People have planted since centuries trees around their houses
to regulate the temperature inside the house. Have you ever visited
on a hot summer day an old cottages surrounded by large maple trees?
The effect is astounding. It's not too hot and not too cold inside the house and it works
without air conditioning. In the fall, winter and early spring
it is the opposite. The maple trees have no leaves and the full sun will
keep the house bright and warm.
It takes of course 20 years or more until a maple tree has grown high
enough to make significant impact and provide "climate control" for
the entire house.
There is however a variation of this that will show results even
on new houses within a few years. If you have a heatpump then plant
a large bush like e.g hazelnut or a fruit tree in front of the heatpump. It has
to be a bush that looses its leaf in winter and the heatpump should be
installed in a sunny spot in the south west. The bush will keep
direct sunlight off the unit in summer and make it therefore more efficient
when it is used to cool the house.
In winter there will be no leaf on the bush and the sunlight will shine
onto the unit. This will make it more efficient when you use it to heat
your house.
