Reduce Utility Bills with Landscaping

Remember those first lessons on how to reduce utility bills? Dad or Mom would holler, “Turn out that light, this isn’t Grand Central Station you know”; and “Shut the door, you weren’t born in a barn!” Many of us learned the basics of frugality with these admonishments. But our parents could have taught us a green way to do this if they had also said: “And plant a tree!”

Recently, several television shows feature home improvement methods. One of the things they teach is landscaping and curb appeal to make homes more enjoyable to live in, more attractive to look at from the curb and more efficient in energy use.

That’s right. You can reduce your utility bills with landscaping! In fact, The U.S. Department of Energy estimates proper planting of landscaping can cut home heating bills as much as 30 percent; and air conditioning bills by 50 to 75 percent.

A single tree can provide as much cooling as five 10,000 BTU air conditioners. The secret to reducing your utility bill with landscaping is all in where and how you do the landscaping.

For more on how to reduce utility bills with landscaping, click here.