What is orientation?
Orientation is the position of a building, facade or room relative to the compass points — and therefore relative to the sun. It is one of the few design decisions that costs nothing and still has a large effect on daylight, energy use and comfort. It is also almost impossible to correct afterwards.
What each facade direction does
- North — no direct sun, but steady, even daylight. Pleasant for a workroom or studio, cold for a living room. Large north facades cost heat.
- East — morning sun at a low angle. Good for a bedroom or breakfast area.
- South — the most hours of sun. In winter the sun is low and brings warmth deep into the room; in summer it is high, so an overhang or canopy shades the glass easily. This is the most controllable direction.
- West — afternoon and evening sun at a low angle, striking almost horizontally into the room and hard to block. Large west-facing glazing is the main cause of overheating in dwellings.
Practical rules of thumb
- Living spaces south to south-west, stores, garage and circulation to the north. That way the plan works with you.
- Stop the sun outside, not inside. External shading, an overhang or an awning stops the heat before the glass. Internal blinds let the heat in first and only help to a limited degree.
- A south overhang works by itself. With a high summer sun, even a modest overhang shades the glass, while the low winter sun passes underneath.
- Solar panels: south gives the highest annual yield, while an east-west arrangement gives slightly less but spreads output more evenly across the day — often better for self-consumption.
- Consider wind too. In north-west Europe the prevailing wind is south-westerly. An entrance or terrace on that side is the draughtiest spot on the plot.
In new build, orientation feeds directly into the energy performance calculation and into the assessment of summer overheating risk.
Related terms
- Daylight factor
- Solar shading
- Glazing
- Facade
- Thermal bridge
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