Transform Your Outdoor Space: Smart Landscaping Around HVAC Units
Let’s be honest. Heating and cooling a home often come at a financial and visual cost. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units are not the most attractive appliances and can stick out like a sore thumb.
Landscaping around your HVAC can help boost your lawn’s aesthetic, but can also interfere with the unit’s performance.
The good news is that you don’t have to put up with a big, loud silver box in your yard just to keep your home comfortable.
With the right landscaping around your HVAC unit, you can have it all — a comfortable home and a beautiful yard.
Want to find out how? Keep reading. This is your guide to landscaping around HVAC units, with tips on improving efficiency, protecting the system, and enhancing your home’s curb appeal.
Table of Contents
- Is It a Good Idea To Landscape Around Your HVAC?
- Best Practices for Landscaping Around HVAC Units
- Creative Landscaping Ideas To Hide HVAC Units
- Seasonal Landscaping Tips for HVAC Maintenance
- Contact AAA Heating & Cooling in Portland for All Your HVAC Needs
Is It a Good Idea To Landscape Around Your HVAC?
Yes, not only is it a good idea to landscape around HVAC units, but it can also be an important contributor to the lifespan of your unit. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way.
The wrong landscaping around your HVAC can impair performance or cause damage to your unit and block accessibility for service professionals.
AAA Heating and Cooling is a family-owned business helping families in the Portland area. From installation to maintenance and repairs, we know how important the landscaping around your HVAC unit is. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Request a service today and one of our knowledgeable technicians can tell you if your landscaping could be the culprit of a problem.
The Impact of Landscaping on HVAC Performance
Poor landscaping around your HVAC can cause problems for your unit. But did you know that well-planned landscaping can increase efficiency?
Air conditioners rely on air currents to operate. An air conditioner must be able to pull enough air through the unit. That means there must be ample space around the equipment. Landscaping with the necessary distance that provides protection from the elements and creates a barrier around the unit with one accessible side helps the unit function at its best.
Additionally, landscaping around the air conditioner can help curb appeal and reduce noise, two of the most common complaints about HVAC units. When running at full speed it can create unpleasant noise pollution, especially if it’s located near windows or outdoor living spaces. Fortunately, landscaping or a well-placed fence or wall can act as a sound barrier, blocking unwanted noise.
Balancing Functionality and Visual Appeal
It can be difficult to balance functionality with visual appeal in your yard.
While the big shrubs may be tempting since their sheer size can cover the unit, they can overgrow quickly and limit access to maintenance and repairs.
When you consider which shrubs, bushes, or trees to use to camouflage your HVAC, you must choose the right plants to help you maintain a kept and inviting yard, and keep your unit running smoothly.
Unkempt vines, grass, mulch, or fast-growing plants or trees can interrupt airflow and limit access. That’s why it’s important to be mindful of a few best practices to help you find the equilibrium of efficacy and beauty in your yard.
Best Practices for Landscaping Around HVAC Units
Choosing the Right Plants for the Space
Plants are an easy way to add aesthetics and camouflage your air conditioning. However, it’s important to select plants that create coverage without hindering the airflow around the unit.
Here are a few suggested plants that can work as beautiful landscaping around HVAC units:
- Ground covers: If your air conditioner is in a more challenging small space, ground covers like sweet woodruff or creeping phlox may do the trick. Still, remember to keep them trimmed back so they don’t grow into your unit.
- Perennials: Perennials are a great choice for your HVAC landscaping because they are low-maintenance, won’t obstruct airflow, and come back reliably from year to year. Low-maintenance perennials like aster, coral bells, or blazing stars are great options to add color to your landscaping. Hostas or ferns can also provide long-lasting texture and structure.
- Large potted plants: Large potted plants are an excellent alternative if you want something less permanent. They provide an elegant cover, tucking the condenser out of sight, and can be moved as needed. They also allow more options of plants to choose from or to plant different things each year.
Maintaining Proper Clearance for Airflow
Airflow is critical to the operation of any HVAC unit, A lack of clear space around and above the condenser can restrict airflow and create more serious problems.
To maintain peak performance for your heating and cooling system, keep at least two to three feet around the HVAC clear of landscaping. This ensures proper airflow and allows easy access for maintenance professionals.
Above the ventilation unit, there should be at least five to six feet of clearance from any shade, branches, or covering element.
Not sure if the landscaping around your unit meets proper clearance requirements for airflow? Contact AAA Heating and Cooling to find out.
We have over 1,000 five-star Google reviews from happy customers. AAA Heating and Cooling are the experts you can trust.
Protecting Your HVAC Unit From Debris and Damage
Try to avoid landscaping near your unit with plants or trees that are known to shed debris.
Trees that shed leaves, fruit, pods, or pines can get lodged in the HVAC units and clog up the condenser. A clogged condenser can decrease energy efficiency, damage parts of the HVAC system, and even shorten the unit’s lifespan.
To avoid frequent maintenance or repairs, regularly monitor the area and clear it of any debris, dirt, or grass that can come into contact with your heating and ventilation system.
Creative Landscaping Ideas To Hide HVAC Units
Using Shrubs and Bushes for Natural Coverage
Shrubs, bushes, and plants can provide effective natural coverage to hide your AC unit while adding beauty to your landscape.
Tall grasses, shrubs, or even small trees can be excellent plant choices. Consider feather reed grass or maiden grass for height and movement, or bamboo, which can quickly grow into a tall, natural screen.
Whatever shrubs or bushes you choose, just ensure they are easy to maintain and won’t shed excessive leaves or debris into the unit.
Incorporating Decorative Fencing or Screens
Landscaping doesn’t always have to include plants.
If you prefer the maintenance-free approach to landscaping, there are other great ways to hide your HVAC unit, while keeping it accessible and free from plant overgrowth.
Here are a few common landscaping alternatives for your HVAC:
- Screens: Screens can offer easy access to the condenser unit through a door or an open side, and come in many styles. Just make sure to leave plenty of space for your unit.
- Trellis: A trellis can be another attractive way to cover your HVAC. Traditionally, a trellis is dressed in vines, but you can also use other types of ornamentation. If you use vines on your trellis, just remember to keep them well-tended.
- Lattice box: If screens feel too utilitarian and a trellis seems too ornamental, a lattice box may be the right option. With no plants to maintain, a lattice box can still be visually appealing. But again, make sure there’s a way to access your unit and space requirements are kept to avoid interfering with performance.
Blending HVAC Units Into Outdoor Design With Hardscaping
Another no-maintenance landscaping idea for your HVAC unit is called hardscaping.
With hardscaping, you can create a clean look with accessibility, functionality, and zero interference. You may design a rock garden or interlock brick pathways around your unit. Your air conditioner can be raised on a level cement platform, while everything else surrounding it can be gravel.
If you want to make it even more attractive, you can incorporate mulched plant beds with plants that require little upkeep and won’t interfere with your air conditioner.
Hardscaping can be set up in no time and requires very little maintenance.
With less grass to mow, fewer weeds to pull, and less work to do around your AC unit, you’ve got more time to devote to the rest of your yard.
Seasonal Landscaping Tips for HVAC Maintenance
Consider the landscape around your HVAC year-round with planned maintenance to take advantage of the seasonal changes and ensure your unit is running optimally.
Prepare for summer before the sweltering months hit and consider if your unit would benefit from well-provided shade. Shade can give shelter from direct sunlight and cooler temperatures. Your air conditioner can also function more effectively when shaded. Shade keeps the temperature down, so the unit doesn’t have to work as hard to cool your home, reducing strain on the HVAC unit and allowing it to operate more efficiently.
In addition to foliage, you can try an air conditioner shade cover to reduce sun exposure and protect your unit from extreme temperatures.
Even better, use landscaping to create a microclimate for your whole yard with shade that will keep it cooler than a yard open to direct sunlight. Select plants like tall trees, shrubs, and hedges to help you achieve this microclimate.
A slightly cooler microclimate in your yard can help your air conditioner perform more efficiently and become an oasis for you to enjoy all year round.
Preparing Your HVAC Landscaping for Winter
Creating a windbreak to shelter your unit from severe winter conditions is also a great way to help your system blend in with the landscaping in your yard.
Create your windbreak with evergreen shrubs or bushes like:
- Boxwood
- Holly
- Laurel; or
- Spruce
Evergreens are easily managed hedges that don’t shed their leaves and when properly trimmed, create a natural barrier and camouflage for your HVAC.
But remember, even your windbreak should have at least two to three feet of clearance and allow accessibility from one side. Trim the hedges so the weight of snow doesn’t force branches to interfere with the unit.
Spring Cleaning and Plant Care Around Your Unit
Maintaining landscaping around your AC unit is crucial to ensure longevity and efficiency.
Springtime is a sign for deep cleaning, and that can include your air conditioner. Spring maintenance starts with the unit itself. Wipe the vents clean of any dust and debris that accumulated over the winter.
Follow up by clearing leaves, picking up trash, and trimming back any plants or bushes that may have overgrown.
Repeating this process in the fall is also a great way to prepare for the winter months and set up your unit for efficient heating during the cold.
Contact AAA Heating & Cooling in Portland for All Your HVAC Needs
With over half a century in the business, AAA Heating and Cooling in Portland is the go-to for all your HVAC service, maintenance, and installation needs.
Our sixty-plus years of experience means we’ve seen the best and worst landscaping around HVAC units.
If your heating and cooling unit is in a small, tough-to-landscape area, our professionals can offer personalized advice on the best way to landscape your system.
We work hand-in-hand with some of the best landscapers in the area to turn your yard into an oasis that not only hides your HVAC but utilizes the right landscaping to optimize the performance of your system.
Contact AAA Heating and Cooling today to ensure your HVAC unit is running in tip-top shape and your landscaping helps keep it that way.