We wanted a back screened porch that went across the entire back of our house, but we were very worried about it making the DR and kitchen very dark. So, we had two LARGE skylights put in the porch ceiling and that brought in plenty of light. It was a very good solution for us as this was a 1938 house in an older neighborhood, that had no space on either side of the house for a porch.

So much of this comes down to a deeply personal preference. I hated how much that porch blocked my beautiful southern sun that I made sure not to repeat that in the new house. It amazed me how much light that porch sucked from my southern exposure. No more sunlight streaming through the windows - it was all diffused. I don't believe a skylight or two would have made any real difference.

Again, speaking only for me, I need to see sunlight streaming through the windows in the winter. A porch blocking southern sun is a non-starter for me. But again, I know most people care far less about this than I do. And it's probably far less important if you don't live in the frozen tundra too. :)

I'm with you, Miss Patrice... And I live in Texas! Give me sunshine!!! I wanna feel like I'm living in climate controlled outdoors, lol.

My lake home is in MN. It formerly had four 5' x 5' windows facing south. Two down low, and two in the lofted 2nd story. The Kitchen/ dining room / living area faced south. I thought I'd love it, but found the sunlight to be brutal. I always had to have a sun blocking shade over the windows in the kitchen or the glare from sunrise to 2:00 pm was horrid. We liked looking out at the lake while we ate, put we kept having to pull a shade down so the sunlight wouldn't keep bouncing back off the tabletop into our eyes. You couldn't lay out on the sofa without the sunlight pouring in from the windows or the skylight. Heated up the place way too much in the summer.

We removed those windows and replaced the dining area window with a 7' one. We also added a full covered porch. Love it! Still have great vistas of the lake and wildlife, plenty of brightness coming in through the day. Only have low angle sunlight/glare for an hour in the a.m. as the sun comes up. We also love to sit on the porch -- finally we can sit on the south (lakeside) of our house and enjoy the view before 2:00 on a sunny day (had to wait until the house started shading the deck before!)

In the winter time, the low sun angle brightens up the house a lot more than you think (especially with snow on the ground). Direct light comes in for a couple more hours too.

If you can possible go to a friend's house or a builder's house with full southern sun exposure you should. It would make a good test. Any open houses you could check out with southern exposures?

As the variety of responses indicates -- it depends.

We are in California. Had big south-facing windows on the south side of our old house. Unpleasant in the summer (our friends have had similar experiences). Current house has a covered porch on the south side, and we love it. At the deepest point the porch is ~10ft(?) but even there we get direct sun in the house November-February.

One of the downsides of the direct sunlight coming into the house is the damage it can do to carpets, wood floors and fabrics. We are in the PNW and even then, we have to lower the blinds throughout the day to try to prevent the bleaching effect it has on the interior over time. We really noticed it when we sold our dining room set and could clearly see the areas behind the legs of the chairs and table where the sun did not hit.

My Mom's house had a porch across the south end, and one could not read a book in the living room without turning on a light - ever. The bedrooms on the north side of the house - with windows on two walls - got far more natural light than the living room on the south side.

The only room in our house without windows is the dining room. A few years ago we put in two Solatubes, and what a difference they made! I think some sort of skylight can be a viable solution.

I look forward to seeing your plans!

For those posting who have said they had problems with south facing windows, I wonder if the design of your house had roof overhangs or projecting trellis/arbors which were designed to keep out summer sun and let winter sun penetrate?

Were your homes designed with passive solar strategies?

Or were you homes simply constructed as if orientation and the sun didn't matter? Were all the orientations and facades the same as if the sun and solar gain didn't matter?

We only have the minimum small eaves in our current house but the house we are getting ready to build will have 24 inch eaves on a single story modern design. What I do notice is that even the Winter direct sun in the house has caused the fading. We are good at lowering blinds in all of the seasons except Winter to keep the sun out. I guess it is the price to pay to have that nice warm sun on a cold day.

Virgil, in our old house (1960s ranch) the entire south side of the house had french doors and huge windows facing the S back yard, good sized windows on N front of house. Minimal windows on E/W. And skylights. Actually the skylights were the worst in the summer.

Eaves were 18-24 ins and we added a retractable awning to part of the house.

Pretty sure that house was not designed for passive anything! It was designed to take advantage of California outdoor living :-) But, I think it would have been much more comfortable with better air sealing (including better windows) and insulation.

Here's just about all one needs to know to design a custom home with passive solar energy strategies. It can be a lot more complicated and technical if one wishes, but when it comes to orienting a house and managing the sun, this is it! Since there are a gazillion charts and tables with the angles of the sun, by latitude, for every day of the year, one only has to find the angles for summer solstice (highest angle of the sun at noon for the year) and winter solstice (lowest angle of the sun at noon for the year).

With a little trigonometry, one can quickly calculate the dimensions of needed roof overhangs and/or trellis/arbor devices for proper window shading.

Using low-e glass or window tint really works to prevent sun damage.

Give me sunshine, any amount, any time, any direction. We are better suited for a desert or very sunny climate however now in PNW; it's not too bad with long sunny days in summer (thank you). The new home will be south facing with a fair amount of glass, while north facing rear, will have considerablly more glass. In NJ we had an East facing home and due to blistering sun, we could not comfortablly sit or entertain on our rear deck till late in the evening. Here we will be able to enjoy views from and sit on the rear deck all day long. I can check sun shadows/direction etc. for any time of the year, around architected home in 3D.

Virgil is right. South facing homes can easily control the light / heat infiltration with some shading. Our shading structure is sized to block sun in the summer, and it allows the sun to start coming into the house PRECISELY at the autumnal equinox - where it will warm our concrete slab floor for passive solar heating during the winter.

The glass was customized based on the usage and the location with different coatings depending on being south or west facing glass.

I live in a climate with a cold winter, and my house is entirely solar heated (no backup system) but it's a sunnier climate than the midwest.

An exactly south-facing large window is great because the sun travel low in the sky in the winter and shines deep into the south facing windows at that time, and the sun travels high in the sky in summer and doesn't shine so deeply into the room. If you add an overhand over the southern windows, like a narrow balcony or just overhanging roof, it will make it so the sun can't shine into the room in summer at all but shines deep into the room in winter.

But don't make the whole south wall into windows, or you might suffer overheating in the shoulder seasons.

E and W windows don't do as much for solar gain: they gain more in summer and less in winter, which is the opposite of what you want. In particular, W facing windows collect lots of sunlight in summer afternoons when your house is already hot. E windows are not as bad.

If you want a covered porch for a shaady place in summer, the E or the N side is probably best.

All solar gain can be negated by trees or other obstructions casting shadow. If you've got a lake outside the S side of your house, it's great, because it can reflect extra light into the house in winter.

>>With a little trigonometry, one can quickly calculate the dimensions of needed roof overhangs and/or trellis/arbor devices for proper window shading.

>>South facing homes can easily control the light / heat infiltration with some shading.

Absolutely! In order to accommodate the appropriate overhangs/shadings one might find one desires a south-side covered porch ;-)

Oaktown, I'd be so nervous that an actual *covered porch* -- say, 6-10 feet deep -- would block waaaay too much! I interpreted Virgil's post as a description of a much shorter "overhang," like maybe up to 2 feet, not 6. But I am uneducated, so ignore me if I'm wrong, lol.

ODD, as suggested in Virgil's diagrams, I think the ideal shading/overhang really is dependent on lots of factors: sun angle, ceiling height, height of windows, depth of the house, trees, etc.

What his diagrams do not show are climate differences that might factor into decisions. For example, our hottest month usually is September. That sort of info might influence decisions about desired overhang, leading to a different result here than for somewhere else at the same latitude where the hottest months are June and July :-)

I'm tagging onto what One Devoted Dame said above. I actually had a 6 foot deep covered porch on the southern side of my prior house. It blocked way too much light for my preferences. I don't think any actual direct beams of sunlight ever entered those rooms once that porch was added on.

In my personal case, a 6 foot porch on the south side of my house basically turned those rooms into "north-feeling" rooms.

But as I've repeated a few times now, I CRAVE sunlight. :) I read people on here worrying about western sun exposure and I sort-of don't get it for inside a house. I have nice wood blinds that I can shut if it gets too much. You can block the sun out if you need to - but you sure as heck can't get it to shine in at all without windows! :)

Yes, Western sun can be brutal in the summer. I agree a Southern and/or Western-facing patio is a PITA. (My current patio faces south west. Trust me, I get it - it's virtually un-usable in the summer.) But for inside a home, I want as many windows as I can cram on the facade without it looking stupid, or being an energy problem.

I would probably feel differently if I lived in the south. I'm staring at snow about 5 months a year and those rare sunny days of sunlight streaming in my home sustain me for the weeks of grey that go on forever.

I'm probably beating this to death and I'm sorry. I'll shut up now. :) Mostly I'm impressed to see someone being smart enough to recognize this and think it through before they build.

Late to the discussion. I found and have used a nifty online tool that can help pin down exactly the sun's position throughout the year. It's suncalc.net - you'll find the link and how we used it here: http://www.ahomefromscratch.com/toll-brothers-lot-deposit/

Good luck.

Rob I would highly suggest doing a lot of research on Toll Brothers.

Oaktown wrote, "...What his diagrams do not show are climate differences that might factor into decisions. For example, our hottest month usually is September. That sort of info might influence decisions about desired overhang, leading to a different result here than for somewhere else at the same latitude where the hottest months are June and July :-)..."

I agree: passive solar strategies and calculations vary by latitude, since the sun angles vary by latitude. And mature trees and other shading objects should always be considered in any actual design.

It may be fair to say that passive solar design is less about the months with warmest temperatures, per se, and more about strategies for handling the sun and solar gain on the inside of the house in a favorable manner 12 months a year. This includes the warmest month and the coolest month, and all the months in between.

If September is your most problematic month in terms of heat gain, simply ensure that roof overhangs and trellis/arbor shading devices are calculated using the lower sun angle at noon on, say, Sep 15, or any give day in September.

The September sun will be lower at noon and will rise south of east and set south of west, compared to the Summer solstice, usually around June 21 each year. Because the September sun is lower and will penetrate further into the house, ovehangs and trellis/arbor devices will need to be longer compared to those designed for June 21. The needed dimensions are easily calculated, based on the sun angle for your latitude.

In virtually no case, however, will one need a 6-foot to 10-foot deep porch to be part of a successful passive solar strategy.

Where are you located?

Hello! The more natural light you house has the better for your wellbeing. I would go for sunny livingroom and kitchen and big windows. You will appreciate them in winter sunny days. If the summer is too hot there is plenty if solutions to stop the heat. Make sure your bedroom will be on the east side. There is nothing better then being waken up by sunrise. Skylight windows are also recommendable. /Marcin

I am enjoying reading this discussion.

My dining, kitchen and master bedroom (and master bath) face south in the build I am (hopefully) completing. Passive solar is working out well -- the sun is not making any unwanted headway into those rooms during the summer, and I think it will be fine with its' incursions in the current and upcoming months. It is all in the roof overhang you calculate in.

Well, we've had rain or overcast my last few times visiting -- but judging from what we set up to construct -- when the sun is out, this winter I'll be getting those benefits. Yes! to constructive passive solar considerations -- year round!

Virgil, we are in the SF bay area. Our front porch actually faces slightly SW.

Based on our location, sun enters first floor of house where covered porch is 6ft at solar noon between September and April.

Sun enters first floor where covered porch is 10ft at solar noon between late Oct and mid Feb.

Passive solar was not our primary consideration. All I am saying is that one can have a covered porch on the south side and still have a bright house ;-) We have large and plentiful windows and our stairwell also is on the south side of the house which helps let in a lot of light.

MM Feng Shui Consulting & Space planning - I purposely put my bedroom on the south west side. I am happy to get up when I want to get up -- which is usually early, but since I am retired, I want to keep my own options handy!

Oaktown, I understand. My family and I lived in Palo Alto for 17 years! September may be your "warmest" month, but compared with much of the other U.S., it's hardly warm! We had no air conditioning, except open windows and sliding doors! And Bay Area nights may be surprisingly cool! But then there's the rainy season...

I remember our year living in Pacific Grove, and initially wondering why windows on houses had no insect screens. Our realtor smiled and simply said, "no bugs!" She was right! But did they ever have butterflies!

Virgil, I am in Palo Alto frequently, used to live there -- might you have designed any buildings in the area I might know? Pacific Grove is beautiful.

We do get in the 90s some days. We ran the A/C during the day a good portion of the summer at the old house. Next door had no A/C and didn't need it. Next door had a heavy shake roof, smaller windows and covered patio on the south side. ;-) The patio covering was translucent panel; in the summer there was a tarp on top for shading, tarp was removed in winter. Screens also are nice to keep the neighborhood cats from coming in the windows.

Thanks for the heads up cpartist. Eyes very wide open.

How about if skylights are placed in room adjacent to the covered porch (kitchen and dining nook)? Or how about skylights in the covered porch itself? How big of a difference do you all think that would make?

Can you design the house so the skylights are not completely horizontal on the roof but are angled to catch the best light?

Which angle is preferable for skylights? I think we are so early in the design process so anything possible right now!

"...Which angle is preferable for skylights? I think we are so early in the design process so anything possible right now!..."

It depends on your goals. If you want to maximize the amount of light admitted through a skylight, place it in parallel with (or facing) the path of the sun. If you want to minimize it, place it opposite to (or not facing) the path of the sun. Do you understand the path of the sun during the day?

Skylights don't fit well with good passive solar design. They are weak points in a home's most critical thermal layer (roof) and are impossible to shade without active involvement or strategies which greatly contributes to cooling needs in the warm seasons. In general they make it harder to heat and cool a home. Smart energy efficient design avoids skylights.

Virgil carter - I think so, so basically skylights angled toward south would let in more light. Thanks

Springtime - that makes sense.

Energy efficiency is very important to us so maybe will just move the screened porch instead of trying to remedy with skylights

happyday, that would be my first choice too.

I don't mean to high jack Op's post, but I have spent so much (ie too much time) thinking about this.

Springtime Builders, I'd love your input.

We are building a one story near Dallas TX (HOT 7-8 months a year) the only option we have is to have the front of the house facing South, back facing North and our garage on the East Side, with plans for Master on West, kids Bedrooms on East, but both with windows likely facing North.

Iive in an East facing house now that is so dark and miserable. I need sunlight, but I feel as though our mission with Passive Solar Design will be to keep the hot sun out of the house since our cooling costs far exceed our heating. Which is opposite for a lot here. Of course I want a nice covered front porch, but facing South, it sounds like that will block a lot of my sunlight? Having the main public rooms on the front of the house is what I'm hearing I should do, however I can't seem to think that layout will work for us considering everything.. I won't have my plan back until likely end of January, but I'd like to be able to have the windows/over hangs in the first draft than going back after the fact. Any help? If I should make my own post, let me know, but this one already has great info. Although I'm embarrassed to say I don't quite understand lots of it. Hoping my architect will. Im just hoping to get some knowledge to be armed with before I approach him, mainly for my self.

Goal:getting adequate sunlight while not letting the heat of the sun bake us for most of the year?

Other posters and your designer will be better guides for meeting your overall needs, and I think a new post is in order. Sounds like you have a good site for designing with the sun. It's the west and southwest you really need to be careful with. For east and west, reduce window area within reason while increasing shade from porches, overhangs and landscaping. Choose reflective roofing if possible and meet or exceed current international insulation and blower door minimums.

Longer sides facing south can work in climates like yours because it's easy to shade in the summer while providing the most winter light possible. Covered porches will block that winter light, but a good design could be worth the balance. You can probably skip the high solar heat gain option for south facing windows depending on your south window to floor area.

Since energy costs and smart design seem to be important to you, specify energy star certification and choose builders or designers who are fluent in envelopes and building performance. Involve a certifier early in design, especially if crawlspaces or attic ductwork is involved.

Thank you, I appreciate your time responding, as I gained some knowledge just reading it!

I guess where I get confused is reading other posts here about it, but I think more often than not those posters are giving input on warming the house with the sun during cold months while I need to accomplish the opposite, so I'm never sure if what I'm reading applies to what I need..

When one knows the sun angles for the various seasons, it's very easy to design a house to block the sun for any portion of the year and allow it to enter during the remaining portions of the year. I live in the Texas Hill Country, so I understand the situation you describe in Dallas. It's hotter longer in South Central Texas! But in December-February, it get cold and below freezing some nights. Having some warming sun during those months helps the heat pump to not work so hard to heat the house during the day.

The bigger challenge, however, is to design a house with the major open, public spaces facing roughly south, since that's an essential given the sun path in the northern hemisphere. If that's the front of your house, then you have an added privacy challenge from the street and passersby. Landscaping and fencing are the answers.

If you start a separate thread you should get lots of comments. Search older threads here--there's lots of information.

Ok I have been reading up online about passive solar design.... Ver interestkng stuff!! . I'm not clear still how to design things if we are building a 2story house. Roof overhang calculations can help with the second story, but what do you do for the first story?

And if and when all else fails one can always turn to this:

Hope this helps!

Lol! Yes thanks this helps! Will have to think creatively I see!

Springtime Builder's comments are right on the mark! All of those who want to pursue a passive solar energy strategy for their homes should pay close attention.

A natural light strategy is simply a small subset of a larger, overall passive solar strategy.

For those who want to maximize the natural light in their homes, without going into more detailed passive solar strategies, the goal is to let the light into the house when you want it, not when you don't want it. For example, most folks don't want the warm summer sun in their houses during the hottest months of the year--whatever those are, wherever they are located.

On the other hand, letting the natural light penetrate into the house during the coolest months of the year may not be undesirable.

To figure all of this out is very simple. Simply download the solar charts for your location, calculate the sun angles during the warmest and coolest times of year for your location. With that bit of simple trigonometry, design the height and width of the windows on the southern facades of your house, and any need shading devices.

Bingo! Natural light when you want it. And not when you don't.

Easy, peazy!

PS: Two other small design criteria: 1) your house must have it's major public spaces and major glazing oriented southerly; 2) your house can't be more than 1-2 rooms deep, or else the natural light will simply not penetrate and you will be left with dark rooms and corridors.

Having homes designed only one or two rooms deep also allows for windows on more than one wall, thus making the light much more balanced and appealing throughout the entire day.

Thank you all. your responses have been so helpful. I have another follow-up question. As I mentioned in the original post, the back of the house will actually face slightly southwest. I went to the lot today and was surprised to see that the sun seemed to be setting right in the direction the back of our house would face. I read up a little and found out that in the winter, the sun will set south of true West. My question is, how do I account for this design-wise? How many degrees off from West does the sunset actually go? I will try to get the house built at the angle where the back of the house is true south as much as possible, but I don't have complete control as I need to follow the curve of the road somewhat and the houses are pretty close together in the neighborhood. Is there a certain angle that I should aim to be within? I am at the 39 degrees latitude.. thanks

Google "solar angles by location", plug in your location and you will have your answers.

In the winter, the sun rises and sets south of east/west. In the summer, the sun rises and sets north of east/west. It's why passive solar design strategies use the sun in the winter to help heat house interiors.

thank you! when I do that, I am getting that the sunset will vary by 23 degrees in either direction of true west (so the furthest south the sunset would get where I am is 247 degrees on the compass). If the back of the house faces somewhere between 180 degrees (true South) and 247 degrees, are we safe designing the house as if it has a southern exposure at the back?

btw sorry for all the detailed questions, you have been so helpful!!

To figure all of this out is very simple. Simply download the solar charts for your location, calculate the sun angles during the warmest and coolest times of year for your location. With that bit of simple trigonometry, design the height and width of the windows on the southern facades of your house, and any need shading devices.

Easy for you but I made sure to take the minimum required math to graduate high school and being an art major in college, I didn't need to take math.

"...If the back of the house faces somewhere between 180 degrees (true South) and 247 degrees, are we safe designing the house as if it has a southern exposure at the back?..."

If this is truly important, you also need to calculate the vertical sun angles, since it's the vertical angles, not the horizontal angles which make the sun your friend or not your friend.

For example, at noon in any season, is when the sun is highest in the sky--higher ins summer, lower in winter, but noon is always the highest elevation. Before noon and after noon, the sun is at various lower angles. The west sun, at any season, is low enough that virtually no architectural design strategy can keep the sun out of the interior of a house, unless there are blinds or drapes.

The more southerly one can orient their house, and the major glazed areas, the more ideal it will be. The more westerly it's oriented, the less ideal.

Check the charts for the sun angles between noon and sun set and see how this impacts your orientation. Are you good at trigonometry? :-)