Keeping a Building Cool

The variety of building materials available today have become an almost endless selection, yet they may not completely finish off the design of a particular house or commercial building. One of the main concerns today is safety, and another is keeping a building cool during the heat of the day. When the weather turns hot, being able to manage the price to cool it down may be tempered by using the right landscaping techniques.

It may seem that planting trees is the ultimate way of shading a building to keep it from becoming overheated during hot weather. While that sounds good, there are a few drawbacks when it comes to trees and landscaping. Mature trees are very expensive, and there is no guarantee they will survive being transplanted. Young trees can be much less expensive, but they will take years to grow tall enough to shade the building. Neither of these solutions might work, but modern builders can at least ensure a cooler future by starting with trees as well as choosing a building colour that reflects sunlight.

Shrubs can be useful when it comes to keeping a building cooler during the heat of the day. Many houses are built upon foundations, and the shrubs can be used to add shade to that part of the structure. The lower floors of the building may need less air conditioning in this scenario, and that can keep energy costs from rising out of control.

Tall buildings may still have beautiful landscaping, yet much of it will not affect the natural heating that occurs during sunny days. Even choosing lighter colours may not be quite helpful if the building is situated in an area where temperatures soar during summer months. For those buildings, the appearance of coolness with shade trees and shrubs at ground level will have to suffice.