Dark house - what's the least sunny direction for a house

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hiagain

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We went to see a house yesterday that was very dark inside, although it was a really sunny day.

I think it is northwest facing, so the back is southeast. The auctioneer insisted that the back was south, so it would be very sunny once the trees and extension at the back were taken down.

What direction is the worst?
 
I have always brought a compass when viewing a house so I know where the sun is rising and setting. It is a small price to pay to be sure.
Some houses are just dark because of the decor and other factors.
If it was a very sunny day and the house is still very dark think of a cold dark winters evening and what it would be like.
 
But if its north west facing at the front.....then its south east at the Back!

So you should get the sun at the back.

My current house has south east facing back garden and it is a bright house. My previous property was south west facing back garden, which had the sun for longer, but s.e. is still very bright.

I would have thought a north east facing rear garden would be the worst. I lived in NE facing garden a couple of years ago and the back of the house was so dark you needed the lights on, on a Saturday morning. Sun was shining at the back end of the garden, so the light never actually came up into the house. It is weird, but it actually gave a depressing air about the house. No matter how much money you spend, you cant bring the light in by changing nature, so it is worth thinking about before you buy.
 
hiagain said:
We went to see a house yesterday that was very dark inside, although it was a really sunny day.

I think it is northwest facing, so the back is southeast. The auctioneer insisted that the back was south, so it would be very sunny once the trees and extension at the back were taken down.

What direction is the worst?
Click to expand...

Light sourcing

In reality the perception of how bright a house is is dependant on not just the local twenty storey tower :) .

Orientation:
The orientation is important - south is brightest but also highest - west and east morning and evening light is lower and penetrates further into the house.

Topography:
The lie of the land is important - whether it slopes up or down hughely influences the light you can "see" - and the reflectance of the ground cover is a huge factor

Vegetation:
The local vegetation/forestation matters - big Lelandii bushes can reach 12-16 feet and trees on the boundaries or in the garden can steal a lot of light.

Reflectance:
Dark paving or vegetation just outside the rear windows can make a huge difference to the amount of light admitted to the ground floor of a building. Light coloured paving can reflect a multiple of the light available from a dark stone [slate of old limestone] dirty concrete or tarmacadam yard.

Admittance: Opes:
Light is admitted into the building through windows and doors and the proportions of these and the materials surrounding them have the significant lasting effect - trees can be cut down and paving re-laid, but altering ope sizes is usually a big job. In general the wider and higher the ope, the better the light, so 1M tall 2-3M high Georgian windows do very well.

Admittance: Bays:
Oddly enough Victorian bays with masonry piers often seem to do less well than you might expect. This is partly because the total window area "seen" from the centre of the room is often much less than the width of the bay due to the windows being at an angle and the sheer width of the piers between the windows. Smaller timber piers improve the situation. The projection of the bay proper can hinder the admittance since the roof of e bay is often of slate or tile and thsi effectively pushes the window surface out relative to the centre of the room. Raising an ope head within a wall has the opposite effect.

Admittance: stained glass:
Victorian and Edwardian houses made use of stained glass for beauty, effect, decoration and privacy. Sometimes large windows will have top openign sections in stained glass, sometimes its the hall door, sometimes its the bathrooms/rear hall areas. All reduce the amount of light admitted by a significant amount.

Admittance: frosted or patternated glass:
Used today for the same reasons that period houses used stained glass, with a similar, but lesser effect on light transmittance.

Admittance: Ivy:
Ivy can dramatically reduce the amount of light permitted into a dwelling.

Admittance: curtains:
Net curtains and Heavy Drapes dramatically reduce teh amount of light

Admittance: dirty windows:
Amazing what a spring clean can do for a house!

Modulation: window surround
The Georgians achieved wonders with light admittances partly by the bevelled shutter boxes on either side of main windows. Angled, in white, they effectively increase the amount of light like in inverted bay window, bouncing light in from the side aspect to widen the light source from a window by the width of the boxing. It stands to reason that painting this a dark colour will ruin the effect and a simple square window surround doesn't admit light in the same way.

Use of light internally:
Paint it white if you want lots of light. Contrast a light Georgian interior with high ceilings and window heads, white surrounds and ceiling plasterwork, with a richly textured and coloured Victorian interior and you'll see light used in very different ways. The smaller Edwardian two up two downs tend to exacerbate this effect with their lowered window heads and smaller rooms. Modern use of darker colours on walls, curtain fabrics and/or furniture significantly reduces the amount of light available for users. However this may be appropriate in a house which is occupied mainly out of office hours for eating and evening recreation

Light and glare:
An endless sea of white may not be advisable in a work area, like a study especially if computer/laptop screens are used. Even in a kitchen, work surfaces should be considered from the point of view of direct sunlight reflectance. There are some hours in the day in which is is impossible to be at a stainless steel sink which has a south facing window in front of it. And of course for fine work, north light provides a realtively steady source of bright but not glaring light.

Finally weather and the time of day are the most obvious moderators of internal light. :)

ONQ.
 
onq said:
Light sourcing

In reality the perception of how bright a house is is dependant on not just the local twenty storey tower :) .

Orientation:
The orientation is important - south is brightest but also highest - west and east morning and evening light is lower and penetrates further into the house.

Topography:
The lie of the land is important - whether it slopes up or down hughely influences the light you can "see" - and the reflectance of the ground cover is a huge factor

Vegetation:
The local vegetation/forestation matters - big Lelandii bushes can reach 12-16 feet and trees on the boundaries or in the garden can steal a lot of light.

Reflectance:
Dark paving or vegetation just outside the rear windows can make a huge difference to the amount of light admitted to the ground floor of a building. Light coloured paving can reflect a multiple of the light available from a dark stone [slate of old limestone] dirty concrete or tarmacadam yard.

Admittance: Opes:
Light is admitted into the building through windows and doors and the proportions of these and the materials surrounding them have the significant lasting effect - trees can be cut down and paving re-laid, but altering ope sizes is usually a big job. In general the wider and higher the ope, the better the light, so 1M tall 2-3M high Georgian windows do very well.

Admittance: Bays:
Oddly enough Victorian bays with masonry piers often seem to do less well than you might expect. This is partly because the total window area "seen" from the centre of the room is often much less than the width of the bay due to the windows being at an angle and the sheer width of the piers between the windows. Smaller timber piers improve the situation. The projection of the bay proper can hinder the admittance since the roof of e bay is often of slate or tile and thsi effectively pushes the window surface out relative to the centre of the room. Raising an ope head within a wall has the opposite effect.

Admittance: stained glass:
Victorian and Edwardian houses made use of stained glass for beauty, effect, decoration and privacy. Sometimes large windows will have top openign sections in stained glass, sometimes its the hall door, sometimes its the bathrooms/rear hall areas. All reduce the amount of light admitted by a significant amount.

Admittance: frosted or patternated glass:
Used today for the same reasons that period houses used stained glass, with a similar, but lesser effect on light transmittance.

Admittance: Ivy:
Ivy can dramatically reduce the amount of light permitted into a dwelling.

Admittance: curtains:
Net curtains and Heavy Drapes dramatically reduce teh amount of light

Admittance: dirty windows:
Amazing what a spring clean can do for a house!

Modulation: window surround
The Georgians achieved wonders with light admittances partly by the bevelled shutter boxes on either side of main windows. Angled, in white, they effectively increase the amount of light like in inverted bay window, bouncing light in from the side aspect to widen the light source from a window by the width of the boxing. It stands to reason that painting this a dark colour will ruin the effect and a simple square window surround doesn't admit light in the same way.

Use of light internally:
Paint it white if you want lots of light. Contrast a light Georgian interior with high ceilings and window heads, white surrounds and ceiling plasterwork, with a richly textured and coloured Victorian interior and you'll see light used in very different ways. The smaller Edwardian two up two downs tend to exacerbate this effect with their lowered window heads and smaller rooms. Modern use of darker colours on walls, curtain fabrics and/or furniture significantly reduces the amount of light available for users. However this may be appropriate in a house which is occupied mainly out of office hours for eating and evening recreation

Light and glare:
An endless sea of white may not be advisable in a work area, like a study especially if computer/laptop screens are used. Even in a kitchen, work surfaces should be considered from the point of view of direct sunlight reflectance. There are some hours in the day in which is is impossible to be at a stainless steel sink which has a south facing window in front of it. And of course for fine work, north light provides a realtively steady source of bright but not glaring light.

Finally weather and the time of day are the most obvious moderators of internal light. :)

ONQ.
Click to expand...

Great post.
 
ONG, thank you so much for taking the time to post such informative information. Will use some of your suggestions re paint etc. Hate the dark winter months.
 
Why not quote the whole post instead of trying to be smart?

To sumarise the OP has one of the best directions for a rear garden........provided they remove what appears to be blocking the sun....... and this will also depend on the size/width of the garden.

To answer the original question once and for all, I actually think north east rear garden is the worst direction.... with south west being best........not actually mad on east facing rear garden either...
 
I have a South facing back and North facing front. The front of the house is darker than I would like, but the back is really bright, sometimes too bright and too hot too on those rare..... Summer days.

My sister has a SW facing back and that orientation, in my view is the very best. Rising sun in the morning makes the front bright, sun all afternoon and evening until quite late out back, where you can really appreciate it for the long Summer days. Wonderful.
 
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