With temperatures rising and everyone blaming global warming for the warmer weather conditions, more and more people are investing in good electrical air-conditioning units.
With higher electricity usage, our electricity bills increase and therefore the greater our carbon footprint and in turn, the greater the effect of global warming will be once again.
It is a vicious spiral with problematic effects.
Mother Nature has been cooling the earth’s atmosphere for centuries with great success, but with man’s interference, things got a bit out of hand. Not only do plants purify the air that we breathe, they also have a cooling effect by releasing moisture into the air.
Plants absorb water through their roots and release moisture through openings in their leaves through a process called transpiration.
In short, the more plants we have, the brighter our future will be, but with deforestation and new man-made developments, it is but a drab situation.
Hard surfaces like tar roads, walls, paving, roofs and many other man-made structures are known as heat absorbing objects. The darker in colour they are, the more dense they are and the more heat gets stored in their structures. This trapped heat has a warming effect on the immediate environment they are in.
Limit the amount of paved and tarred surfaces and if possible, position these where they will receive limited sunlight, like in the cool morning sun and not the hot afternoon sun. It is a known fact that lawns and flower beds surrounding a house have a cooling effect on the dwelling.
A room with a wall that receives hot afternoon sun will be much warmer than a room on the eastern side of the house.
Hard surfaces that bake in the sun can also be screened through the use of proper plant material.
A tree can be used to cast shade on such a wall or alternatively the wall can be covered with a climbing plant to cast shade on the wall.
A deciduous tree loses its leaves during winter and is wonderful in keeping temperatures more constant throughout the year. In summer, the tree will block out the sun’s warm rays and in winter when only the branch skeleton of the tree is present, it will allow sunlight through to warm up the immediate environment.
Through the use of different colours, we can create different moods in the garden. Seedlings provide masses of colour and have a psychological effect on how we experience the temperatures.
Warmer colours like reds, oranges and yellows can be used to “warm up” an area and are best used during the colder winter months. The opposite is also true where cooler colours like green and blue can give the impression of an area being cooler during warmer months.
Plant wisely and use plants as natural air-conditioning units – not only do they purify the air that we breathe, they also assist us with temperature control … all this without increasing your electricity bill.
Article compiled by David Viljoen.
