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My neighbor swore planting oak trees would lower my AC bill, but after three summers my house feels no different.
He said oaks provide the best shade for a brick house in Texas, but my electric bill actually went up $15 a month because the tree is still too small to block anything, has anyone else wasted years on advice that never panned out?
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gavin_mason312h ago
Man, that's rough... I swear people treat trees like magic solutions without thinking it through. Here's something nobody brings up though... oak trees have really thick canopies but they also drop tons of leaves and acorns. All that debris clogs up your gutters and AC unit fins on the roof. If your condenser is on the side of the house near that tree, you might actually be spending more on cleaning or repairs down the road. Plus those roots spread out wide and can mess with your foundation or sprinkler system overtime. So even when the shade finally kicks in twenty years from now, you'll probably be paying for it in other ways.
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burns.brooke50m ago
@gavin_mason31 you hit on something there that people don't think about enough. The visual of a big shady oak is nice but cleaning out ac units and gutters twice a year is a huge pain, plus those acorn dents in your car are no joke. Honestly appreciate you bringing this up because everyone just assumes trees are all upside.
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