The south side of my house receives full sun during the day.  In the winter months, this is welcome.  The sun warms our daughter’s bedrooms several degrees during the winter taking a lot of pressure off our HVAC system.  

During the summer, however,  the addtitional heat makes the southside of our house a little uncomfortable.  There can be a 3-5 degree difference between the north and side ends of our home.  This makes things tough on our air conditioning system.  It runs a lot more than it should to try to compensate.  

One solution?  We planted two trees on the south lawn of our home.  It will take a few years, but once they grow to a sufficient size, the trees leaves will shade the house during the hot summer months.  The resulting lower roof temperatures will keep our house cooler and make our air conditioning system run more efficiently.  When the temperature drops during the winter months, the leaves will fall from the trees and allow the sun to provide free heat to our home.  What a deal!

Cost:  $35-$250 each depending on the size tree you plant.

Monthly savings:  varies

Payback:  Several years before the tree is mature enough to yield savings.

Photo credit:  swainboat