Although much less energy is expended in the United States for space cooling than for space heating, this end use is significant in many areas of the country and is often the major factor in utility peak electrical demands during the warmer months. Vegetative landscaping can reduce the energy required to cool residences by providing shade and wind control and through microclimate cooling via evapotranspiration. "Precision landscaping" design concepts can optimize the energy savings, particularly dttring utility peak demand periods. Energy analyses of an insulated mobile home show that landscaping can reduce cooling energy by more than 50 percent during warm summer days. Deciduous trees are particularly ttseftd because they allow solar radiation to reach a building during the heating season.
Keywords: vegetative landscaping, peak load landscaping, precision landscaping, energy conservation, microclimate modification