West Facing Lanai - no-no or overblown?
 

We are looking at new homes in Fenney area. Some that we really like have west facing lanai's. However, they also have extended lanai's and even have room to extend a bird cage out for additional outdoor space. We've had a few people tell us to stay away from western facing lanai's, but we went and checked it out in the late day sun yesterday and the extended lanai really seems to help a lot before the sun finally gets to an angle where it is shining directly in. Thoughts?

West
 

West facing lanais are extremely hot May through September. Multiple friends who have them enclosed the lanai and put in air conditioning.

Just my own observation ~ the sun's angle changes more dramatically through the seasons than I observed up North. What the angle is today may be very different in two months.

I would not purchase a west-facing lanai without budgeting for quality awnings or shades. You may decide you don't need them, but I would plan for the expense.

There are so many homes for sale here in The Villages I recommend you stay away from the west-facing lanais. The previous response is accurate. The heat is intense.

Our extended lanai faces directly west. We love all the light we get all day long. It is glassed, and the windows are low-e double pane. They were added after we moved in. We keep the ceiling fans on all the time. The heat difference in the lanai is not usually noticeable. If we are using the room when the sun is setting, we lower the blinds. Problem solved.

If a pool is planned, a west facing lanai would help keep the pool warm. A home with the front facing north is ideal IMHO.

We have a glass-enclosed, west-facing, lanai and love it NOW. It was very hot during the summer months so we made a few additions that make it very comfortable. First, was the solar screen shades that still allow viewing from inside. Second, we added a Sunsetter awning that is not only attractive, but makes the patio area much nicer also. That awning is very effective in reducing the heat. It even retracts itself if the wind exceeds 35 MPH, preventing damage to the fabric if you're not home. It is easily controlled with a "remote" and lights up the patio nicely with built in LED lights that are also controllable. I would not rule out a nice place just because of the west-facing lanai.

This kind of points to a few posts above. In order to enjoy a west-facing lanai in the constant 97* summer heat (103* heat index), you most likely would have to enclose it and install blinds.

Even with our east-facing lanai, there are summer days when, having not been raised in the tropics, it was too hot for us.

But this topic has been discussed before. Maybe you can do a search for it. People will swear by the whatever-facing one they have. Do you mind heat? If not, maybe you would be fine with west-facing. But I found even our east-facing to be too hot in the dog days of summer. I'm from the north, though.

Buy the house you want.
All other issues can be remedied in one way or another. West facing lanai/bird cage? Too many options to mitigate the sun (IF needed at all).
Don't pass up the house you want because of it.

A west facing lanai would be a plus if there were extended sunset views. Not too many of those here though.

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Our birdcage and pool face west and we love it. Great free solar heat for the pool, we can lounge in the sun by the pool, and the sunsets over the preserve behind our house are spectacular. Obviously a birdcage is different than a lanai and I suspect it would get very hot in an enclosed space during the summer.

We have a west facing lanai with birdcage and pool. The sun warms our pool and the sunsets are lovely. We did keep the entire birdcage with screens open to ground level to take advantage of air movement. For about two hours a day we get direct sunlight on the roofed part of the lanai and we have sun screens that roll down and fans.

We love it. Buy the house you love and if you have questions give us a call, we would love to show you our lanai in the evening hours.

We have a west facing lanai. It is enclosed with windows. We have awnings over the windows that keeps out the direct sunlight. I will admit, it will get hot in the summer. However, if we are entertaining we can close the windows and open the sliders from the house to keep it cool. However, most of the time keeping the windows open and the ceiling fan going keeps the lanai comfortable.

My picture is our west facing lanai.

Ours is facing North of West and our model has a bedroom wall at one end so we get half shade and had sun late in the day, enjoyed it most of the hot season last summer with no real problems. The worst part is it's hard to wash a car in the front of our home in the morning as there is no shade on the was side until after 12:00 and then it gets hot. I wanted an east facing lanai but when we found the house we wanted, also in Fenney, it didn't really matter.

I agree, we have a west facing lanai and do not consider it a problem.

So if I get this thread correctly, it seems to run like just about any other thread -

People who have west facing Lanais say they are not a problem, or the problems are minor and easily dealt with

The people who do NOT have west facing Lanais say they are the scourge of existence in TV, and should be avoided at all costs.

HMMMMM Wonder who we should listen to?

We have a south facing lanai with a corner of it facing west, in our house in Charlotte. We haven't sat outside in 5 years, and we've lived here 6. We are going to enclose it and put in a/c. It's too hot, as is our west-facing master bedroom. It's brutal May - early October.

In our case we would've preferred a non-west facing lanai; however, TV was offering a reduced price that was too good to pass up on our Fenney courtyard villa. So we bought the villa and we'll just have to figure out the lanai as we go. Glad we did because our same courtyard model we bought cost almost $40,000 more in the next courtyard villa neighborhood they built (new villa had a few changes, but not $40,000 worth of changes.) Guess we'll have to use some of the savings to do something with the lanai if needed.

I think you can have the best intentions of the things you want when buying your home, but sometimes other circumstances come into play that you didn't plan on such as for us TV reducing the price of the villa we bought. You just have to decide what you can absolutely live with or without.

I think a lot of it also depends on how much you like or hate the heat. For some no matter which way their lanai faced they still would think it is too hot. We don't mind the heat.

Thanks for all of the replies. Yes, I expected those with West facing Lanai's to mostly be in favor of them or at least say not a big deal, but that's okay. I know it's like asking which Village is the best. We are not bothered by heat and we love sunsets. This home is on a view site with water behind it, so the distance to the homes across the pond provide for a good view of the sunset in the evening without obstruction by another home.

With an east facing lanai you can sit on the screened in porch in the morning and get fresh air and warmed up. In the afternoon, fresh air and you can see a laptop screen because the sun is not in your eyes.

If money is no object you can change anything. I wonder if orientation changes the value of the lot.

Spend a morning and afternoon at the house you are considering. If that's not possible go to a square and sit outside facing east in the morning and west in the afternoon one day and the opposite the next. Get a newspaper and coffee. It would be a shame to spend $200 - 350k and then find out.

I know we have an electrician that really knows about energy. If you are reading this thread can you comment on orientation and energy? All things being equal do utility bills vary by orientation?

Tom. I would think that each home gets the same amount of sunlight every day whether it faces east or west or north or south it still gets hottest air around it in the afternoon and evening, unless you think the homes on the sides of it shade it significantly or the mostly glass lanai doors would impact the heat intake a lot.

We have a west facing lanai and we love it. Sure it gets warm at times but we have a ceiling fan and shades. We can see out but people cannot see in. Our lanai is not enclosed

We are from Texas and swore we would never consider a West lanai...guesswhat? Our perfect house has a west facing lanai. We love breakfast on the lanai and the backyard is shaded til about noon. We live here full time and our winter West lanai is great. In the summer we love having cocktails on our front porch.

Those who are responding to the query intelligently are taking into consideration the rising and setting sun and the difference between the suns location in the winter vs summer. And I have found the answers to be very informative. We built our home with the orientation based specifically on these facts. It has nothing to do with the houses next to us.

West
 

We bought our home because of the orientation. Front faces North and the back South.

I keep an outdoor thermometer in my garage and moved it around.. At 5pm it read 83 in the east facing lanai and 88 in the front of the house.

I don't feel like reading all this now but if I was buying a house I would.
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/publicati...g%20Manual.pdf

Energy-Efficient
Florida Home Building

© Florida Solar Energy Center/University of Central Florida
1679 Clearlake Road, Cocoa, Florida 32922, USA

Curious about your sun screens, are they installed between the lanai and birdcage? Hard to see where they are in your picture.

Thanks

I agree with those that commented on the heat of west facing lanai's. In the hot sun, the temperatures in the summer can easily be near 100 degrees. You can't imagine how hot and uncomfortable it would be to sit in such heat. Plus, late in the day, the sun is shining directly into your face. People we know that have that orientation either only use the lanai in the morning, or enclose it so they can have it air conditioned. And it may be a consideration as far as resale value as well. Many people in the know look for a north or east facing lanai when they are house shopping.

Another happy Villager with a west-facing lanai with large bird cage. Fantastic sunsets. Great for pool. We eat almost all of our meals outside with exception of cold, windy days and just a few hot days in summer. The fans in the lanai keep it comfortable most afternoons. I will admit that I much prefer heat to any cold.

We’ve had 2 homes with west facing lanais. The first had great shade from strategically placed trees/shrubs and the second one has solar shades. We have loved both and would never let it stop us from purchasing a home that had everything else going for it. The sunsets here are spectacular!

People who own west facing lanai's will swear to not making a mistake until after the house is sold. So many people love the summer heat and humidity. But then again don't they keep telling me how it is like staying inside for the winter in the north ? If you have money to burn - no problem. You will get it enclosed and air conditioned. Perhaps others who have gone this route can tell you how much this cost.

This is our second west facing lanai in The Villages. The first was in Hadley.

I asked this question of lanais when I was buying also.....so many different pieces of advice. I ended up with a south facing lanai....no complaints. I get indirect sunlight all morning and early afternoon. Then in the late day after 4, I get a little sun coming in the right side which happens to be where the door is.....never caused me a problem. Temperature is always comfortable. Ask your realtor if you can visit the house you are interested in early and then again late in the day...see where the sun shines and note the heat you feel. You probably won't sit out there in July and August in the 10-2 hours of the day, no matter what direction it faces. Its too hot here in those months to leave the A/C or the pool!

I tried to delete my post in missing lanai and move it here but you beat me to it. Unless I missed something your lanai has a pool. Not to many indoor polls around here. But again thanks for the dinner offer but I live in paradise for the summer and consider TV my second best purchase I ever made.

Not indoor pool. I consider "lanai" to mean a "screened in porch" in Florida. Do you think of it as a closed in room? I thought that was called a "Florida room".

I went East side for the same reason.
One problem is the angle of the sun. It might shine directly into your eyes for a little while as it sets.
If you find a home with one facing west sit there for a few hours and see how you like it. But remember the angle of the sun changes each day so this night not help.

We have an East facing lanai and love it.
Gets very hot in the Summer so we enclosed and put heat & air in it.

I think every house can have something you need to compromise on. We only wanted a 4 bedroom house with a view and that’s what we bought. Had to compromise on a couple of things we didn’t get.

Our neighbors across the lake are West facing but they got a great view.

No house is perfect so just decide what you can and can’t
compromise on.

Good luck!

I'm referring to your house. Do you have a seperate lanai away from your pool that faces west or is the pool part of the lanai ? I understand why people would want a west facing lanai if it has a pool as previously discussed here. My lanai faces north and it is now a florida room because I can't handle heat. I then built an outdoor covered patio attached to enclosed lanai (florida room). Even facing north there are many times it is too hot for me to sit out there even with ceiling fans. I am trying to answer the original question pointing out that human nature is such that many people find it hard to admit to making a mistake when they make a major purchase. To convert that west facing lanai to a climate controlled florida room takes a bundle of cash. Make sure you love heat.