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Which Plants have a Cooling Effect
By wooferhound, Section Remote Living Posted on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 at 04:09:12 AM MST
Can plants cool the air that is being brought into the house

I don't use the Air conditioner unless the outside temperature goes over 90 degrees. I can do this because I have a filtered forced air ventilation system that keeps the air changed preventing Heat Build-up.

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2005/4/6/2056/94039
I want to put some plants around my filtered intake hood that will have some cooling effect on the air before being brought into the house. I live in North Alabama at 35 degrees Latitude. Normal temperatures around here run from about 15 degrees up to about 100 degrees. The area around the intake gets about 5 hours of afternoon Sun and is shaded the rest of the time.
Does anybody have any suggestions for plants that will have a cooling Effect on the air. I have a large Parsley plant in the Veggie Garden that seems really cool when I put my hand into the middle of the foliage. I was thinking about moving it over to the intake area.

W o o f -={(

Which Plants have a Cooling Effect | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 editorial)

Re: Which Plants have a Cooling Effect (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by willib (willibur at comcast dot net) on Mon Jun 4th, 2007 at 10:54:26 PM MST
(User Info) http://www.njwind.com/webcam.html#

Hey woof , funny you should ask. cuz the other day i put a Hosta in the window of my west facing window of the kitchen , in between the screen and the six over six windows
it seems to help with heat coming in the window.
i would like to fill the all the windows with plants, i have three in the living room and two in the kitchen , that all get sunlight from 3:30 PM till dusk

Carpe Ventum (seize the wind)

Re: Which Plants have a Cooling Effect (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by thefinis (thefinis@hotmail.com) on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 at 05:06:54 AM MST
(User Info)

Anything that makes deep shade should really help. Actually almost anything that makes shade even partial should help. One problem you may run into is that the air you pull needs to be from below the leaf canopy not above it. Not sure how the humidity is where you are at but the plants that expire lots of water will have a cooling effect more so when humidity is not high. I use morning glories to help make deep shade on the west side of the house.

This works but looks kind of funky. Shade the area by using a couple of the foil covered foam sheets mounted several ft over the intake. They will give shade and reflect large amounts of the radiant heat. Found how good this works when using a 10x12 canvas shade structure in full sun with little wind. It felt like you were in an oven so I lined the underside with foil foam sheets and it made a big difference. 10 degrees or more. Might look okay built as a small shade structure for hanging baskets with the foil foam hidden by wood and plants.

Finis
Texas born and bred

Re: Which Plants have a Cooling Effect (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by DanG on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 at 09:21:42 AM MST
(User Info)

Find a wooden fence installation outfit and get some wood from one of their pulls and build a trellis or pergola structure then snag some wysteria or grape stock and shade the whole wall. I would even consider Kudzu if you keep it in its own planter, though I believe it may get you in a lot of trouble with the neighbors since it can take over acres at a time in the Deep South...

Which Plants have a Cooling Effect | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 editorial)

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