West Facing Rooms- Very/too Hot?

[gohvicc 0]

Hello, All

We are looking to buy a HBD apartment where 1 common room and the living room faces the west. It will definately see the setting sun.

Beautiful sunset aside, will it be very, very hot in the evening? It is an old style flat 20+ years old, so probably it does not have the new HDB insulation, etc. Can members please share their (hot) experience, please? To buy or not to buy- will we fry. . . ?? So

[yokine9a 1]

Yes, very hot in the afternoon especially during mid of the year.

What is the colour of the outside wall facing the west? Dark colour will absorb more heat.

Are you high floor or low floor? High floor might be more windy but also depends. Any objects like another block or tall trees in front to help to block the heat? If no, then prepare to have your aircon/fan on.

[latitude 0]

yes it will be very hot. sun shining on walls is hotter than shining on window. walls trap heat. look around is there another building to block the sun rays from this room? actually at this time of the year, u can experience the heat liao...

Edited April 30, 2008 by latitude

[Flimflam 0]

Hello, All

We are looking to buy a HBD apartment where 1 common room and the living room faces the west. It will definately see the setting sun.

Beautiful sunset aside, will it be very, very hot in the evening? It is an old style flat 20+ years old, so probably it does not have the new HDB insulation, etc. Can members please share their (hot) experience, please? To buy or not to buy- will we fry. . . ?? So

I have lived in about 12 different houses over the last 35 years, and regardless N, S, E, W facing, if the weather is hot, the house will accordingly be hot, too.

The only difference I notice is that certain facings are hot for a longer period of time in the day, other facings are hot for a lesser period of time. But it is a very small difference, almost insignificant. Like, East facing may be ot 4 PM to 6 PM, West facing may be hot 2:30 PM to 7 PM, as the sun heats up the block.

My girlfriend lives in a 5-I that is completely shaded by the surrounding buildings: no direct sun at all. And yet, it is unbearably hot. It is low-level, too, not top-floor.

If you want to totally avoid a hot house, I suggest you look for a different country instead of a different house. Canada and New Zealand look to be good choices.

[gohvicc 0]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. For an update: I did do a quick poll among friends, the general consensus is that it'll be hotter than a N-S house. Most of them are surprised that we are considering a E-W flat- hotter, difficult to re-sell, higher electricity bills etc.

But the up-side are: 1. house overall should be brighter, 2. Good for gardening, 3. rooms should be less musty due to sunlight penetrating, 4. house is warmer (for those who like warm houses).

Flimflam- you are right about staying somewhere else for the cooler weather. But some temperate countries are really too cold in the winter. I prefer warmer to cold. Because with heaters in the winter there are too many cold spots that can be uncomfortable.

Any forum members have long term experience in staying in E-W house would like to share experience?

[Sam Lee Poh Huat 0]

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. For an update: I did do a quick poll among friends, the general consensus is that it'll be hotter than a N-S house. Most of them are surprised that we are considering a E-W flat- hotter, difficult to re-sell, higher electricity bills etc.

But the up-side are: 1. house overall should be brighter, 2. Good for gardening, 3. rooms should be less musty due to sunlight penetrating, 4. house is warmer (for those who like warm houses).

Flimflam- you are right about staying somewhere else for the cooler weather. But some temperate countries are really too cold in the winter. I prefer warmer to cold. Because with heaters in the winter there are too many cold spots that can be uncomfortable.

Any forum members have long term experience in staying in E-W house would like to share experience?

Seriously, i wld suggest that u reconsider ur selection of ur potential W-E house cos it gonna b real warm in the day. Yes some may argue abt having a low level N-S facing flat is equilvalenly gonna b warm n this maybe due to poor air circulation but to face the sun from 12 noon on wards aint a joking matter.

I do vividly rem my childhood was at a W-E flat that faces the big red sun from noon n my mum did resort of pouring water on the walls of my living rm during certian time of the afternoon. Gladly or not, we r staying at the 1st level then n i do rem we spend most of the time in the afternoon at the backyard of kitchen cos living rm was like a living OVENS... but of cos during the north east monsoon it wasnt that bad if i did not rem it wrongly..

If u hv the time why dun u visit the place esp during afternoon period to get a feel of the sun. But ultimately, choice is urs n ur family must like the place.. . cheers~!

Edited May 1, 2008 by FD1976

[latitude 0]

i stayed at mum's plce for 20+ years before I moved out. her place is W-E direction too. kitchen faces east and living room + common rooms faces west . the only good thing is that clothes can be air dried within a few hours. we hang clothes around the windows to keep the glare out, so in fact our house is darker than those NS houses. we cannot take a nap in the afternoon too.

[cornetto 0]

am staying in a EW facing flat now. find it not tt bad actually. perhaps bcos staying high floor, so quite windy. sun shines in ard 5-7pm in the living room but we just draw the curtains lo. rooms face east but they have aircon so it's not a problem.

[David™ 0]

My 2 cents:

Every where is warm during the heat period in our "fair" country. Some hotter than most and some slightly less warm. Diff' is not really something worth to factor in when picking your house, say for example who in which location, facing any particular direction did not feel the heat wave these past few days/nights ?

The diff' is to minimal to worry about in our sunny island Singapore in my very humble opinion, shaded by blocks/trees/anything you will still feel the heat in hot times.

I have lived in 5 diff areas all HDB flats and my opinion stems from my living in my previous homes.

[NiVleK 0]

My new place in JW has the sunlight shinning all the way into the living room and all the bedrooms.

I have not moved into it, but I reckon that it will be HOT! However, currently at my mother's place, my bedroom is also the hottest!!! So hopefully I will get used to it.

In any case, both my WTB and I will not be home in the day..so I guess it will be fine.

BLAST THE FAN LOR!

[tofler 0]

Been staying in W hse for abt 10 yrs...

The prob with it as compared to the NS hse is that walls would be very much hotter... and it tends to crack more easily...

Apart from that, there's nothing else which makes the place too unbearable for any stay...

p.s. Move your bed away from the wall facing the evening sun, use a better paint like weather prove paint for that side of wall...

That would solve all the evening sun prob... And rem... you need an aircon for your place... Singapore is really hot...

[Flimflam 0]

My 2 cents:

Every where is warm during the heat period in our "fair" country. Some hotter than most and some slightly less warm. Diff' is not really something worth to factor in when picking your house, say for example who in which location, facing any particular direction did not feel the heat wave these past few days/nights ?

The diff' is to minimal to worry about in our sunny island Singapore in my very humble opinion, shaded by blocks/trees/anything you will still feel the heat in hot times.

I have lived in 5 diff areas all HDB flats and my opinion stems from my living in my previous homes.

Too **** right, David. Exactly my own feelings. No place in Singapore is not hot. Every place is searing, broiling, barbecue-hot. Even $3 MM landed property bungalow is searing hot. Just no getting away from the hot weather in Singapore. That is why the Tour Agencies sell so many tours to Europe, US, Japan, etc.

[Starscream 0]

If the East-West facing house offers a choice location, convenience in transport, good proximity to amenities and a reasonable price. Would you go for it? I think there be good and bad for most things in life, so it can be a little compromise with some gains to be had

Edited May 4, 2008 by Starscream

[weezersg 5]

I have no experience living in west facing home. However previously, was living in top floor old HDB flat NS orientation, it was very hot during night time as the roofing is not well insulated I guess. The effect of a west facing will be similar as the wall will be absorbing the heat during the day till 7pm and slowly released during night time.

Granted, during hot season, all flats will be hot no doubt, but those that face the direct west sun or old top level flat will be hotter than the rest esp during night time.

In my old flat, aircon is on whenever I at home, all year round, even fan wont do.

[gohvicc 0]

Since we wanted to know more, did some websurfing, and found:

http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion3/animations/sunmotions.swf

Good to see how the sun would move, at different times of the day and different times of the year. Can imagine being in the room and looking at the sun. . .