July 19th

By Mutt Mulligan

How living landscapes help us beat the heat     

The heat is on in much of the country. One way to beat the heat this summer is to get outside and enjoy your living landscapes.

Have you ever noticed that even on really hot days, grassy areas in your yard and neighborhood are cooler than paved ones? That’s because our living landscapes – including grass, trees and other plants – help cool the atmosphere. In fact, lawns can be 31˚ cooler than asphalt and 20˚ cooler than bare soil.

Here are some fun facts about how our living landscapes keep us cool even when the temperatures soar.

• Grass dissipates radiant heat through a process called evapotranspiration. Planting vegetation and grass, or installing green roofs, are among the strategies the EPA recommends to mitigate the heat island effect (the phenomenon where urban areas get hotter than rural ones).
• On a hot, sunny summer day, roof and pavement surface temperatures can be 50–90°F hotter than the air. 
• Eight average-sized front lawns can provide the cooling equivalent to air-conditioning for 18 homes.
• Strategically placed trees save up to 56% on your annual air conditioning costs.

Want to learn more about the benefits of your family’s yard? Go to SaveLivingLandscapes.com.