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Paved areas, like patios, to the east and south store and reflect the sun's warmth back toward parts of the house. Placing the house on an east-west access lets openable west-facing windows collect offshore breeze. Plan your site so that the widest sides of your house also face north and south. That being said, lets find out the best direction for house to face!The added sun exposure not only helps with heat but also for natural light. Remember, though, that windows allow heat transfer more easily than walls, so too many windows can actually drain heat from the house during the cold winter months. After graduating with a a degree in Interior Design, Brett is the go to guy for any interior design or remodeling questions! Coastal breezes usually blow from offshore. Which Direction Should Windows Face. The Home Energy Score is a national rating system developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. If you haven’t thought about it before, there are quite a few factors that can go into whether the direction your house is facing is a good thing or a bad thing. A hilly site that requires building portions of the house on several levels will put more diffuse demands on heating and cooling systems than a flat site that accommodates a simple rectangular structure. Her work has appeared on early childhood education and consumer education websites. You will need to choose between a street-facing entryway or one on the wider north- or south-facing side of the house.Incorporate sun-sensitive roof overhangs in your design, especially to shade interior spaces facing south and west. 1.1 Why Home Orientation is Important For Homes and Tips to Follow: 1.2 Which Direction Should Your New House Face? Copyright text 2020 by Barter Design If your lot is bordered by woodland or other tree growth, bear in mind that the shadows cast by growing trees will increase with time. by Rachel Lyon, Editorial Director for The House Designers You’re probably used to hearing about the latest and greatest products to help you create a more energy-efficient household, and while those are still critical to the overall picture, there are ways you can use your natural environment to your advantage as well.
Evergreen shade will be year-round and can serve as a winter windbreak. While many factors determine household energy use, one way to maximize potential savings is to include energy awareness in planning your housing site. In the northern hemisphere, the general rule for solar panel placement is, solar panels should face true south (and in the southern, true north). Place overhangs so they shield your house from heat in the summer, when the sun is higher in the sky but allow the home to capture the warmth and light of the sun when it is lower in the winter sky. To capture the sun's light and warmth, plan to use a larger expanse of windows on the south side than the north.

You could plant some evergreens on the North side of your home to help block the sun in the summer and block the wind in the winter. That being said, there isn’t much you can do if you already own a home to change the direction. The Home Facts provide details about the current structure and systems. There is often quite a bit speculation on what is the best direction for your house to face. 1 The Best Direction For House To Face For Energy Efficiency. The sun's apparent height in the sky can vary by as much as 50 degrees from summer to winter equinox. The direction that your solar panels face is fundamental to how much energy they can produce and how much money you can save over time. The Score reflects the energy efficiency of a home based on the home's structure and heating, cooling, and hot water systems. This usually means that the ends of the roof ridge line on a rectangular house will point to the east and west. If you are interested in adding more natural light to your home then consider When you look at homes, and you start to look at different neighborhoods, you don’t necessarily think about that each house might have been placed in a certain direction and angle for a particular reason, or they might not have. When planting next to wooded land, plan minimum setbacks of between 10 and 20 feet to take best advantage of cooling shade and wind buffering.Choosing an energy-conserving site for your house means taking into account topographical and climate factors beyond exposure to the sun. The Best Direction For House to Face – Sunshine and Energy Efficiency!