Whether you’re looking to buy a new home or improve your current property, the way you landscape your outdoor space can make a real difference to your energy bills — something that many homeowners don’t consider. The right plants and structural elements can reduce your home’s heating and cooling costs significantly, as well as cutting back on your water usage for irrigation.
Much like interior insulation and energy-saving solutions play a crucial role in optimising indoor utility costs, your outdoor landscaping decisions can offer similar benefits. With some clever landscaping choices, you can create an attractive garden that’s kinder to the planet and your wallet. Read on for our tips on making your outdoor space as energy efficient as possible.
Implementing Solar Shading
Installing trees and shaded structures in the right locations can help reduce your home’s heating and cooling costs, and helps to keep your garden comfortable throughout the year. During warm summer months, strategically placed trees provide cooling shade to lower indoor temperatures and reduce the need for air conditioning. Deciduous trees are ideal, as they let in warming sunlight during the winter when their leaves have dropped.
Adding permanent structures like pergolas, arbours and awnings are an excellent way to provide cooling shade. The filtered light under a pergola makes an inviting outdoor living space during hotter months, and when attached to the home, can help to provide a cooler space indoors too. Just be sure to position the structure appropriately so it doesn’t block too much winter sun. Solar shading is one of the most effective steps you can take to reduce home cooling costs and make your garden more comfortable to enjoy during warmer weather.
Insulate with Vines
If planting shading trees is not feasible for your property, consider training climbing vines up walls or trellises as “living insulation” instead. The dense foliage of certain vine varieties creates a protective barrier that helps insulate walls from summer heat and winter winds. This plant layer works like a natural insulating blanket to prevent heat transfer into and out of your home.
Some top options for insulating vines include English ivy, Boston ivy, Virginia creeper and climbing hydrangea. For wooden walls, let the vines grow on a trellis or lattice a few inches off the facade to prevent moisture damage and rot over time. For masonry walls like brick or concrete, vines can climb directly on the surface.
Vines can also provide shade when grown overhead on structures such as pergolas and slatted roofs. Prune back annually to control growth and maintain the plant’s insulating effects. When properly positioned, vines can reduce your summer cooling costs by blocking heat gain through walls. Their natural insulation capabilities save energy and money, plus they provide that cottage look to your home.
Selecting Low Maintenance Plants
Choosing the right plants for your garden can significantly reduce the amount of water and maintenance required to keep them looking good. Native plants that are adapted to the local climate are a great low-maintenance option as they require less irrigation once established. You can also group plants with similar watering needs together to make irrigation more efficient.
When planning beds and borders, go for hardy, non-invasive perennials that provide year-round interest without much upkeep. Plants like hellebores, rudbeckia, sedums and heucheras typically fit the bill, but avoid planting species that need frequent pruning or heavy fertilisation. Reducing lawn areas is another good way to cut back on mowing and watering. Replace thirsty turf with low-growing native groundcovers or install hardscapes like gravel gardens, flagstone patios or pebble mosaic paths. Choosing easy-care, drought-tolerant plants tailored to your local climate is a sure way to save time, money and water in your garden.
Water Conservation Strategies
Incorporating water conservation features into your landscape design will reduce irrigation needs and lower your water bills. Installing drip irrigation delivers water directly to plant roots only where it’s needed. This approach uses far less water compared to spraying everything with standard sprinklers. Drip irrigation paired with a smart controller that adjusts watering schedules based on weather further optimises water usage and keeps your utility bills down.
Collecting rainwater in barrels to use for watering plants is another great conservation strategy. Installing rain chains and diverters on downspouts from your guttering makes it easy to direct rain runoff from the roof into storage containers for later use, providing a free source of irrigation.
Using permeable materials like gravel, pavers or permeable concrete for patios, driveways and walkways also allows stormwater to filter into the ground rather than running off. This recharges groundwater supplies and reduces problems with flooding, standing water or soggy beds. Focusing on water conservation in your landscape pays off not only in lower water bills but also in reduced infrastructure demands and a healthier environment.
Renewable, Eco-Friendly Energy Options
Incorporating renewable energy features is another way to increase your landscape’s sustainability. Solar pathway or deck lights provide attractive outdoor illumination without the need to run electrical wiring or tap into fossil fuel energy sources. Position the small solar panels where they will receive optimal sun exposure, and the lights will shine automatically at night.
For larger landscape lighting needs, you could install a solar lighting system with photovoltaic panels, LED fixtures and batteries to store electricity. Solar-powered water features are also a green option, using the sun’s energy to circulate water rather than electric pumps.
Swapping gas-powered mowers and leaf blowers for manual or electric versions also reduces fossil fuel dependence. Implementing renewable energy innovations makes your landscape sustainable as well as stylish, and will save you money long term.
Creating an energy-efficient landscape requires forethought, but the impact on your home’s energy bills and carbon footprint can be significant. Strategically placed trees, shade structures and careful plant selection make a big difference in reducing heat gain and irrigation requirements. With some planning, you can have attractive outdoor spaces that are functional, low-maintenance and eco-friendly. A landscape designed to shade your home, minimise water usage and incorporate sustainability features will help reduce your energy bills while also benefiting the environment and keep your property looking its best.
