Plant Free Trees from SRP to Save on Your AC Bill
A lack of shade trees contributes to higher electrical bills in Phoenix and the surrounding area each summer. SRP wants to help change this. That’s why they’re offering SRP customers two free saplings for planting to help create energy savings as customers cool their homes.
How Does Planting Trees Save Money?
Fully grown shade trees planted strategically around your yard can lower the indoor temperature of your home roughly 20 degrees during the height of the summer. That’s because shade trees help to block some of the sun’s rays from beating down on your home. One of the reasons that Arizona residents have such high electric bills each summer compared to other hot climates is in fact the lack of shade trees around most properties. Many Arizona residents may not realize that while most types of landscaping entails small or shrubby plants that don’t consume a lot of water, there are shade trees that can thrive in a desert environment as well.
While the saplings being given away by SRP are not yet fully grown, planting just a few trees in the right areas can help lower your annual costs by as much as $50, simply by blocking some of the sun from entering the windows on the lower floors of your home.
Planting trees around your property has other benefits as well, such as stopping soil erosion, improving air quality, and works as a means to teach residents more about desert living and the types of plants that can thrive in this environment.
Where to Plant Trees to Get the Best Benefit
SRP recommends planting the trees roughly 10 to 15 feet away from the exterior walls of your home on the east, west, and south sides. This will help ensure that they provide the maximum amount of shade from the sun, even before they are fully grown. You may want to take a look at your property and review what rooms tend to be the hottest to determine where you’ll see the most benefit once the trees have matured.
Getting Your Trees
To qualify and receive your two free trees, you’re required to attend a workshop on how to care for them. The Valley Permaculture Allegiance is giving away two free trees to anyone who attends one of the workshops.
The Valley Permaculture Allegiance does not deliver the trees, nor do they plant them. You are responsible for picking up the trees and planting them in the correct locations around your home.
Summer is not the ideal time to plant trees in Arizona. While the workshops are being offered all summer long, the tree giveaways will not begin until September.
The workshops are free, and are being given throughout the valley. You can register online by visiting the Save with SRP webpage (http://www.savewithsrp.com/rd/shadetrees.aspx)
You will have your choice of trees, including:
- Desert Willow
- Willow Acacia
- Thornless Palo Verde
- Blue Palo Verde
- Native Mesquite
- Thornless Mesquite
These trees are designed for life in the desert, and consume relatively little water, making them ideal for the Arizona climate. Each tree typically retails for $25 to $30. But by attending one of the workshops, you can receive two for free!
Help Lower Your Electric Bills Each Summer
Planting just a few shade trees around your home can immediately lower your air conditioning costs by $50 each year. Adding even more trees and allowing them to reach full maturity can help reduce your bills even further. Take advantage of this free program to start lowering the temperature in your home — and keep cool this summer.
