Best Direction For House To Face For Sunlight: UK & USA

If you love sunlight and a bright sunny garden, you probably want to know the best direction for your house to face for sunlight if you live in the UK, Europe, the USA and other northern hemisphere countries. If sunlight is important to you

For homes in the Northern Hemisphere, for example in the UK, the best direction for a house to face for sunlight is south, as the sun tracks around the sky after rising in the east to the south side of the garden until it finally sets in the west.*

For homes in the Southern Hemisphere, the best direction for a house to face for sunlight is north, as the sun tracks around the sky after rising in the east to the north side of the garden until it finally sets in the west.**

* The Northern Hemisphere is the part of planet-earth that is north of the equator, which includes North America, Europe and the UK.

** The Southern Hemisphere is the part of planet-earth that is south of the equator, which includes Australia and New Zealand.

What direction should a house face to get the most sun?

• Northern Hemisphere homes: A home with a south facing garden is the best direction for the sun to come into the rooms at the back of the house. So all the rooms with windows on the south-facing wall of the house will get the most sun and natural light. This applies to homes in the UK, the USA and Europe.
• Southern Hemisphere homes: A home with a north facing garden is the best direction for the sun to come into the rooms at the back of the house. So all the rooms with windows on the north-facing wall of the house will get the most sun and natural light. This applies to homes in Australia and New Zealand.

Why is south the best direction for house to face

A south facing garden is the best direction for homes, as the garden will get the most sunlight of all gardens, they are great for summer BBQs and for generally enjoying the warmth and brightness of the sun. After all, estate agents list properties for sale with south-facing homes as a feature.

Best house orientation for natural light

Best house orientation for natural light for homes in the Northern Hemisphere:

For Northern Hemisphere homes (Which includes the UK, north America and Europe): The best house orientation for natural light is for the rooms that you want with the most natural light should be south-facing. South-facing rooms in a house will receive the most sunlight during the day, as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and peaks in the south for Northern Hemisphere homes.

Best house orientation for natural light for homes in the Southern Hemisphere:

For Southern Hemisphere homes (which includes Australia and New Zealand): The best house orientation for natural light is for the rooms that you want with the most natural light should be north-facing. North-facing rooms in a house will receive the most sunlight during the day, as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and peaks in the north for Southern Hemisphere homes.

More reading to help your decision with the best direction for house to face for sunlight

Having read about the best direction for a house to face for sunlight, you might like to read this article Should You Buy A House With A South Facing Garden? Are they worth the extra value too. This includes helpful information about what is meant by south facing and a useful south-facing garden sunlight diagram too.

The article also includes what are the benefits of a south facing garden, along with the disadvantages of a south facing garden too. Plus loads of other helpful information to help you with your decision about the best direction for a house to face for sunlight.

With homes in the Northern Hemisphere, like the UK and North America, a home with a garden that faces south west or even west are good too.

In fact we own a west facing garden and the sunlight we get is great throughout the day. They say west is best, but you may also like to read this article to find if this is the case: Should You Buy A House With A West Facing Garden? (Is West The Best?).

This article includes the benefits of a west facing garden, along with the disadvantages too, together with a sun diagram and lots more helpful information too.

An important read before you leave

Discover how you could save you up to £71,475 when you buy your next house if it would originally cost £350,000. Alternatively, if you propose to buy your next house for £250,000, the saving could be up to £51,852 instead.

To find out more, plus to get hold of my free mortgage savings calculator tool, please take a look at my video course about how to sell your house in under 2 weeks for more money.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article about the best direction for house to face for sunlight

If you’ve enjoyed this article about “best direction for house to face for sunlight” please share it on your favourite social media site.

Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below too. Please also share any of your experiences with properties you’ve bought. Alternatively, if you need more help, please feel free to contact us on our contact us page here. Or join the discussion and ask your question in the property forum.