Curb appeal is important to home owners, whether or not you plan to put your home on the market in the near future. What curb appeal is to your front yard, patio appeal is to your backyard. While an air conditioner borders on being an absolute necessity in southern California, the outdoor component can be an eyesore that compromises your patio appeal. That’s the problem, but there’s a landscaping solution.
Grass
Planting ornamental grass around the perimeter of your outdoor unit is a simple landscaping solution that hides the component and adds a nice look to your yard. Most ornamental grasses only reach 4 feet tall and, unlike some of their landscaping cousins, rarely become overgrown.
Shrubbery
You could also plant shrubs around the component to create a more natural look in your yard. Some shrubs are better than grasses at standing up to harsh winds and heat. However, they also have a tendency to overgrow, so you’ll need to keep them well-trimmed in order to prevent leaves and branches getting caught in the fan.
These camouflage ideas add to your patio appeal, but they also hide your air conditioner parts from would-be thieves looking to steal them.
Additional Tips
Regardless of your reason for seeking a landscaping solution for that giant box in your yard, here are some added tips about landscaping around it:
- Leave about 3 feet all the way around the compressor to keep the unit functioning optimally.
- Because you want your landscaping to be well hydrated, but you don’t want your air conditioner to corrode or rust, consider using drip irrigation (e.g. soaker hose) to water the plants that surround the outdoor component.
- Cover the bedding, ideally with rock that won’t get blown into the compressor.
For additional tips about maintaining your air conditioner, replacing stolen parts or any other HVAC needs, don’t hesitate to call the professionals at Around the Clock Air Conditioning and Heating, Inc. We’ve been serving heating and air conditioning needs in the Los Angeles area since 1967.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about landscaping solutions and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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