy savings can save you money. Along with regular maintenance of your heating and cooling equipment and sealing your ducts, finding ways to increase your home’s insulation can help keep warm and cool air where it belongs: inside the home. Many people see landscaping as a way to beautify a home but don’t realize that landscaping can boost your home’s insulation and make it more efficient.
During the Virginia planting season, adding a few new items to your yard can help. Most homes have hot spots inside the home. This means one or more rooms heat up during the day from the sun beating down on that side of the home. This causes the air-conditioning equipment to cycle on more frequently to cool those rooms. Planting a few trees a safe distance away from the home can block the sun from heating the home. Over the years as the trees get larger, you’ll receive insulation benefits, but even a small tree can provide a decent amount of shade. When the winds turn cold in Virginia, cold air hitting the sides of a house can cause the temperature inside the home to drop. Heating equipment needs to work harder to keep up with warming the home, and monthly energy bills rise. If you plant bushes and plants right up against the base of the house, less cold air will enter the home through normal leaks and gaps. The force of the wind will be absorbed by the landscaping. You can contact Russell’s Heating and Cooling to schedule an appointment to have a routine maintenance service performed to make sure your HVAC system is working properly. Qualified professionals can also help you determine where landscaping in your yard might provide the best added insulation. Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about insulation and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide. Russell’s Heating & Cooling services the Chesapeake, Virginia and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!