Suggestions wanted for home sun exposure preferences
 

I had someone ask me this, and I was not quite certain how to answer. Does anyone have any thoughts as to the preferred sun exposures for their homes? Assuming a lanai is in the rear of the house, which direction is best to keep heat and bright glare out of the house? Home facing north (Giving the lanai a southern exposure)?

The front of our home faces north...

The garage is much cooler than our neighbors, and the lanai has enough landscaping to keep the sun from overheating the area...

Lanai could face North if it did not get a lot of the afternoon and evening sun. I would tend to have the Lanai fast east for morning sun and no afternoon sun when I would be more likely to use it.

our house faces north....the lanai gets some sun in the late afternoon...but not glaring

the front of the house does gather some moss, but it's not a lot

I have noticed that houses with the front facing south often need to have solar tubes put in to get more light during the day.

That is a good point. Our house faces east, so our lanai is very shaded in the morning when my wife and I sit there and have our coffee. In the evening, our lanai is in full sun, so we had a small patio built in front of our house so we can sit outside in the shade and see what our neighbors are up to.

In summary, the direction your house faces is VERY important.

We specifically sought out this arrangement, not so much for the lighting, but so we could sit out front and not broil. I don't have any problems with the lighting, and we have no solar tubes in the open living room/kitchen/dining area (Gardenia). There are solar tubes in the laundry and guest bath, installed by previous owner.
Obviously, lanai faces south, which works just fine for us.

Our house faces northeast, so our birdcage/pool in the back faces southwest, which is maximum sun from late morning until sunset. We like it for several reasons. Great solar heating for the pool from the solar panels on the back half of our roof, absolutely beautiful sunsets over the wildlife preserve behind our home, and very little mold and mildew grow on the sunny side of the home. As a bonus, during the cooler winter months it’s really nice to have the warm sun where we spend lots of time outdoors. It does get pretty hot during the rest of the year, but who cares when you are hanging out in the pool. As we get older we do have to be more careful not to overexpose our skin to the sun, so that’s an issue we try to manage.

Below is a picture of our nightly sunset, which easily outweighs the heat we have to deal with from the sun.

If you don't mind a hot garage. The front of the house facing west makes the rest of the house and bedrooms and backyard lanai cooler and nice to enjoy after the sun sets as the backyard faces east and gets afternoon shade. The north side of the house has a tiny bit of shade. I'm glad my house doesn't have windows facing south.

House faces east, lanai faces west. The west facing lanai works for us. We are shaded till about 3pm. By then, we are headed to a square, pool or some other outing. Morning and mid-day time is great as you can enjoy the warmth in the shade. For us, the direction of the house/lanai really depends on how you might use that space. One thing I cannot fathom is those that enclose their west lanai. I can only imagine the rate which the air heats up in the lanai due to the incoming solar radiation (greenhouse effect).

When we purchased our home 17 years ago, it was #1 on my list for priorities. I wanted my lanai to be facing the south. Today, the sun rises on the left of my lanai, and sets on the right. I knew I wanted to add a birdcage to our Lanai, and eventually an outdoor kitchen. We accomplished both and then added a canvas over the top of the birdcage which helps with the direct sun and keeps a lot of the rain out…Our garage is not bad heat wise and we have a couple trees along our fence line that have grown over the years that gives our house more protection. We have installed solar tubes in the laundry, the master and guest baths, and in the kitchen. We love it all… I think the answer is…where will you spend most of your time. We like our oasis on the back of our home…and some neighbors have made front patios and they enjoy that better. We like the privacy in the back. The morning sun on my lanai is so wonderful and in the winter, we get a lot more use out of it due to the way it faces. Our neighbors across the street where the sun is on the front of their homes, dont get sun til later afternoon….. Its all a matter of preference. I will say that many people on the other side of the street say they wish they were on our side of the street because of that. Hope this helps.

We have a west facing lanai, sunsets are beautiful and we sit outside more in the evenings than the morning. We enjoy it however, it is the worst choice of you want to keep heat and light out.

Great Question, I have owned my home in The Villages now since Oct, 2020. That question did not even dawn on me till after I purchased my home. It's difficult enough finding the right house, the location to your neighborhood pool, shopping and town squares, etc.etc. Now you want to throw in the direction of the sun facing your house. Well my house faces North, and my garage stays cooler then the houses accross the street which face south. I hear those homeowners with their house facing south complaing that their garages get really hot from the direct sun hitting their garage door. Some of those homeowners keep their garage doors open and they have screens covering the doorway to allow the heat to escape and keep the bugs out. I also noticed some homeowners installl vents in the lower panels of the garage doors for better air circulation. A worth while upgrade which I have is solar powered roof vents. I have 2 the previous owner was smart to have them installed to vent the hot attic. I also have a birdcage in the rear of the house which gets a lot of sun and sitting out there can get pretty hot. Now, if you ever decide to get solar panels on your roof you would most likely want a house with the rear roof facing south. So you dont have to look at those ugly solar panels from the street looking at your house. I hope I helped to answer your question.

You do not want a western facing lanai. Thankfully, someone warned me before I purchased a home. The first priority for my sales agent was to find a home that did not have a western facing lanai. I've been here five years and so glad someone gave me this heads up before purchasing.

We have a north and south side of the the house and usually we like the sun to come out in the daytime….

My preference is morning sun in back ..evening sun in front .. leaving lanai area shaded in late afternoon / evening

Wow, I think there was at least one reply for each of the four major compass points. All with valid points as to why they preferred that particular direction. My friends are more of the "afternoon/evening" lanai type (assuming rear of house and walled yard approximately 25 feet out from the lanai - courtyard villa) and would prefer it be shaded at that time of day. They would still like to see the beautiful sunset sky, but without the sun beaming into the lanai or house windows. They would prefer sun exposure in the morning at the front of the house, but not directly. They like to sit and enjoy the warmth of the morning sun whilst drinking coffee, but without the direct glare blinding them so they had to squint or see sun spots. They intend to snowbird, so the mid-summer heat and sun position is less of a concern to them.

After living down here for 5 years, I think my house is perfectly situated. The front, which is mostly the garage, faces west. The sun rises every morning and shines into our bedroom, living room, dining area and lanai which all have windows that face east at the rear of the house. Every morning is bright and the light even gets into the bathroom and kitchen.

During the day the sun goes south of our house and the sun does not come into those rooms or the lanai which makes it usable most of the year. Our entire south wall has no windows which keeps things cooler during the day.

At night the sun sets out front and during the cooler months with the front door open we can see spectacular sunsets in the evening.

We have found orientation of your home is very important here. We have a friend who rented a home that was just the opposite of ours and she said it was like living in a cave.

We didn't consider any of this when we purchased our home and we just lucked out with how the house was built and oriented. Now I would consider it the most important issue when purchasing since it greatly affects your enjoyment of your home.

P.S. Our house is also on a rise so we have no flooding fears.

Each hot weather place I lived in (2 places in Hawaii, 3 places in Vegas) my bedroom was facing the West side where the sun set and I was subject to some very hot afternoons. The electricity use likely goes up more in that setup, but I had to make sure my bedroom was cool so I could sleep better. In TV my bedroom and lanai are facing Southeast and wouldn't you know the front of my house with my office and garage is on the NW side at the later part of the day where I hang out most. But the sleep thing is more important. I really don't feel much heat at all anywhere in the house because my AC is set at 78. First bill was $109 for a month and a half. The summer sun has been moving out from my lanai in the early afternoon.

Front of house to the West, Back of house to the East

We have no glare in our home from anywhere. What's the secret? We have solar film on our windows. The film was already installed when we purchased our home so that was a huge plus for us. We had window film on our south Florida home and realized window film is imperative to keeping a glare free home that is also great for keeping the house cooler for the hot months.

Good luck!

What a stunning photo!

It's OK for the neighbors who can see the back of your home to look at those ugly panels. NOT!!!

Lanai faces East, with the sun moving towards the front of the house as the day gets to its hottest point, our inside rooms don't get the heat blast from the sun.

We have a similar orientation and are very happy with it. The sunlight on the pool is especially appreciated in the cooler months.

If looking at my solar panels is the biggest problem you have then you are indeed blessed.

I guess it would depend on your preferences. Our house faces Southeast and we get the morning sun on the front of our house and evening sun on the lanai. We sit on our lanai in the mornings and rarely sit out there in the afternoon or evening so that part is good for us. Later in the day the front of our house has shade when it's hot outside and the homes across the street have full sun shining on the front of their homes in the heat of the day. I'm satisfied with they way our sits.

Our lanai faces the east and I get the early morning sun.
Afternoons on the lanai are great.
:BigApplause::BigApplause:

Our Lanai faces East which we prefer. We had the pool/hot tub/outdoor kitchen in Tampa for almost 20 years and didn’t want it here so we were good.

Front of house faces West which is the garage and the front bedroom which is a study/t.v. room.

When we closed in our lanai we did put tinted glass which helps.

Do yourself a favor and make sure your lanai is facing north. It is the best way to avoid the hot sun on your lanai.

My lanai faces west. Some would say no good but the view is to die for, so deal with the afternoon sun with an item called “shades.”

House Facings
 

We moved from Jax FL area to the Villages a couple year’s ago. Our house faces West & the Lanai faces East. We lived on a lake near Jax FL and our property had many huge Oak trees that shaded and limited the hot afternoon sun. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, our trees are more like small bushes in the Villages. Regardless I do hope you find a wonderful home. We love living here!

Lanai Sun exposure - think before you buy !!!
 

We built our house a year ago and I carefully researched the sun exposure issue.
We bought a lot where our lanai would face south and the garage north.
We also put in a pool. We love our exposure - the lanai itself is pleasant and not too sunny at any time so we can enjoy it all day. Neighbors with a west lanai - cannot even enjoy dinner on it as it is just like being in a broiling pan !
C J

And those facing east cannot eat lunch. Unless the lanai is enclosed if it feels like 100 degrees outside it will feel like 100 degrees in the lanai and it doesn't matter which way it faces. Yes sun will definitely make them hotter some in the first half of the day others in the last half. The cure is double pane enclosure, tinted glass or shades along with AC then use it any time of the day no matter which way it faces.

My lanai faces west and I had heard that wasn't good. But the lot and the view are awesome. And my covered lanai is deep and at 4pm right now it only has a few feet of sun. The best part is I get to watch the awesome sunsets almost everyday and I had no idea how much joy and peace that would bring me.

Agree -- very important.

Everyone has an opinion so I declare I am opinionated. The front of our home faces east and the back obviously is west. Far more important to us we are in a cul de sac. So we see the sunrise in the morning and the sunset at night. As far as sun, we have blinds. Our windows are roughly 8 foot high and end in an arch. Blinds are straight so the arch is opened. WAS and issue with my computer screen. We don't have a TV in that room but I expect that too would be a a problem. SIMPLE and inexpensive solution is to install one of those grey tinting screens. I did it about 8 years ago and it is still fine. The front of our home faces one of those planting, oasis things. Behind us is developed property owned by the villages. They have high dense hedges that they maintain. They own, maintain water etc roughly 20 feet of our backyard. Far better then looking at a wall or your neighbor in their pajamas etc

I have a west facing fully glass enclosed lanai and need shades drawn 1/2 way especially in the afternoon to block some of the heat producing rays. Sunsets are great. Also have a fan that I turn on high and open sliding doors to house to “cool it off” which doesn’t really work effectively in July and August. Also have a birdcage outside area which I have never sat in because of heat and afternoon sun.

Western facing lania here. i talked about it in a similar thread.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ml#post2021019

We installed motorized shades and got the most opaque fabric available so we can't see out when they are down, but it keeps the house cooler. Some companies don't carry that type of fabric because, again, you can't see through it.

On the north side of the lanai, we put up one large shutter for privacy only. It may look kind of funky to you but the screened area on the bottom and top allows for air circulation and yet still gives up the privacy we wanted.

Similar situation here, added a sail shade to the bird cage area.

ColourTree 8' x 8' x 8' Beige Triangle Sun Shade Sail Canopy Mesh Fabric UV Block - Commercial Heavy Duty - 190 GSM - 3 Years Warranty ( We Make Custom Size ) https://a.co/d/9ToTmp4

At 4pm the fun is just starting for me and it goes until 8:30pm. You must have some blockage in the back. Trees or a neighbor’s house?