South Facing Pool

[NigelM]

How important is it to have a SFP?

We will be relaint on spending sometime chilling arounbd the pool unfortunately I have an inkling that the villa we are considering does not have a SFP although it advertise that he pool area is always 'in sunshine'.

In July and August is the sun so high that the aspect of the pool is non-sonsequential?

Thanks

[Snapper]

Oooooooooo, your're about to open a bag of worms here. [msnwink]

All the owners with south facing pools will tell you that it's better, and all the owner's without will tell you that it isn't.

IMHO it does make a difference. Florida is in the northern hemisphere and so physics dictates that the sun follows a path to the south. So a pool that faces south should, in theory, get more sunshine than a pool that faces north. That said, Florida is down in the tropics and so closer to the equator and so the sun follows a higher path through the sky ... but still to the south.

There are a few other things to consider as well. A two storey villa will cast a larger shadow than a single storey villa. If a villa has a south facing pool but then has another villa back-to-back with it there might not be a lot of sun (and not a lot of privacy either!!). The villa's to either side can also impact how much sun reaches the deck, as even in the middle of summer the sun has to come up over the horizon at some point, and when it does and it's low in the sky it is very easy for the villa next door to accidentally nobble it. Having heaps of room between villas helps no-end as it creates the space for the sunshine to get through.

Another follow-on question to ask might be how much shade there is on a pool deck. The summer sun in Florida can get really hot. It's sometimes nice to have a bit of shade to retreat to if it gets too fierce.

It's a very emotive subject. You'll likely get heaps of interesting answers and opinions.

[Paula D-S]

We have a north west facing pool at our villa. It is two storey's but as we back onto a lake and the pool decking is extended we had the sun on the area all day when we were over July/August.[msncool]

[canarypam]

We have an east facing pool and in July/August we get sunshine from sun rise until about 5 - 6.00pm.

[luckylady]

Now this is very interesting, my 4 bed is true south facing with no other homes to block the sun from sunrise to sunset. IMHO it's just too hot at certain times of the day. I make for the lanai for some shelter from the heat of the day.

I have to admit it is great asset for the guests requesting a south facing pool,but not for me. [msnsmile2]

[FraserLynn]

I think this probably depends what time of the year you are visiting.

When we go in Feb we insist on a south facing pool, otherwise there is not enough sun to make it comfortable to sit out in or even swim in (even with pool heat).

In the summer we want a north facing pool as it is just to hot to be exposed to the sun the whole time and it is nice to have space to cool off a bit.

So if you are going in July / August, I don't think it really matters which way the pool faces.[msnwink]

[mfairhurst]

We have a north west facing pool but as said before 2 story building can cast a shadow , We have the sun all days and have to go into the lnia as too hot ,Wahich we are glad for as the lnia can be a nice place to be looking at the view .
Hope you enjoy your vacation ext time as well as the first time
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

[skippy]

It doesn't really matter what direction the pool is if you are going in the summer. I also have a south facing pool and I agree with Lucklady some times the heat can be unbearable as we get the sun all day.
sue

[dawn]

We have been here in Florida for the whole of August. Our house is 2 storey and north-west facing. The sun reaches the pool from 10-11am, then we have it all day until sunset.

Personal preference but it suits us to have breakfast in the shade, and if we go to the parks, we still can enjoy the sun until the sun goes down

[SteveandJan]

We have a SW facing pool and go late March/early April and enjoy that the pool deck is sunny and to be able to watch the sun set in the evening overlooking the lake. I would imagine during the summer months it wouldn't matter. A friend who rented a villa during October never thought about which way it faced, but they said they would next time as theu rented a north facing villa and the sun wasn't on the pool deck for a great deal of the time.