How to Check Which Direction Your House Faces (Singapore)

The fastest way to check which direction your Singapore home faces is to enter its address into a sun facing tool that reads the building's actual orientation from map data. You can also work it out yourself using a compass app, a map, or by watching where the sun rises and sets relative to your main windows.

Why would you need to check this at all?

Facing direction affects how much morning or afternoon sun a unit gets, which in turn affects heat, natural light and how comfortable a home feels through the day. Many listings mention a facing direction, but the label is not always accurate or specific about which rooms it applies to, so buyers, tenants and existing homeowners often want to confirm it themselves before relying on it.

Method 1: Use a sun facing tool

The most direct method is to type your address into a tool built specifically for this, such as the Sun Facing Checker. This kind of tool reads the actual footprint and orientation of your building from map data and shows you the true facing direction, along with when the sun hits which side for any month and time of day. It also shows shadows cast by neighbouring buildings, which a compass alone cannot tell you.

This method is the quickest because it does not require you to be physically at the property, and it accounts for the layout of the actual building rather than a general compass reading at your location.

Method 2: Use a compass app on your phone

Most smartphones have a built in compass app, or one is easy to install. To use it:

1. Stand at the main window or the front door of the unit
2. Open the compass app and hold the phone flat, facing the same way as the window or door
3. Read the compass bearing shown on the screen
4. Match that bearing to the nearest compass direction, such as north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west or northwest

This tells you the direction that specific window or door faces. Keep in mind that phone compasses can be affected by metal structures, appliances or reinforced concrete nearby, so it is worth checking the reading in more than one spot in the same room.

Method 3: Use a map

Most map apps show north at the top of the screen by default. Zoom into your address, note which side of the building your main windows or balcony are on relative to the map's north arrow, and read off the direction from there. This is a reasonable way to get a rough answer without any extra apps, though it relies on the map's north arrow and your own judgement of the building's shape.

Method 4: Watch where the sun rises and sets

Since the sun rises roughly east and sets roughly west every day in Singapore, you can confirm a rough facing direction just by observing your own windows. If a window is bright with direct sun in the early morning, it is facing roughly east. If it catches direct sun in the late afternoon, it is facing roughly west. Windows that get comparatively little direct low angle sun in either the morning or the late afternoon are more likely facing north or south. This method takes longer since you need to observe at the right times of day, and it will not tell you the exact bearing, only the general direction.

Comparing the four methods

Method	Speed	Level of detail
Sun facing tool	Immediate	Exact bearing, sun hours and shadows for any month
Compass app	A few minutes	Bearing of the specific window checked
Map	A few minutes	Rough direction based on the map's north arrow
Watching the sun	Requires observing over a day or more	General direction only, no exact bearing

What should you do once you know the direction?

Knowing the facing direction is only the first step. From there it is worth checking whether that side actually gets direct sun given the floor level and any neighbouring buildings, since a west facing unit shaded by a taller block can feel very different from one that faces west with nothing in the way. Our guides on west sun in Singapore and the best facing direction in Singapore go into what to do with the facing direction once you have confirmed it.

What if different methods give different answers?

This can happen, and it usually comes down to which window or wall was checked. A compass reading taken at a bedroom window can point in a slightly different direction from one taken at the main living room window if the building is not a simple rectangle, and a rough reading from a map can be a little off if the building outline is hard to judge at the zoom level used. When this happens, a sun facing tool that reads the building's actual footprint tends to be the most reliable option, since it is working from the real shape of the building rather than a single manual reading.

Does the direction I find stay accurate all year?

Yes, the facing direction of a building itself does not change through the year. What changes slightly is where the sun sits relative to that fixed direction, since it drifts a little north of due east and west around June and a little south around December, and sits slightly north of overhead roughly April to September and slightly south of overhead roughly October to March. So once you know the facing direction, checking the sun pattern for a specific month gives you the fuller picture, which is exactly what morning sun vs afternoon sun and north south facing in Singapore cover in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

What is the fastest way to check which direction my house faces?

The fastest way is to enter your address into a sun facing tool such as the Sun Facing Checker, which reads the building's actual orientation from map data and shows the direction immediately.

Can I use my phone to check facing direction?

Yes. Stand at the main window or door, open the compass app on your phone, face the same direction as the window, and read the bearing shown. Check more than one spot since reinforced concrete or nearby metal can affect the reading.

Can I tell facing direction just by watching the sun?

Yes. A window that gets direct sun in the early morning is facing roughly east, and one that gets direct sun in the late afternoon is facing roughly west, since the sun rises roughly east and sets roughly west every day in Singapore.

Does facing direction change over the year?

No, the facing direction of a building stays fixed. What changes slightly through the year is where the sun sits relative to that direction, which shifts the exact hours and angle of sun on a wall from month to month.

Is checking facing direction enough to know if a unit will be hot?

Not on its own. Facing direction tells you which side gets the sun, but floor level, shading, glazing and neighbouring buildings all affect how much of that sun actually reaches the unit.