Planning your new home’s orientation

Where your home sits on your land, and its orientation, is an important factor to consider when building a new home. With a little consideration when positioning your home, the need for additional heating and cooling may be reduced, and your home can be brighter and maximise the surrounding views from your land.

Brighten up your home

Flooding your home with natural light can change the mood in your home, particularly during Winter months when the Northerly sun is lower in the sky. With North facing windows shining light into your home’s living areas, it will be lighter during the time of year when it is most needed.

Maximise views of the land

If you are lucky enough to have land with a view, it is something you’ll certainly want to take advantage of. Even better if your view is on the North side of your home, as you may already be planning windows to help warm your home during Winter. If your view is to the West, you could add a veranda to your home to shade it from the Summer sun, or slightly rotate the position of your home to shade it whilst still making the most of your views. 

Reduce your heating and cooling

The way in which your home is oriented can keep its temperature relatively consistent or make it fluctuate with the seasonal changes. Here are some considerations for positioning your home in order to maximise cooling breezes during the warmer months and solar heating during the cooler months. 

• Allow the sun to enter your house from the East, but avoid it entering from the West. This will minimise the Summer sun coming in during the warmest part of the day. Consider placing your garage, laundry or bathroom to the West to reduce the heat entering the house. 

• Southerly breezes are cool breezes, so make sure there are plenty of shaded windows on the South side of your house to create cool air flow during the Summer. When placing windows, consider placing them where a cross breeze will be created for an enhanced cooling effect. 

• In cooler climates, orient the longest wall of your home to the north with living spaces along this side of the house and bedrooms to the south. This way the sun hits the majority of your home during the Winter, providing solar heating. Summer sun can also be blocked using eaves and window shades.

If you have any question on positioning your new home or finding the best floor plan to suit your land, we are always here to help, please contact us today!