The Benefits of Landscaping Around Your Air Conditioner

Improved Efficiency

There are a few myths when it comes to how landscaping improves efficiency as well as a few realities.  The main myth, or rather misunderstanding of how it works, is that if you provide shade to your unit it allows for cooler air to be pumped into your home.  This is false as HVAC units do not move from outside to inside.  Instead, air conditioning systems recirculate your indoor air and condition it by extracting heat from it, hence the name air conditioner.  It is the movement of temperature, not air, that occurs between your inside and outside unit.

Heat Harms Your Unit

As it happens, though, providing shade for your outside unit does help.  Adequate foliage shading your unit reduces how hot the system gets which decreases the strain it has to operate under.  Heat, especially the kind you deal with during the summer, puts tremendous stress on the electronics and other components inside your outside unit.  Under high stress due to heat, your AC is more likely to suffer equipment failures and will likely lose a little time off of its life expectancy.

Natural Protection

Despite being designed to operate outdoors, your outside AC unit is not impervious to the elements.  Besides reducing heat stress, the benefits of landscaping around your air conditioner also includes using plants to create a natural barrier.  This barrier can insulate your unit from wind and flying debris during storms, as well as catch some of the salt spray if you live along the coast.