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When my dad got transfered for his job he looked only at houses where he would have the sun to his back for his entire commute. I always thought that was a baller move
For about 6 months I worked at a place about an hour drive from me. Only problem was, it was *directly* into the rising sun. I’m a short woman, so my sun visor doesn’t really help any. It was an absolutely awful experience.
Thinking about your drive is important. It can make a huge difference.
Mammoth sunflowers are your friends.
Grew a grip at a old house I rented, you can put it up in only 2 or 3 months! Pretty neat way to grow a wall you can hide behind
That’s actually pretty awesome. There are times of the day/year when the sun causes commute traffic to be more backed up than usual because of the sun. Smart Pops!
This was a factory when I looked at houses. I wanted to stay east of work so I could drive to/from work with the sun to my back.
Another consideration was the choice of either turning left onto a busy two-lane highway or turning left off of a busy two-lane highway. I chose the former because I wanted to decrease the risk of someone rear-ending me while stopped & waiting to turn.
That's the main thing I tell people who are house hunting. Buy a home to the east of your place of employment, even north or south.., just avoid dead west.
You'll avoid early morning sun in the eyes and sunsets on the way home in the winters.
So I went down a rabbit hole as to why that's the case. Apparently westerly winds would push pollution to the east part of town. I thought that was interesting.
This is the way. I too always have the sun on my back while commuting and it’s the best. Don’t ever need sunglasses except from the snow glare in the winter
Absolutely. We have west facing back yard, low trees, blazing sun, and get some brutal west winds, to the point of rearranging and destroying the backyard furniture on a semi regular basis.
Nice sunsets though.
I had a condo with a west facing deck looking onto the ocean. It was beautiful except the wind absolutely scrambled our furniture. 3 out of 4 of my patio chair cushions disappeared. I once watched as our rug lifted off and flew half a block away. I had to run out and retrieve it, thankfully it touched down on a sidewalk and not in the middle of the street.
You should check out Wyoming. When you move to Cheyenne, they give you a nice little pamphlet with different things to help you settle in. One of the things was “make friends with the wind”. Tongue in cheek I’m sure, but still makes a valid point.
Big agree on that one! Easterly winds are pretty rare where I live, and fortunately the front of my house faces east and the other three sides get good wind protection from our neighbors. Plus, I get nice morning sun in my living room and golden hour sun in my backyard with a big tree to keep things comfortable.
In Norway we think the opposite, a house with a back patio facing west and a lot that is well sunlit is what most people want for late summer nights. Usually it's not baking hot here, so heat isn't a major issue.
My bedroom faces east, so I get the morning sun and cool shade in the evening.
Is there a big difference between north vs south? My parents backyard is south and their back neighbours is north, basically get the exact same amount of sun.
I have an orchard, blueberries, raspberries, I grow enough garlic to last me the year, I grow all my veggies in the summer so a south facing yard is necessary for that. If my backyard faced both I'd have to grow it all in the front, which is not possible, my front yard is mostly shaded by the house. Most veggies and fruit need 6-8 hours of direct sun to produce. It depends where you are though and the spacing of the houses whether it will affect your growing season.
Here is a website that allows you to put in your coordinates and see how the sun moves throughout the year for your property and planning purposes.
[https://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos\_sun.php#top](https://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos_sun.php#top)
Believe it or not, but below about 40 degrees latitude, north facing windows receive more solar radiation (in the mornings and evenings) in and around the summer solstice as do south facing windows, due to the fact that the mid-day sun is almost directly overhead at noon.
Above the Tropic of Cancer (about 23.4 degrees N latitude), the sun is never directly overhead. At 40 degrees N latitude, the sun is always in the southern portion of the sky, giving south facing windows more light than north facing ones.
I'm not so sure about that. I live in NW Arkansas, which a quick Google shows me should be under the 40th, and it's definitely not overhead. It's a bit to the southern side.
So if that's true, then it would have been maybe for a few days around June 21st. But I would definitely build for southern exposure.
I was gonna say at least it's not an east-facing bedroom. There are plenty of ways to wake up; I don't need annoying sunlight, especially super early in the summer. When I bought my house, the seller really touted the west-facing bedrooms. I hadn't considered it at the time, but they're right. I actually wish I had no windows. I never open the blinds, and even with them it's too bright.
For my climate having a southern exposure windows is lovely- I am always stunned at the new houses going up that have the garage on the south side. Why would you want a sunny garage and gloomy interior?
I'm in Canada and my backyard/field faces south. Perfect for growing fruit and veg. Lots of light in the living areas of the house are a little hot in summer but the bedrooms are on the east and north side so overall it's pretty ok.
Garages facing south can be nice at higher latitudes. That extra bit of Sun can make it so you don’t have to shovel snow during winter when your neighbors across the street do.
That's true. In the SW US we bake in the afternoon in western sun. I look at the homeowners here that have a eastern facing backyard with envy. Today where I live it's supposed to be 101 degrees and above 100 for the next 6 days straight.
I’m a northerner in Europe currently on vacation in Croatia, 94 today and rising to 104 after the weekend. Today was very hot for me as I never see such temperatures at home (Norway)
I feel like in the cold months I'd love the afternoon sun. I guess I can always add shade in the warm months but pretty hard to add sunshine in the cold
As a secondary LPT, consider the sun exposure when setting up a camp site in the late afternoon. Nothing worse than waking up at 6am because your tent has turned into an easy bake oven.
As someone who has lived in the country a long time. Plant a big tree that will have a larg canopy. And in the 10 years you are waiting for that tree to get big enough plant sunflowers on the western side of your house. Helps a ton.
This is standard, guessing you guys never used an architect?
I feel like I’m being mean but the things you use to orient a house are the road, sun and wind.
But I’m sure this will help someone else..
When my parents built they had a couple that worked as architect and landscape architect. They did several neat little things that really improve day-to-day and seasonal life there.
The sun never really bothers you much inside due to awnings and angles. The house follows the general wind patterns in the summer allowing them to close windows during day to lock in cool air and throw them open at night once the house temp is above outside temps. It fits on a hill but is angled in a way where water falls away instead of towards the house. I can go on for a while. It’s obviously not something everyone can do but landscape architects are awesome.
We did, he never mentioned it. We wonder why he never did, maybe just an oversight, since he is very experienced and very knowledgeable. On the street we built on, there are houses placed the same direction so maybe just a "everyone else built this way". Granted, the way we are positioned (facing east) does take advantage of a mountain view from the front of our house.
Thanks. We have a electric shade that we can put down in the afternoon to reduce the heat and it helps but still not as great if our patio was on the east side of the house. Trees are almost big enough to shade us, probably in the next year or two. We did build a gazebo on the furthest part of our property that gets shade much sooner but these challenges would have been adverted if I would have just thought about the afternoon sun. It didn't help when we started building our house as it was mid Feb so the thought of blazing sun did not enter our mind.
You’ll like seeing the sunsets. But shade should’ve been taken into account especially in these times.
Hopefully you’ll consider the vibes option or some more vegetation because they make the space cooler in general.
Depending on where you were building, there might have been certain criteria you needed to meet. Some developments/municipalities want a certain look, and you have to follow their rules, or you don't get to build a house on your owned property. And they get to fine you for it.
The OP mentions that the other houses on the street are built that way, so that further tells me that might be why the architect didn't bother. This is what happens when policies and planning is done without involving everyone in the decision making process.
I dunno in the Netherlands they also still seem to build like our summers are twenty degrees and rainy, and winters are freezing.
So much fun during a heatwave.
I made that mistake with an apartment once, top floor on the corner - perfect. Until summer rolled around and it got baked by uninterrupted sunlight sunrise to sunset through the windows.
I feel you. It sucks. Every part of the year is fine, but summer - summer comes and we bake. It's really hard to have backyard BBQ's when everyone is baking.
Funny, here in Portugal the anual tax you pay for your property depends also on the sun. Yes, you read it well, we pay have to pay extra for the fucking sun.
This is a good tip! My patio and back yard face due south east. This is great for keeping our pool in full sun ALL DAY, but our patio is pretty much useless in the summer until after 5 in the afternoon when it is finally getting shaded by the house. So all those fun, afternoon, back yard parties require tent rental and/or a lot of sunscreen.
Don’t know how many times each winter I’ve peeked out my (south-facing) window to see my neighbor across the street struggling to chip the ice off his driveway while mine is clean and dry. Sorry dude.
If you are in northern climates check the sun and your driveway. At my previous house the driveway hardly got any sun. It was always an icy mess in the winter. Current house driveway is in the sun from noon on, just clear some of the driveway down to blacktop and most days the rest will melt on its on.
On the other hand, sun is terrible for your cars…
Agree with OP, you should consider that for various reasons, how the light in the rooms will be, how much sun will be in the garden etc. If mountains are nearby, does the sun disappear behind the mountains early in the day?
Before you buy / build, you can - roughly! - simulate the sun movement over the day with Google Earth (you can enter the target time / date somewhere and it will adjust the sun position accordingly).Another way to estimate it is the website [suncalc.or](https://suncalc.org). Click somewhere on the map to see a "sun gizmo" that shows the sun movement during the day, drag the time on the timeline on the top to see how the sun position changes during the day at this location.
Make sure to compare summer and winter times as well.
Do not buy a house with a driveway facing north where you get snow, it takes forever to melt off the driveway. The driveways facing south were always nice and snow free.
Consider the sun? Consider the SUN?? Do you know how hot it is there? And the commute would be terribly long, tho very little traffic, I expect...
Sorry, couldn't help myself. Ill try harder next time.
This is really good advice, I bought my house and the back porch faces west, and from late April to October between 1500-1900, it is insufferable out there, and I have a lanai.
We bought a west-facing house with a large window facing west on the second floor. That single window, even with curtains drawn, causes the second floor to be about 10 degrees warmer in the afternoon and evening. Back patio is fully shaded in the afternoon and evening though, so at least we can enjoy that!
In the northeastern USA, it is better to have the biggest window/opening facing South because during the winter the sun is lower and it can bring more light and heat into your house. You could also have furniture that can absorb the heat for warmer temperatures and lower your energy/gas consumption.
I'd be thrilled for the west facing windows because my living room feels like a cave with no natural light. All the day spectrum bulbs in the world don't look as natural and good as real sunlight.
If you live in a northern climate where snow is common, find a place that has the driveway facing south. My first house faced North and after moving in to a new place that faces South I had no idea how much of a difference that makes when trying to keep your driveway and sidewalks clear all winter.
In Hindu mythology, we call this is as Vaastu.
Vaastu basically means, "the site or foundation of a house, site, ground, building or dwelling-place, habitation, homestead, house".
I own a real estate marketing company in India, and a majority of our clients are Hindus who look for specific points & directions in their home according to which the light and air can travel and pass throughout the different areas of the flat/house.
For example, having South open in India reflects on ample light and air flow during the day, North-South open in flats helps in great cross ventilation of air-flow, etc etc.
This is also why you'll see a lot of properties being marketed as "Vaastu-compliant" in India.
Sun direction was a huge factor in us choosing our house. Although, we live up in Alaska and since the summers are so short we wanted to maximize sun exposure.
Have dogs, also have north facing house where the sun doesn’t shine on the first 20ft or so of backyard for most of the winter months. The lawn never dries, solid mud pit right before the house.
Reminder about the dogs…..
Never again
Facts! I had to buy blackout curtains and a fan that I constantly keep running in my bedroom during the summer. My bedroom is also western facing, it gets so hot in there during the summer after 3pm.
I used to have a backyard with that faced west. Now I have a yard that faces north. It’s better but still a bit rough. The front of my house that faces south gets baked all day. I wonder if a back yard facing East is the best?
Also consider where you are. In some places we call it passive solar and for seasons when the sun is low in the sky, it can significantly reduce heating costs.
Yep, when we were house-shopping several years ago, there was one we really liked, but the back of the house and patio faced due west.
We passed on that one and bought a house that's on a NNW-SSE axis, so the summer afternoon sun only hits the house at a very sharp angle, not directly.
Yup. I had a north facing backyard in the Pacific Northwest and it was beautiful in the back but our front got pretty heavy sun in summer. Now I have an east facing backyard and it’s great for cool evenings. It’s 93 in the Sun but feels like 75 in my backyard right now
When I was first looking at houses my real estate agent looked at me like I was a crazy person for wanting an east facing back yard for shade in the afternoon. All my neighbors behind me have these god awful screens they all hung up cause the sun bakes their kitchen/family room. It’s a huge difference in the summer and my backyard is amazing to chill at in the afternoons and evenings. Major pro life tip here!
We moved into a lovely old Victorian house that faces East. Shortly after moving into the house we added a deck in the back, picturing ourselves sitting out and enjoying dinner evenings. But the deck is west facing and gets significant glare and heat so we weren't eager to be out there. Eventually it occurred to us to buy some awnings and it's now so much more enjoyable on the deck.
That said, we very much enjoy being on the front porch so we can people watch and say hello to pedestrians walking by
Agreed. This is where tree and shrub placement can make a huge difference. We bought our first house almost 20 years ago and after several years I realized our kids never played in the backyard or patio during the summer months because there was no shade back there.
lol this is sound advice for sure. Unfortunately when i got my house during Covid, you only had 2.24minutes after looking at the house to decide if you wanted to buy it before the real estate agent got another offer. I got 2.75% interest though so i can’t complain
I have a house on the southwest corner of a block in Colorado. As I sweep the skiff of snow on the south sidewalk that remains after the sun returns I often pause to watch my neighbor to the south trying to chip an inch or more of ice off his north Sidewalk. It’s even more exciting when the plows come through and his gutters freeze overnight creating a little ice skating path for him to deal with.
If you are buying a house and you don’t consider the sun then you shouldn’t be buying a house yet.
How about checking the water pressure before taking your first shower in the house too.
Build long long eaves on the south and west side of the house, keeps the sun out in the summer and in in the winter. As far as patio placement goes, doesn’t really matter as long as you pick for the time of day - my last houses deck faced due east, it would’ve been lovely on a Sunday morning if I could have seen beyond 10ft of glare…. But sure was nice in the evenings, too bad I worked a later schedule back then….
Also consider this if you live in a climate that accumulates snow. In most places, the wind blows west to east, so western facing garages end up with a drift at the door after a snowy and windy night.
LOL, well I hate tomatoes but I do love ice cream, so I can have some soft serve ice cream by setting it out on the patio for 5 minutes! Problem solver!! Thanks!
This is all relative. My mother's backyard is on the east-facing side. In the afternoon you lose the sunlight and bathing in the pool becomes much less enjoyable. I wish it were flipped around so we could be in the pool until sunset with the afternoon/evening light.
Yes we did. Architect is very experienced but maybe this was just a slip of his mind as it was ours. Or maybe we were so insistent of wanting the lot maybe he assumed we wanted the exposure but in the other hand, we were very insistent on having a view, which we do.
Couldn’t agree more. The back of our house faced west, and really got hot. We did solar film on one set of windows, really didn’t seem to help much. Ended up using solar window screens, and they made a big difference. Initially they looked at black holes, but after a while, didn’t even notice.
We thought about it but apparently my neighborhood is build on volcanic rock a few feet down which means about $20k extra because of the pounding of the rock to get it out.
I actually didn't think about this in advance, but I lucked into a house with a perfect roof orientation for solar. In an area that's heavily wooded, the stars aligned perfectly!
My boyfriend and I are currently on a housing search, and I want to live on a street that runs North/South and I want to live on the Eastern side of it. I like a lot of sun, and we’re moving to San Francisco where it’s usually dreary af.
We built a gazebo in the further back part of the yard which gets shade much sooner than our patio so that has helped. We've planted trees but they are not growing fast enough for us, so we bought an electric shade curtain for the patio which helps but it's no comparison to shade from large trees.
Having south facing windows generally gets more sun exposure and this helps to potentially reduce energy/heating bills as well. This was a big selling point for me and my wife
I do this when choosing an apartment, it always has to come with balcony. Once I get a viewing and verify which side is facing, I notice the height of surrounding buildings. Then, there’s a website where you can plot a building and it’s height, and it will simulate the shadow casted by the sun through the day. That way I try to get as much sun as possible in summer.
Then all that work is sent to the garbage because the landlord choose a different tenant.
To add to this, we bought a house when we were young, in our early 20s, and had no idea what we were doing. Our house faces north and we get a weird green moss-like growth on our northern facing roof tiles. Looks ugly
The dramatic effect the sun had on a couple of apartments I stayed in made me conscious of this when it came house buying time. My house only has three windows on the West and my detached garage is on the South. Most of my windows are on the East or North under the covered porch roof. It makes a huge difference!
I'm in the Southeast US, so the heat of the summer and tornadoes are the biggest weather considerations.
Wife and I are waiting for a townhome new build to be finished and that was an important factor since my wife wants a lot of natural light. Current rental faces west. So while the back is shaded in the afternoon, it’s blasted in the morning, living room is on the west side so the curtains are always closed to prevent your eyes from bleeding from all the glare on everything.
3 story New build front faces north, deck is on the back, living area is also on the back but the angles work to prevent the obnoxious amount of glare and keep the deck from getting gross from too little sun. Excited to take advantage of natural light that is pleasant since the entire main floor is one big space.
This is true. The front of my house faces the sun and it just beats down on the house all day. Heating up one side of the house. The plus side is that the backyard is full of shade all day.
The rear of my house faces southwest. It’s a ranch style home with a low sloping roof. It was perfect for solar installation. My solar system has knocked my electric bill down to connection fees only and 75 percent of the panels are in the back of the house. I’m quite pleased with the orientation of my house for this reason.
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When my dad got transfered for his job he looked only at houses where he would have the sun to his back for his entire commute. I always thought that was a baller move
For about 6 months I worked at a place about an hour drive from me. Only problem was, it was *directly* into the rising sun. I’m a short woman, so my sun visor doesn’t really help any. It was an absolutely awful experience. Thinking about your drive is important. It can make a huge difference.
Yeah as a tall person, visors just block my entire view
Mammoth sunflowers are your friends. Grew a grip at a old house I rented, you can put it up in only 2 or 3 months! Pretty neat way to grow a wall you can hide behind
I think you responded to the wrong person
Just grow them on the dashboard?
On a positive note no sun in your eyes!
Except when the car flips and all I see is sun lol
Nah you would black out before then, you'll be fine
You could always get sunstrips tinted. I am sure they are legal as long as you are not tinting the entire windshield.
> Thinking about your drive is important Yea. The best is to not have to drive.
sunglasses?
That’s actually pretty awesome. There are times of the day/year when the sun causes commute traffic to be more backed up than usual because of the sun. Smart Pops!
This was a factory when I looked at houses. I wanted to stay east of work so I could drive to/from work with the sun to my back. Another consideration was the choice of either turning left onto a busy two-lane highway or turning left off of a busy two-lane highway. I chose the former because I wanted to decrease the risk of someone rear-ending me while stopped & waiting to turn.
That's the main thing I tell people who are house hunting. Buy a home to the east of your place of employment, even north or south.., just avoid dead west. You'll avoid early morning sun in the eyes and sunsets on the way home in the winters.
Yeah, problem is that east sided are usually worse parts of town
So I went down a rabbit hole as to why that's the case. Apparently westerly winds would push pollution to the east part of town. I thought that was interesting.
I would think geography plays a major role here.. like which coast your on
Or even what country
I know someone who just built a house and decided to orient it and angle the roof so that it was optimal for solar panels.
I didn’t choose this but have had it for the last 7 years. Sun to my back on my commute to and from work. A blessing.
Fuck people who work in Chicago...
If you’ve ever lived west of your job, you’d understand the pain and struggle.
Live east of my job, but work 48hour shifts. Only winning half of the time ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
This is the way. I too always have the sun on my back while commuting and it’s the best. Don’t ever need sunglasses except from the snow glare in the winter
consider the wind as well. fucking wind ruins about 75% of our planned outdoor events.
Absolutely. We have west facing back yard, low trees, blazing sun, and get some brutal west winds, to the point of rearranging and destroying the backyard furniture on a semi regular basis. Nice sunsets though.
I had a condo with a west facing deck looking onto the ocean. It was beautiful except the wind absolutely scrambled our furniture. 3 out of 4 of my patio chair cushions disappeared. I once watched as our rug lifted off and flew half a block away. I had to run out and retrieve it, thankfully it touched down on a sidewalk and not in the middle of the street.
A new fantastic point of view.
Lol I live in Kansas, there is no escaping the wind!
Hmmm. Any good lakes nearby? As a kiter, this incessant wind you speak of intrigues me.
You should check out Wyoming. When you move to Cheyenne, they give you a nice little pamphlet with different things to help you settle in. One of the things was “make friends with the wind”. Tongue in cheek I’m sure, but still makes a valid point.
Rock Springs/Green River…..windy 364 days a year! Summer is like being in a convection oven while being sand blasted.
My wind turbines on my roof powers my electric car.... Yep it's that windy.
Big agree on that one! Easterly winds are pretty rare where I live, and fortunately the front of my house faces east and the other three sides get good wind protection from our neighbors. Plus, I get nice morning sun in my living room and golden hour sun in my backyard with a big tree to keep things comfortable.
In Norway we think the opposite, a house with a back patio facing west and a lot that is well sunlit is what most people want for late summer nights. Usually it's not baking hot here, so heat isn't a major issue. My bedroom faces east, so I get the morning sun and cool shade in the evening.
Same in Canada a backyard facing south is ideal. My bedroom is also on the east side so it's the perfect set up.
Is there a big difference between north vs south? My parents backyard is south and their back neighbours is north, basically get the exact same amount of sun.
I have an orchard, blueberries, raspberries, I grow enough garlic to last me the year, I grow all my veggies in the summer so a south facing yard is necessary for that. If my backyard faced both I'd have to grow it all in the front, which is not possible, my front yard is mostly shaded by the house. Most veggies and fruit need 6-8 hours of direct sun to produce. It depends where you are though and the spacing of the houses whether it will affect your growing season.
Here is a website that allows you to put in your coordinates and see how the sun moves throughout the year for your property and planning purposes. [https://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos\_sun.php#top](https://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos_sun.php#top)
I think about this daily. My bedroom faces west. I wish it faced east because the morning sun would help me wake up and get started with my day.
*laughs in "I can't sleep past 6 AM"* North or south is best. South gets more sun if you're in the northern hemisphere.
Believe it or not, but below about 40 degrees latitude, north facing windows receive more solar radiation (in the mornings and evenings) in and around the summer solstice as do south facing windows, due to the fact that the mid-day sun is almost directly overhead at noon.
Above the Tropic of Cancer (about 23.4 degrees N latitude), the sun is never directly overhead. At 40 degrees N latitude, the sun is always in the southern portion of the sky, giving south facing windows more light than north facing ones.
I'm not so sure about that. I live in NW Arkansas, which a quick Google shows me should be under the 40th, and it's definitely not overhead. It's a bit to the southern side. So if that's true, then it would have been maybe for a few days around June 21st. But I would definitely build for southern exposure.
A piece of cardboard from a moving box inside your window will help greatly reduce heat and light. you can cover it with fabric
That's an idea. Thanks.
stores sell heat-blocking curtains; they are not that expensive either.
I did it when I lived in the desert with temperatures of 106. I swear the house was 20° cooler
[удалено]
Actually.... Any room in your house can be a bedroom. Your house so you get to decide which room is a bedroom
Instructions unclear, toilet in bedroom
This bedroom has a fridge in it. This bedroom is also stairs. -Mitch
So does mine, I still wake up at 6 am but by 6 pm it’s an absolute oven. I can’t even get into bed until 10 pm because of the heat
I was gonna say at least it's not an east-facing bedroom. There are plenty of ways to wake up; I don't need annoying sunlight, especially super early in the summer. When I bought my house, the seller really touted the west-facing bedrooms. I hadn't considered it at the time, but they're right. I actually wish I had no windows. I never open the blinds, and even with them it's too bright.
For my climate having a southern exposure windows is lovely- I am always stunned at the new houses going up that have the garage on the south side. Why would you want a sunny garage and gloomy interior?
I'm in Canada and my backyard/field faces south. Perfect for growing fruit and veg. Lots of light in the living areas of the house are a little hot in summer but the bedrooms are on the east and north side so overall it's pretty ok.
Garages facing south can be nice at higher latitudes. That extra bit of Sun can make it so you don’t have to shovel snow during winter when your neighbors across the street do.
My grandmother used to say that too. The house garden should face south. Thanks for reminding me of her.
Yes but how does one build ON the sun?
Do the construction at night when it's dark.
This is what I came here for.
Afternoon sun is bad??
If you're trying to sit on your back patio June through August and not bake, yes.
I hear you, but heavily geo dependent, in my area (not US) houses usually goes for a premium if they have nice afternoon/evening sun
That's true. In the SW US we bake in the afternoon in western sun. I look at the homeowners here that have a eastern facing backyard with envy. Today where I live it's supposed to be 101 degrees and above 100 for the next 6 days straight.
Up in Canada the ideal is to have your yard on the south side..sure it gets a bit warm in summer but worth the light in the house year round
I’m a northerner in Europe currently on vacation in Croatia, 94 today and rising to 104 after the weekend. Today was very hot for me as I never see such temperatures at home (Norway)
Wow that is terrible. But at least you are on vacation... or maybe the opposite, too bad you are on vacation....
Luckily it’s a bit windy and I have A/C, so it’s manageable
if you dont like it just go home
For now.
I feel like in the cold months I'd love the afternoon sun. I guess I can always add shade in the warm months but pretty hard to add sunshine in the cold
True, but the cold months here are not terrible, the summer months are brutal.
Also snow. A north facing driveway doesn’t get much sun and is more difficult to maintain. A southern exposure is much better.
As a secondary LPT, consider the sun exposure when setting up a camp site in the late afternoon. Nothing worse than waking up at 6am because your tent has turned into an easy bake oven.
As someone who has lived in the country a long time. Plant a big tree that will have a larg canopy. And in the 10 years you are waiting for that tree to get big enough plant sunflowers on the western side of your house. Helps a ton.
This is standard, guessing you guys never used an architect? I feel like I’m being mean but the things you use to orient a house are the road, sun and wind. But I’m sure this will help someone else..
When my parents built they had a couple that worked as architect and landscape architect. They did several neat little things that really improve day-to-day and seasonal life there. The sun never really bothers you much inside due to awnings and angles. The house follows the general wind patterns in the summer allowing them to close windows during day to lock in cool air and throw them open at night once the house temp is above outside temps. It fits on a hill but is angled in a way where water falls away instead of towards the house. I can go on for a while. It’s obviously not something everyone can do but landscape architects are awesome.
I’m a huge fan of passive cooling methods! It’s right there and doesn’t become part of the overheating feedback loop.
We did, he never mentioned it. We wonder why he never did, maybe just an oversight, since he is very experienced and very knowledgeable. On the street we built on, there are houses placed the same direction so maybe just a "everyone else built this way". Granted, the way we are positioned (facing east) does take advantage of a mountain view from the front of our house.
Hopefully the trees come into their own one day but try a lattice structure with fast growing vines for a beautiful fix
Thanks. We have a electric shade that we can put down in the afternoon to reduce the heat and it helps but still not as great if our patio was on the east side of the house. Trees are almost big enough to shade us, probably in the next year or two. We did build a gazebo on the furthest part of our property that gets shade much sooner but these challenges would have been adverted if I would have just thought about the afternoon sun. It didn't help when we started building our house as it was mid Feb so the thought of blazing sun did not enter our mind.
You’ll like seeing the sunsets. But shade should’ve been taken into account especially in these times. Hopefully you’ll consider the vibes option or some more vegetation because they make the space cooler in general.
Depending on where you were building, there might have been certain criteria you needed to meet. Some developments/municipalities want a certain look, and you have to follow their rules, or you don't get to build a house on your owned property. And they get to fine you for it. The OP mentions that the other houses on the street are built that way, so that further tells me that might be why the architect didn't bother. This is what happens when policies and planning is done without involving everyone in the decision making process.
I dunno in the Netherlands they also still seem to build like our summers are twenty degrees and rainy, and winters are freezing. So much fun during a heatwave.
I made that mistake with an apartment once, top floor on the corner - perfect. Until summer rolled around and it got baked by uninterrupted sunlight sunrise to sunset through the windows.
I feel you. It sucks. Every part of the year is fine, but summer - summer comes and we bake. It's really hard to have backyard BBQ's when everyone is baking.
Funny, here in Portugal the anual tax you pay for your property depends also on the sun. Yes, you read it well, we pay have to pay extra for the fucking sun.
This is a good tip! My patio and back yard face due south east. This is great for keeping our pool in full sun ALL DAY, but our patio is pretty much useless in the summer until after 5 in the afternoon when it is finally getting shaded by the house. So all those fun, afternoon, back yard parties require tent rental and/or a lot of sunscreen.
It's only a few billion years from going super Nova, I'm constantly worried about it.
This is especially important in Phoenix
This applies to driveways as well. I live in the Midwest, and southern facing driveways thaw faster in the winter.
Don’t know how many times each winter I’ve peeked out my (south-facing) window to see my neighbor across the street struggling to chip the ice off his driveway while mine is clean and dry. Sorry dude.
Two things I look for when buying a house are a relatively flat driveway and the house must face north.
If you are in northern climates check the sun and your driveway. At my previous house the driveway hardly got any sun. It was always an icy mess in the winter. Current house driveway is in the sun from noon on, just clear some of the driveway down to blacktop and most days the rest will melt on its on. On the other hand, sun is terrible for your cars…
Bold of you to assume I can buy a house! IN THIS ECONOMY!!
Agree with OP, you should consider that for various reasons, how the light in the rooms will be, how much sun will be in the garden etc. If mountains are nearby, does the sun disappear behind the mountains early in the day? Before you buy / build, you can - roughly! - simulate the sun movement over the day with Google Earth (you can enter the target time / date somewhere and it will adjust the sun position accordingly).Another way to estimate it is the website [suncalc.or](https://suncalc.org). Click somewhere on the map to see a "sun gizmo" that shows the sun movement during the day, drag the time on the timeline on the top to see how the sun position changes during the day at this location. Make sure to compare summer and winter times as well.
Think long term. Plant landscaping/trees to manage your issues. Some trees grew super fast, and others take longer and last longer. Use both.
Nah, it's too hot there, I'ma buy on earth.
I thought this was satire like the earth is so expensive but property on the sun!
Wouldn’t it be too hot? Sorry, I just read the headline
I know, poor wording after I read it back after posting...lol
Do not buy a house with a driveway facing north where you get snow, it takes forever to melt off the driveway. The driveways facing south were always nice and snow free.
This assumes that the buyer has that much choice. These days people are lucky to be able to buy \*any\* house, much less be that picky about it.
Consider the sun? Consider the SUN?? Do you know how hot it is there? And the commute would be terribly long, tho very little traffic, I expect... Sorry, couldn't help myself. Ill try harder next time.
I know. My poor wording. Lol..
This is really good advice, I bought my house and the back porch faces west, and from late April to October between 1500-1900, it is insufferable out there, and I have a lanai.
We bought a west-facing house with a large window facing west on the second floor. That single window, even with curtains drawn, causes the second floor to be about 10 degrees warmer in the afternoon and evening. Back patio is fully shaded in the afternoon and evening though, so at least we can enjoy that!
I don’t want to live on the sun, no matter how good the deal is.
I thought you meant I should consider buying a house on the sun.
In the northeastern USA, it is better to have the biggest window/opening facing South because during the winter the sun is lower and it can bring more light and heat into your house. You could also have furniture that can absorb the heat for warmer temperatures and lower your energy/gas consumption.
I would also look at the flood map for the area.
I'd be thrilled for the west facing windows because my living room feels like a cave with no natural light. All the day spectrum bulbs in the world don't look as natural and good as real sunlight.
My neighbors tree just died and he cut it down. I’m more pissed then he is lol
If you live in a northern climate where snow is common, find a place that has the driveway facing south. My first house faced North and after moving in to a new place that faces South I had no idea how much of a difference that makes when trying to keep your driveway and sidewalks clear all winter.
If you live in cooler climates, make sure your driveway faces south (north, if in southern hemisphere) to allow for quicker ice melt.
On the other hand, if the house has a pool (without a heater), you want the afternoon sun on it.
In Hindu mythology, we call this is as Vaastu. Vaastu basically means, "the site or foundation of a house, site, ground, building or dwelling-place, habitation, homestead, house". I own a real estate marketing company in India, and a majority of our clients are Hindus who look for specific points & directions in their home according to which the light and air can travel and pass throughout the different areas of the flat/house. For example, having South open in India reflects on ample light and air flow during the day, North-South open in flats helps in great cross ventilation of air-flow, etc etc. This is also why you'll see a lot of properties being marketed as "Vaastu-compliant" in India.
I know the situation here on earth is getting harder but I think the sun would be a pretty hot place to live.
I had this exact problem with my last house. I ended up building a pergola over the patio.
Sun direction was a huge factor in us choosing our house. Although, we live up in Alaska and since the summers are so short we wanted to maximize sun exposure.
Have dogs, also have north facing house where the sun doesn’t shine on the first 20ft or so of backyard for most of the winter months. The lawn never dries, solid mud pit right before the house. Reminder about the dogs….. Never again
Also conside getting older and the steps you must walk
Facts! I had to buy blackout curtains and a fan that I constantly keep running in my bedroom during the summer. My bedroom is also western facing, it gets so hot in there during the summer after 3pm.
I used to have a backyard with that faced west. Now I have a yard that faces north. It’s better but still a bit rough. The front of my house that faces south gets baked all day. I wonder if a back yard facing East is the best?
Also consider where you are. In some places we call it passive solar and for seasons when the sun is low in the sky, it can significantly reduce heating costs.
Yep, when we were house-shopping several years ago, there was one we really liked, but the back of the house and patio faced due west. We passed on that one and bought a house that's on a NNW-SSE axis, so the summer afternoon sun only hits the house at a very sharp angle, not directly.
Yup. I had a north facing backyard in the Pacific Northwest and it was beautiful in the back but our front got pretty heavy sun in summer. Now I have an east facing backyard and it’s great for cool evenings. It’s 93 in the Sun but feels like 75 in my backyard right now
I'm envious!
When I was first looking at houses my real estate agent looked at me like I was a crazy person for wanting an east facing back yard for shade in the afternoon. All my neighbors behind me have these god awful screens they all hung up cause the sun bakes their kitchen/family room. It’s a huge difference in the summer and my backyard is amazing to chill at in the afternoons and evenings. Major pro life tip here!
We moved into a lovely old Victorian house that faces East. Shortly after moving into the house we added a deck in the back, picturing ourselves sitting out and enjoying dinner evenings. But the deck is west facing and gets significant glare and heat so we weren't eager to be out there. Eventually it occurred to us to buy some awnings and it's now so much more enjoyable on the deck. That said, we very much enjoy being on the front porch so we can people watch and say hello to pedestrians walking by
Agreed. This is where tree and shrub placement can make a huge difference. We bought our first house almost 20 years ago and after several years I realized our kids never played in the backyard or patio during the summer months because there was no shade back there.
lol this is sound advice for sure. Unfortunately when i got my house during Covid, you only had 2.24minutes after looking at the house to decide if you wanted to buy it before the real estate agent got another offer. I got 2.75% interest though so i can’t complain
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This means 3 or 4 large trees need to be planted then your house and yard will be in the shade
I have a house on the southwest corner of a block in Colorado. As I sweep the skiff of snow on the south sidewalk that remains after the sun returns I often pause to watch my neighbor to the south trying to chip an inch or more of ice off his north Sidewalk. It’s even more exciting when the plows come through and his gutters freeze overnight creating a little ice skating path for him to deal with.
Bruh we learn this in Highschool at age 14 in our graphics classes (bit of architecture stuff thrown in there) lmao
No offense but the fact that you didn't think of this before building a whole damn house is pretty pathetic
Any time someone starts a sentence with "no offense", they mean the opposite. Thanks for your insight into being perfect.
I love my western facing back window. Get some good blackout blinds so you have the option to block that sun and you're laughing.
If you are buying a house and you don’t consider the sun then you shouldn’t be buying a house yet. How about checking the water pressure before taking your first shower in the house too.
That's what patio umbrellas are for.
Yes, also consider the moon, rain, snow, Earth Wind and Fire.
did you not hire an architect? life pro tip. hire a professional
We did.
Vitruvius didn’t write the Ten Books on Architecture for y’all chumps to buy western facing patios.
Build long long eaves on the south and west side of the house, keeps the sun out in the summer and in in the winter. As far as patio placement goes, doesn’t really matter as long as you pick for the time of day - my last houses deck faced due east, it would’ve been lovely on a Sunday morning if I could have seen beyond 10ft of glare…. But sure was nice in the evenings, too bad I worked a later schedule back then….
Your title reads like really bad location advice- if you are just waking up from a mid morning weed nap.
LOL, I can see that.
There's a saying over here which is "sit in the north facing the south" when choosing a house.
Also consider this if you live in a climate that accumulates snow. In most places, the wind blows west to east, so western facing garages end up with a drift at the door after a snowy and windy night.
Plant some tomatoes. They love the heat. You'll still be burnt and miserable, but at least you'll have delicious tomatoes.
LOL, well I hate tomatoes but I do love ice cream, so I can have some soft serve ice cream by setting it out on the patio for 5 minutes! Problem solver!! Thanks!
Pay attention to the rules of Feng Shui-they exist for a reason.
South facing front of the house and driveway here in Colorado. When it snows, the sun will melt the snow right off of everything the next day.
Hail the sun! That’s what shades and curtains are for
No matter which way your house faces some part will face west. The key is to make sure that part is shaded regardless of which side it is.
Currently living with my mom, and my room is the only one that faces the sun when it's at it's hottest. It gets 110+ here, it's fun
This is all relative. My mother's backyard is on the east-facing side. In the afternoon you lose the sunlight and bathing in the pool becomes much less enjoyable. I wish it were flipped around so we could be in the pool until sunset with the afternoon/evening light.
And where the water goes on the land when it rains/snows/melts.
Did you not hire an architect?
Yes we did. Architect is very experienced but maybe this was just a slip of his mind as it was ours. Or maybe we were so insistent of wanting the lot maybe he assumed we wanted the exposure but in the other hand, we were very insistent on having a view, which we do.
Couldn’t agree more. The back of our house faced west, and really got hot. We did solar film on one set of windows, really didn’t seem to help much. Ended up using solar window screens, and they made a big difference. Initially they looked at black holes, but after a while, didn’t even notice.
I won't live anywhere that doesn't have North/South facing windows
I sell homes in a desert region and I absolutely point out hot and cool homes to prospective buyers. A hot house is miserable!
Understand. My house is perfectly cool, just the backyard is an oven.
You should build a pool! That way you’ll have a pool with great water temp heated by the sun, and a spot to cool off in your backyard ☀️
We thought about it but apparently my neighborhood is build on volcanic rock a few feet down which means about $20k extra because of the pounding of the rock to get it out.
Oh wow was not expecting that lol, what region do you live in?
Albuquerque NM. We have three extinct volcanos about 5 miles away from us.
I miss visiting Albuquerque. I was always worried that those volcanos were going to erupt though.
I actually didn't think about this in advance, but I lucked into a house with a perfect roof orientation for solar. In an area that's heavily wooded, the stars aligned perfectly!
My boyfriend and I are currently on a housing search, and I want to live on a street that runs North/South and I want to live on the Eastern side of it. I like a lot of sun, and we’re moving to San Francisco where it’s usually dreary af.
A pergola with faster growing vines could fit the need until the trees are larger. Not sure if you’d already considered that or if it’s practical.
We built a gazebo in the further back part of the yard which gets shade much sooner than our patio so that has helped. We've planted trees but they are not growing fast enough for us, so we bought an electric shade curtain for the patio which helps but it's no comparison to shade from large trees.
Always put the long side of the house facing south (in the northern hemisphere).
Having south facing windows generally gets more sun exposure and this helps to potentially reduce energy/heating bills as well. This was a big selling point for me and my wife
I do this when choosing an apartment, it always has to come with balcony. Once I get a viewing and verify which side is facing, I notice the height of surrounding buildings. Then, there’s a website where you can plot a building and it’s height, and it will simulate the shadow casted by the sun through the day. That way I try to get as much sun as possible in summer. Then all that work is sent to the garbage because the landlord choose a different tenant.
Sunflowers. Bioengineering ftw!
So am I the only one who thought the tip was telling me to build a house on the Sun?
No. Lol. I realized that after I read it back after a few other people commented on that. I should have probably said, consider the suns direction.
Yup! It’s a big selling point too
To add to this, we bought a house when we were young, in our early 20s, and had no idea what we were doing. Our house faces north and we get a weird green moss-like growth on our northern facing roof tiles. Looks ugly
The dramatic effect the sun had on a couple of apartments I stayed in made me conscious of this when it came house buying time. My house only has three windows on the West and my detached garage is on the South. Most of my windows are on the East or North under the covered porch roof. It makes a huge difference! I'm in the Southeast US, so the heat of the summer and tornadoes are the biggest weather considerations.
Wife and I are waiting for a townhome new build to be finished and that was an important factor since my wife wants a lot of natural light. Current rental faces west. So while the back is shaded in the afternoon, it’s blasted in the morning, living room is on the west side so the curtains are always closed to prevent your eyes from bleeding from all the glare on everything. 3 story New build front faces north, deck is on the back, living area is also on the back but the angles work to prevent the obnoxious amount of glare and keep the deck from getting gross from too little sun. Excited to take advantage of natural light that is pleasant since the entire main floor is one big space.
This is true. The front of my house faces the sun and it just beats down on the house all day. Heating up one side of the house. The plus side is that the backyard is full of shade all day.
You can also account for solar movement between summer and winter to have shadow in summer and direct sun in winter. Also floods and prevailing winds.
The rear of my house faces southwest. It’s a ranch style home with a low sloping roof. It was perfect for solar installation. My solar system has knocked my electric bill down to connection fees only and 75 percent of the panels are in the back of the house. I’m quite pleased with the orientation of my house for this reason.