Reading a window (direction and distance)

After this you can rank any window in your home from brightest to dimmest.

Two things decide how much light a window gives: which way it faces, and how far the plant sits from it. Direction you cannot change; distance you can, and it matters more than people think. Light falls off fast as you move into a room — a plant one metre back from a bright window gets a fraction of what a plant on the sill gets.

Window direction, northern hemisphere

South-facing — the brightest, most hours of direct sun through the day
West-facing — bright, with strong direct sun in the afternoon
East-facing — gentle direct sun in the morning, softer the rest of the day
North-facing — the dimmest, steady but never direct sun

Flip north and south below the equator

If you are in the southern hemisphere, swap north and south: there, north-facing windows are the bright ones and south-facing are the dim ones. The principle is the same — the side of the house that sees the midday sun is the bright side.

Then subtract for the things in the way. A tree outside, a balcony overhead, a sheer curtain, a deep window reveal — each one quietly steals light. A south window with a big tree in front of it can be dimmer than an unobstructed east one. This is why you have to measure your actual room, not read a tag and assume.

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