North facing?

[bignige]

Is it recommended to avoid north facing houses, so as to minimise the heat impact on the property?

[NicF]

Depends on the layout of the house.  We have a long thin house where the rear is north facing but we have an opening louvre pergola on the back so we can block the sun in summer when it's hot and let it in in winter.  The west facing part of our house is more of a problem but we have our laundry and bathrooms on that side and no windows in the family room or living room on the west to avoid letting the hot afternoon sun in to the main rooms.

[flossybeth]

We have a north facing back garden and it's really tricky to get anything to grow in it (unless we want a desert garden).

I don't find the summer sun/heat on the actual house too much of an issue because we have a large veranda that provides shade for the windows but in the bedrooms that have windows facing north we do close the curtains to keep the sun out. I wouldn't avoid a house because of it's orientation if I liked it for all sorts of other reasons because there are things that can be done to keep the sun out - windows shades etc. and certainly it's a benefit in winter to have the sun on the windows to heat the house.

[NicF]

@flossybeth our front garden is South facing but due to the slope doesn't get any shade from the house so is in the sun pretty much all day.  I have roses, agapanthus's, a dwarf lemon tree, a dwarf orange tree, rosemary and chillies that all thrive in it.  I've also got a box hedge at the front but this does get a little shade from the tree on the footpath.  We do have an in ground watering system that is on for an hour a week in summer (in 20 minute bursts over 3 days but used to be all on one day), but other than that I don't really do any additional watering.  We were away one year over summer when there was 5 days over 40C and the front garden was looking nearly as good when we got back as when we left.

[flossybeth]

Thanks NicF, I didn't actually mean we do have a desert although the 'lawn' is doing a pretty good job of imitating one... I suppose what I meant was that you have to be a little more choosy in your plants; certainly this year we had tomatoes and capsicums with surplus (our first year of trying them), we've got a passionfruit vine that's rather more vigorous in it's growing than we expected, a Mitre 10 reject lemongrass that won't stop growing and my favourite are the wonga wonga vines going along the back fence as well as plenty of native plants. There are lots of others that we've tried that have given up to the heat of the sun though - it's definitely gardening by trial

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

OMG has it been a cold start to winter! I am living in a north facing home and it's an absolute pleasure to have the sun streaming in through the large lounge windows. The lounge room is much warmer than the rear of the house and with temperatures dropping to 4 degrees last night it's wonderful to have the north facing property.

In summer the front of the house has roller shutters which shut out the extreme sun and heat.

[snifter]

For sure in summer its fab to have some of that sun on the rooms. I love our bedroom and living room in the afternoons on sunny winter days as they are lovely and warm to be in and it helps into the evening. Family room and back of house are noticeably cooler. 

In summer it doesn't matter a jot, the entire house is stinking hot on hot days unless we run the air con 

[Rammygirl]

Yes free heating from the sun in winter a boon.  In the summer when the sun is higher in the sky it doesn't come in because of the eaves overhang.  If a house is well designed for its plot and position it shouldn't be an issue at all.