Just how important is sunshine?

As winter approaches it is a great time to consider how important it is to you to have as much sunshine as possible shining into your house.

Even if you are not at home to enjoy it during the working week the impact on your life is still important and so is the impact on your home. We need sunshine to maintain a dry house and to provide free warmth so our power bills don’t cripple us. So when you are looking to buy a home you need to consider how much sun it will get very carefully.

It is possible to change the layout and décor of a house but it’s not really possible to change it’s angle to the sun so having a sunny home depends on 3 things

which part of the house faces north
obstacles which block the sun
the height of the sun at different times of the year

When you view a house for sale always check where north is using a compass. Don’t rely on the agent knowing or guessing for yourself. Your phone probably has a compass or you can use Google Maps to check.

The rooms which face north will get the most sun with east facing rooms receiving morning sun and west facing rooms receiving afternoon sun. South facing rooms probably won’t get any sun in winter.

During the summer the sun is higher in the sky and you get less direct sunshine coming in whereas in winter it is lower in the sky so it will shine into rooms further although it is not around for as much of the day.

The most important impact of the sun being lower in the sky in winter is that obstacles can block it much more easily. A hill, trees or a neighbouring house which is higher than yours, are all obstacles which can reduce the amount of sun which will shine into a house and seriously spoil your enjoyment of your home.

Once you have bought a house it is too late to discover that it doesn’t get enough sun to get you through a dreary winter so check it out when you are viewing and be happy regardless of the season.

Robyn Forryan

Property Magic

0800 800455

Robyn has been in the real estate industry for more than 20 years. She has sold houses, rented houses, traded houses and now she is doing what she loves best – helping house buyers. Because of her varied experiences her advice is practical and honest as well as being independent because she is not a real estate agent but a house buyer’s consultant. She keeps her community informed about the property market, gives tips on how to buy a house and tries to help buyers with the techniques that will help them secure their dream home at the best possible price and with the least possible problems.