How to Orientate Your Home

Would you like free heat, abundant natural light and comfort all year round in your new home or reno? Then good orientation needs to go at the top of your list.

The single most important thing that influenced the design of our home was orientation.

From the very beginning, we had an unwavering commitment to face as many rooms to the north as possible, even though this meant we ended up with a very long, skinny house!

We then jammed as much double glazing as possible onto the north face to catch free heat from the winter sun that travels low in our southern hemisphere skies (we are in Zone 4, Australia). 

Now I can hear you thinking, 'This is all well and good for you Lisa, you have 22 acres and free rein to plonk your house wherever you damn well please.' 

Yes, this is true, it is most definitely trickier to maximise the benefits of solar gain if you have a poorly orientated block, small block or an existing home that is laid out all arse-about (no fear, I’ve worked with plenty of these).

However, the principles remain the same.

Because here is the thing, every single piece of land or home has a north face; it might be small or difficult to access, but it’s there. 

If you commit to making orientation your number one non-negotiable you will at an absolute minimum create one space in your home that is light, bright and comfortable.

And if you make this space your champion space (the space you spend the most time in) and ensure you create the ability to zone it off from the remainder of the home, then it will also perform like an energy-efficient superhero.

It’s important to note here that although orientation may be king, it’s critical to consider other passive design principles that will influence the effectiveness of your well-orientated glazing, such as shading, window treatments and cross ventilation - you can read about these by downloading our free Sustainable Build Checklist.

In past renovations - such as our flip house Ethelbrook below - we flipped the entire floor plan just to get the living areas onto the north, and every single time it has been the single most valuable thing we have done. 

Booken Blend flip house ‘Ethelbrook’

So it's simple, locate high-use spaces on the north and squish as much double or triple glazing onto that north face as you can (always making sure you shade it appropriately, more about that here). And then, if you are pushed for space, locate bedrooms, wet areas and low-use spaces to the south.

You may have to be inventive to achieve this, like using high clerestory windows or privacy screening, but I assure you it will be worth it.

You can check government recommendations for your specific Zone in Australia by heading to yourhome.gov.au.

Excerpt from our free Sustainable Build Checklist, download it here.