Guide To Home Orientation

Home orientation refers to the direction in which your home is facing on your block. Getting your home orientation right means you can harness natural elements to your advantage, in particular the sun. Solar orientation is something that can easily be confused. To maximise natural sunlight to your outdoor area/alfresco when it comes to home building, it is a combination of considering both the land lot and the home selected.

In this article we will give you tips on how to figure out your optimal home orientation by capitalising on your block, home design and the sun to save you money. More importantly, to maximise the amount of sun you have where you entertain!

The Chicken or the Egg?

I am sure you have all heard of the above joke before. When it comes to building a new home, if you want to maximise your home orientation benefits in regards to solar orientation, selecting your home is DEFINITELY the most important decision first.

Why (you may ask)?

For the following key reasons:

1. Once you select your home, you know for a fact where the alfresco is and where you want the sun always to be shining on. In summary, your alfresco area needs to face NORTH!
2. If you know the above, it will advise you what orientation the block needs to be

This may all be confusing or overwhelming, to figure out your optimal home orientation simply come and visit one of expert New Home Advisors at a display home.

If you commit to a block and find your dream home later, the orientation, worst case, could result in your outdoor area/alfresco getting minimal to no natural sunlight. Unfortunately, the sun is not something you can move later.

You may not be aware but your neighbours home can also impact the amount or volume of natural light your alfresco area gets, mainly if:

1. They build a double storey
2. Your alfresco is on a side boundary

The worst-case scenario is a combination of both the items above. Do not stress as regulations will still protect you as all homes must comply with setback requirements from boundaries, it is just you won’t optimise as much sun, compared to being next to a single storey home.

How to figure out your home orientation

The orientation of your block is NOT the critical factor as we discussed above. This is the mistake most people make! We are not saying to buy your block first after selecting a home, what we are saying is that you are better to have some idea of the home design your future new home will be, then commit to your block of land. One thing we can confirm with you, nearly all blocks, especially with frontages of 18 metres of less, never have the alfresco in the front of their home, therefore the last thing you want is a north facing block. To maximise your home orientation to the sun the critical factors are the following:

1. Your block
2. How the house sits on your block
3. Most importantly, where you want the sun to be (most likely your outdoor area/alfresco)!

The sun isn’t something most of our customers typically think of when they start to build a new home – but it is important! The Australian sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Australia is in the southern hemisphere which means the sun does not go directly overhead. It goes more on a northern arc, as depicted below in figure 1 (take note, at different times of the year the sun is lower, meaning less sun to southern parts of properties – figure 2).

The home orientation that will get the least sunlight is an outdoor area/alfresco facing south, due to the fact the sun moves throughout the day from east to west, and the sun being on a northern arc, southern parts of properties will receive the least sunlight.

Figure 1: Sun path

Figure 2: Home orientation to the sun

New home orientation

The combination of block and house design are the critical factors. You always want your alfresco facing north so you receive sunlight most of the day! So depending on where your outdoor area/alfresco is, will determine the orientation of your lot. In every scenario, the block orientation is different.

Below you will see the best alfresco/outdoor living locations on different orientated bocks of land. Which way your block is orientated will dictate the floorplan of your home if you are wanting to make the most of your home orientation to the sun.

Best home orientation for energy efficiency

So far, we have touched on the basic principles on home orientation and how to design your home based on your blocks orientation, but other than adding natural light to your property it can also increase energy efficiency.

We all know Victoria is famous for 4 seasons in a day, but typically our Summers are very hot and our Winters are chilly. So how does your home orientation to the sun help you save money on your bills and increase energy efficiency?

On majority of our home designs you will find the alfresco typically comes off the open plan living space which usually consists of your living and dining room and kitchen. If you choose a home design that capitalises on the sun hitting your alfresco, it will also enter these areas. In winter you will find that your open plan living spaces will receive more sunlight and will warm and hold the heat better, meaning you will have less of a requirement for the heater in the cooler months.

You will also notice that bedrooms are often located away from the alfresco and living areas. So in summer your bedrooms will receive less sun and stay cooler, giving you the ability to get a good nights sleep and not need the air conditioner going all night long.

The best home orientation for energy efficiency is any design where the sun is hitting the alfresco throughout the heat of the day.

New home orientation checklist

If you have further questions about home orientation, please do not hesitate to ask one of our professional New Home Advisors. We are here to make your building journey easier, and make sure you do not make any fundamental mistakes. Even easier, we can do the assessment for you!

In summary:

• Carefully planning your home orientation to the sun can save you money on your energy bills
• How the sunlight hits your block during the day is a key item to consider when choosing your block of land and or home design.
• Our New Home Advisor’s are here to help how to figure out your best home orientation

Before we sign out on this topic, some bonus tips on home orienteering:

• You may have heard north facing apartments have the best sunlight. This is correct, this is technically the same as Scenario 4 below. Southern apartments, can receive little to no sunlight due to the design and build
• Be careful if you have your alfresco on the side of your lot, i.e. scenario 1 and 2 below. In these scenarios if your neighbour decides to build a double storey next to you, this can impact the amount of natural sunlight you get. Refer to figure 2, which demonstrates the nature of the arc at different times of the year.
• Alfresco at the back, reduces the risk of solar impact, as setbacks are greater. Both houses will be further from the back of their fence, then the side (in most cases), therefore impact from your neighbour is minimised.