Remember those old southern homes with the big front porch that went all the way around the house? Well those people knew something that people today have forgotten. Those porches not only served as outdoor social areas, but more importantly, aided in the cooling and heating of the house. The most important design in any house is designing the overhangs to block the hot summer sun, while allowing in the warm winter sun. Knowing the angle of the sun during certain times of the year allows a person to calculate the exact length of roof overhangs. The angle of the sun in summer in Starkville, MS, is 81 degrees, while the angle of the sun in winter is 33 degrees. With these angles in mind, you use the formula: tangent of the angle = a/b, where a = the height of the house, and b = the length of your overhang. Most parts of the country want to block the sun through early fall, when the sun is around 60 degrees. On a one story house (12' tall), the overhangs would be calculated by: tangent(60) = 12/b. By solving for b, we get : b = 12/tangent(60). According to this formula, the overhangs would be 6.9'. These overhangs could take the form of a balcony or a front porch, and would block hot summer sun while allowing in warm sun during the cooler parts of the year. Other ways to conserve energy in the house include:

• shelter part of the home with earth, which stays at a constant 58
• utilize second use materials in the construction of the house
• orient the house for full southern exposure to allow for the most effective absorption of the sun's rays
• include dark flooring tiles and brick walls in the interior of the house, these materials serve as thermal storage materials, releasing absorbed heat at night to aid in warming the house
• a roof vent in the uppermost level of the house helps to draw heat upward, creating a constant flow of air throughout the house
• vine-covered trellises and deciduous trees shade the house in the summer
• evergreen trees and plantings on the northwest side of a house block winter winds

 

 

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The natural landscape is the perfect example of recycling. Every bit of "trash" in a forest, savannah, or swamp is kept in the natural cycle, and used for something else. But in most of our home landscapes, we battle the natural systems, and try to create an interpretation of beauty that does not work with the native elements. Following are some ways to work with the natural systems to create a beautiful landscape that is easier to maintain and conserves energy.

• Use grass swales to direct runoff water. Vegetation holds the soil in place and allows the water to filter into the earth slowly. Rather than running the water off site, grass swales can be used to direct water back on site for reuse.
• Utilize wasted space on the roofs for a rooftop garden. A rooftop garden allows nature to grow with a residence rather than separate from it. While making use of wasted space, the soil and plant materials provide a layer of insulation for the interior of a house.
• Utilize the purifying abilities of a natural sewage treatment system. This system runs the liquid portion of a sewage system through a series of plant communities which filter and absorb harmful microbes, discharging pure, clean water. A system such as this not only treats the sewage naturally, but the sewage provides free fertilizer to create a beautiful plant community around a home.
• Plant a native grass/wildflower mix where large areas of lawn would be. This planting mixture creates an ecosystem in which plants and animals interrelate with one another. The native community also results in low maintenance for the home owner because it maintains itself through a system where plants and animals provide for and work with each other.
• Planting native shrubbery also has the same positive benefits as planting native grasses and wildflowers.
• Compost food scraps, leaves, and grass clippings. Maintaining a compost pile, properly designed, can provide all a home landscapes fertilizer needs.

 

 

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One of the main elements of nature which is so often wasted is water. Modern engineering has allowed us to forget all the factors that go into providing water for a household. All we do is turn on the faucet and there it is. Any water that we don't want, we pour down the sink or flush the toilet and its gone, out of sight and out of mind. Huge expanses of asphalt roads and parking lots don't allow water to soak into the ground. Runoff from rain water is run into a drain, only to disappear who knows where. The truth is more frightening than could ever be imagined. Runoff water in urban areas is concentrated as quickly as possible in channels and pipes, which increase its speed and power. The water bypasses all other natural landscape processes, and is stored or emptied, unfiltered, into a lake, river, or ocean. By contrast, much of the rainwater in the natural system soaks into the ground. Part of it is assimilated by plants as part of their growth, and another portion filters through the soil strata into an aquifer for temporary storage. The water remaining on the surface is distributed slowly over the land, filtering through grasses and groundcovers, moving into streams and rivers. Along the way, part of it is assimilated by plants and animals to help feed their growth. Eventually, the water reaches a larger storage area, such as a lake, river, or ocean, but in a very different way than the manmade engineered model.

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