Orientation of house in Ireland.

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Kimmagegirl

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I live in an East/West facing home. Nice sunshine in the morning but then it disappears as it moves south around the house. Then in the afternoon it gets nice again as the sun comes around.
During the winter I often say that I should have bought a south facing house. However during very hot weather I often hear owners complaining that having a south facing house is awful as you cannot escape the heat. Sleeping at night can be very difficult.
I would be interested in any thoughts on this.

Additionally we had planned to rent an apartment in Spain for a month in the winter. We both said it must be south facing to grab the winter sun. Is this a good idea?
 
If it’s hot, it’s hot wherever you are and whichever way your house faces. We’ve a house that gets the full blast of sun in the afternoon and evening through to sunset around the side garden and back. Only way to go.
 
During hot sunny summer evening its east west facing houses that get the blast....as its facing west, where the blazing sun is! I habe an east west facing house and in the height of summer on those hot sunny evenings i wish my house was south facing!!
 
the best orientation in ireland (for most people anyway) is to have sun to the back of the house in your garden as much as possible, so a south facing garden is best followed by a westerly aspect. If your garden is east facing itll be sunny in the am and then thats generally it, which isnt much use to most people.
 
My house faces north/west (I think!) which I find ideal. Kitchen/dining room to back, sun room to side and sitting room in front. My bedroom in back corner so sun in morning as it rises, then it moves across the kitchen/dining room and after lunch is to side which is sun room and also a kitchen window and in evening then I get the last rays in the sitting room window.

It all depends on adjoining houses and trees too, I used to have lovely sun in my kitchen in the winter if there was a sunny day but when a 2 story was built beside my bungalow that blocked out all that low sun in winter unfortunately.

The whole house is not roasting though on a hot day, the hall and front rooms are always a lot cooler in the heat and if kitchen too hot I usually open door to hall to let heat disperse. Upstairs attic though with velux can be like an oven, you couldn't work up there on a hot day!
 
Bedroom in the East to catch the light of the morning. House is preferably south facing to get maximal daylight. Living at such northern latitudes, we underestimate how much we miss the sun.

Your baseline is always going to be your own home so a hot day is going to feel hot. The three weeks of having to cool down is worth the 48 weeks of maximal sunlight. Plus a south facing house is cheaper to warm and is more efficient for solar panels.
 
Kimmagegirl said:
However during very hot weather I often hear owners complaining that having a south facing house is awful as you cannot escape the heat.
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Hot climates manage this with reflective or light coloured blinds, shutters or other window treatments. You can also get double glazed units with integrated solar reflecting film that are very effective.

Don't forget that attics can get very hot during warm weather, and poor insulation will see this heat enter the living area.
 
Our house is big enough to dodge the heat by moving to either the front or the back. We finished off our breakfast cuppa this morning, by moving to the west side of the house to dodge the morning heat. It works great. Upstairs will always be a couple of degrees warmer. But as VonHohenzoller posted above "the three weeks of having to cool down is worth 48 weeks of maximum sunlight".

I agree with Leo. We were in France a couple of weeks ago and the temperatures hit 40 degrees. Our apartment was south west facing. It was a killer. We closed the wooden shutters on the outside of our apartment to keep the heat out. Thank God the shutters were there.

I think that I would still like part of my house facing south for the winter months though.
 
We've a South west facing aspect. Love it. Sun all day and get to see it set in the evening. I don't think we need to worry too much about hot weather in this country and when we do it's shortlived.
 
I have a theory that the kitchen and living space should be East facing because the winds are predominately Westerly,
which flows through the from colder area ie. Bedroom to the warmer area. If it was the other way, the warm moist air would condensate in the cold area and cause the dreaded black mold
 
roker said:
If it was the other way, the warm moist air would condensate in the cold area and cause the dreaded black mold
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Only if there were insufficient ventilation in the eastern facade. Even at high relative humidity you need a temperature differential of ~5 degrees C for the potential of condensation.
 
Leo said:
Only if there were insufficient ventilation in the eastern facade. Even at high relative humidity you need a temperature differential of ~5 degrees C for the potential of condensation.
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Note: The object now is to seal the house to prevent heat loss, which is a contradiction, you cannot ventilate and seal the house at the same time
 
roker said:
Note: The object now is to seal the house to prevent heat loss, which is a contradiction, you cannot ventilate and seal the house at the same time
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That’s what heat recovery ventilation is used for, and why it usually is installed in all new builds (and some renovations)
 
roker said:
Note: The object now is to seal the house to prevent heat loss, which is a contradiction, you cannot ventilate and seal the house at the same time
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Absolutely not so and the building regs are quite clear on that. The object is to seal to a point where you have sufficient ventilation.

Have a read of the regs, they go through what's required for passive and active ventilation.
 
Leo said:
Absolutely not so and the building regs are quite clear on that. The object is to seal to a point where you have sufficient ventilation.

Have a read of the regs, they go through what's required for passive and active ventilation.
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How do you measure what is sufficient to prevent condensation
 
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