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Climate, Site, and Design
Considerations
Climate
The United States can be divided
into four approximate climatic regions: temperate, hot-arid,
hot-humid, and cool. The energy-conserving landscape strategies
you use should depend on which region you live in. These landscaping
strategies are listed by region and in order of importance below.
Temperate
* Maximize warming effects of
the sun in the winter.
* Maximize shade during the summer.
* Deflect winter winds away from buildings.
* Funnel summer breezes toward the home.
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Hot-Arid
* Provide shade to cool roofs,
walls, and windows.
* Allow summer winds to access naturally cooled homes.
* Block or deflect winds away from air-conditioned homes.
Hot-Humid
* Channel summer breezes toward
the home.
* Maximize summer shade with trees that still allow penetration
of low-angle winter sun.
* Avoid locating planting beds close to the home if they require
frequent watering.
Cool
* Use dense windbreaks to protect
the home from cold winter winds.
* Allow the winter sun to reach south-facing windows.
* Shade south and west windows and walls from the direct summer
sun, if summer overheating is a problem.
Microclimate
The climate immediately surrounding
your home is called its microclimate. If your home is located
on a sunny southern slope, it may have a warm microclimate, even
if you live in a cool region.
Or, even though you live in a
hot-humid region, your home may be situated in a omfortable microclimate
because of abundant shade and dry breezes. Nearby bodies of water
may increase your site's humidity or decrease its air temperature.
Your homes microclimate may be
more sunny, shady, windy, calm, rainy, snowy, moist, or dry than
average local conditions. These factors all help determine what
plants may or may not grow in your microclimate. |
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Siting and Design
A well-oriented and well-designed
home admits low-angle winter sun, rejects overhead summer sun,
and minimizes the cooling effect of winter winds. If you are
building a home, pay attention to its orientation.
In the northern hemisphere, it
is usually best to align the home's long axis in an east-west
direction. The home's longest wall with the most window area
should face south or southeast. The home's north-facing and west-facing
walls should have fewer windows because these walls generally
face winter's prevailing winds. North-facing windows receive
little direct sunlight.
You may be able to design and
orient your new house to maximize your homesite's natural advantages
and mitigate its disadvantages. Notice your homesite's exposure
to sun, wind, and water. Also note the location and proximity
of nearby buildings, fences, water bodies, trees, and pavement
-- and their possible climatic effects. Buildings provide shade
and windbreak. Fences and walls block or channel the wind. Water
bodies moderate temperature but increase humidity and produce
glare. Trees provide shade, windbreaks, or wind channels. Pavement
reflects or absorbs heat, depending on whether its color is light
or dark.
If your home is already built,
inventory its comfort and energy problems, then use the following
landscaping ideas to help minimize these problems.
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