Skip to main content

Landscaping Around Your Home’s HVAC Unit

Beautiful plants can help draw your eye away from the equipment needed to keep your home comfortable. Source: Bloomwater, LLC

Outdoor home decor usually doesn’t include an air conditioning unit. This necessary appliance doesn’t have to spoil your home’s look, however. Landscaping around an HVAC system is a great way to spruce up an often neglected space and to create a seamless exterior for your home. But be careful. Trees and bushes can damage your HVAC system without proper placement and care. You don’t want decorations to disrupt your home’s heating and cooling. Discover the best ways to landscape around your outdoor system with these tips.

Choose the right plants

So much about picking the right plant depends on where you live. There are some general rules of (green) thumb to follow. When possible, look for plants that don’t lose their leaves in colder months. This will reduce the amount of sweeping and raking needed keep the area clear of debris. Hedges are a common choice, and can be trimmed to your desired shape and height.

Leave the proper clearance

To work properly and avoid unnecessary repairs, your air conditioning unit needs space. It’s crucial to leave adequate space between the unit and your plants to avoid restricting airflow around the coils. Plants should be at least 2-3 feet from the unit on all sides, and make sure your air conditioner is easily reached for maintenance and repairs. Trees or other plants growing above the unit should be trimmed regularly to keep a 5-foot clearance between them and the air conditioner.

Make the most of the shade

Shade cast on the air conditioner keeps the temperature down so the unit doesn’t have to work as hard to cool your home. Yes, it’s a fine line between casting shade and staying clear of debris, but the value is there when it’s done correctly. In addition to making the area look more natural, landscaping around your air conditioner can actually help improve its efficiency.

Screen it

Sometimes the simplest way to dress up your HVAC system is to hide it. From quaint cottage styles to more modern looks and materials, there are multiple pre-made screens you can use to cleverly disguise your A/C unit. Building a lattice around the A/C unit and landscaping with climbing plants is also a relatively simple and attractive option. Just make sure to trim plants, hedges and trees near the air conditioner regularly to maximize airflow and efficiency.

Ask a specialist

If you have any questions about your air conditioning unit or are looking for additional tips for landscaping around an air conditioner, contact your local HVAC specialist. And as always, be sure to call your local utility before you dig.

The post Landscaping Around Your Home’s HVAC Unit appeared first on Freshome.com.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hackers Help: How to attach headboard to ESPEVÄR mattress base?

I’m trying to figure out if a headboard can be attached to an Espevar Mattress Base , and how to accomplish that. I’m looking at a standard metal headboard (because I just prefer the look of curved metal to what IKEA offers) and am not interested in a slat base with just a mattress on top, and a wall mounted headboard is not an option due to renting. Thanks for any help! ~ Amy *** Hi Amy I’ve not seen the ESPEVÄR in person but I believe it is possible to attach a headboard to it. From the website, the ESPEVÄR looks like a regular wooden slatted mattress base under a bed base slipover. As to how to attach it, that will depend on the fittings on the metal headboard. So you will just need to get the right hardware to secure the metal headboard to the wooden frame. And make some small openings on the slipcover to let the fixtures to go through. Jules Photo: IKEA.com Try these free-standing headboards for size A lime green and white headboard that takes centerstage in the r
Post a Comment
Read more

Kitchen renovation reveal: Rhombus wall steals the show

It’s been a while since I did a home tour. If you’ve missed the previous reveals, you can catch up with my Master Bathroom remodel and Guest Bathroom reveal . Today, let’s focus on my kitchen renovation. Hands down, this is the most used room in my home. I spend crazy amounts of time in here, even when I’m not cooking. Just off to the side of the kitchen I converted an awkward space into a reading nook . In the mornings, I sit and read or pray and meditate, before it gets too warm. And on the other side, there’s a work-in-progress plant wall / indoor garden which also takes up a lot of my time. So, all in all, lots of traffic in here, and that’s not even counting cooking and eating time. The kitchen is definitely my favourite room, because the transformation is huge and I love how it turned out. Kitchen renovation: The before House 17 when I first got it, actually had 2 kitchens, which is a very common “Asian” home concept. First, the “dry kitchen”, which is where you make simp
Post a Comment
Read more

IKEA sofa with genius armrest storage

Bet you never knew your sofa armrests were prime storage space. Ok, so the guys at IKEA are the masters of hidden / secret storage everywhere. In fact, one of the things I most loved about the  ESKILSTUNA sofa series was the undercover storage on the chaise lounge, but… what? More than 80 liters of storage space wasted on the armrests? NO WAY! I really don’t understand how they didn’t take that opportunity with several different armrest modules. Mobile chargers, cup / can holders, foldable tables, refrigerators… there’s SO MUCH space in there. I can’t stop thinking on different options! For myself, I went for two designs. First, a “full space” design on the (right) side of the chaise lounge. (The cavity fits two foldable chairs). Second, on the left armrest — a flip open section for “mobile charger / remote control storage / etc.”. Below that, a full-depth pull-out drawer, tall enough to store A4 sized magazines. This is the final result: Full space design, right of cha
Post a Comment
Read more