Picking plants for a balcony feels like guesswork until something dies. You buy a cheerful six-pack of herbs or a tomato start, set it on the railing, and three weeks later it’s either scorched and crispy or pale and leggy, reaching for light that never quite arrives. The missing piece almost always comes down to two things nobody tells you when you move in: which way your balcony faces, and how high up it sits. Together, those two factors come close to a formula for how many hours of direct sun you actually get on any given day.
This guide breaks down sun exposure by compass direction (north, south, east, west) and by floor height, with hour ranges you can use to choose plants, plan a reading nook, or decide if you need a grow light. No guessing, no dead basil — just general numbers to start from, plus a simple way to measure your own exact spot before you spend another dollar on plants.
Quick answer: In the Northern Hemisphere at mid-latitudes (roughly 35-45°N, where most of the US, Europe, and Korea sit), a south-facing balcony typically sees the most direct sun, often 8 hours or more a day in summer, while a north-facing balcony gets only brief, indirect light most of the year. Floor height matters too, but mainly on the lower levels: balconies on the first few floors are the ones most likely to lose hours to neighboring buildings and trees, while balconies higher up tend to get closer to the full exposure their compass direction allows. The ranges below are general planning estimates built from standard solar-position math, the kind behind NOAA’s Solar Calculator, and the sun-exposure categories used by university extension offices. Treat them as a starting point, then confirm your own balcony with the DIY method later in this guide.
Quick Facts: Sun Hours by Direction and Floor
| Compass Direction | Typical Summer Sun (hrs/day) | Typical Winter Sun (hrs/day) | Heat Intensity | Horticultural Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South | 8-10 | 4-6 | Strong, midday through afternoon | Full sun |
| West | 6-8 | 3-5 | Most intense, late afternoon | Full sun (hottest) |
| East | 5-6 | 3-4 | Mild, morning only | Partial sun to full sun |
| North | 0-2 | 0-1 | Low, diffuse light only | Full shade to partial shade |
These are general planning ranges, not a precise reading for your address. Actual hours shift with your exact latitude, the season, and anything blocking your view of the sky. Use the DIY method below to get a number that’s actually yours.
| Floor Range | Approx. Height | Typical Obstruction | Exposure vs. Open Ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground – 3rd floor | 0-30 ft | Trees, fences, neighboring buildings | Often noticeably reduced, worst in winter when the sun sits low |
| 4th – 9th floor | 30-90 ft | Minimal; clears most street trees and low rooflines | Close to the full exposure rated for that direction |
| 10th floor and up | 90+ ft | Rare, except near taller neighboring high-rises | Full exposure, generally windier |
These ranges assume an otherwise open sky: no overhangs directly above the balcony and no tall buildings within roughly 50 feet blocking the sun’s path. Balconies with deep overhead cover, like the floor above sticking out several feet, will run lower than these numbers no matter which floor you’re on.
How to Read a Sun Exposure Chart
Gardeners use four basic categories, and they matter because most plant tags reference them directly:
- Full sun: 6 or more hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight per day.
- Partial sun: 4 to 6 hours of direct sun per day, often concentrated in the morning or late afternoon.
- Partial shade: 2 to 4 hours of direct sun per day, with the rest of the day in bright indirect light.
- Full shade: Less than 2 hours of direct sun per day; plants here rely mostly on reflected or filtered light.
Direct sun means sunlight hitting the leaf with nothing in the way: no awning, no building shadow, no cloud cover. Diffuse or reflected light (bright but not direct) doesn’t count toward these hour totals, even though it still helps photosynthesis somewhat.
South-Facing Balconies: The Full-Sun Workhorse
In the Northern Hemisphere, a south-facing balcony tracks the sun’s entire daytime arc, catching light from mid-morning clear through late afternoon. At mid-latitudes that often adds up to somewhere around 8 to 10 hours in June and July, dropping to roughly 4 to 6 hours in December and January as the sun rides lower and takes a shorter path across the sky.
This exposure is hard to beat for tomatoes, peppers, squash, most flowering annuals, and heat-loving herbs like rosemary and thyme. The tradeoff is thirst: containers on south balconies dry out fast and may need daily watering at the peak of summer, especially anything under 5 gallons.
West-Facing Balconies: Hot and Bright, Late in the Day
West balconies pick up sun around midday and hold onto it through sunset, which happens to overlap with the hottest stretch of the afternoon. Expect something like 6 to 8 hours of direct sun in summer and 3 to 5 in winter. Because the late-day sun angle hits vertical surfaces more directly, a dark-colored pot or metal railing on a west balcony can feel considerably hotter to the touch than the same setup facing south.
This exposure suits tough, heat-tolerant plants: succulents, lavender, zinnias, and most Mediterranean herbs. Leafy greens like lettuce and spinach tend to bolt or wilt here in summer unless you add afternoon shade cloth.
East-Facing Balconies: Gentle Morning Light
East balconies catch the sun from around sunrise through early afternoon, roughly 5 to 6 hours in summer and 3 to 4 in winter. Because that light arrives earlier and cooler, plants here generally handle heat stress and water loss better than anything facing west or south.
It’s a strong middle-ground exposure, landing in the partial-sun-to-full-sun range depending on season and floor height. Lettuce, basil, parsley, strawberries, and many flowering plants that want sun without scorching heat all do well here.
North-Facing Balconies: Working With Low Light
North-facing balconies miss most of the sun’s direct path in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in winter, when the sun barely clears the horizon. Summer brings a little more, often a couple of hours of low-angle light near sunrise or sunset if nothing blocks the view, but most of the year this exposure sits in the full-shade-to-partial-shade range.
That doesn’t mean an empty balcony, though. Ferns, hostas, begonias, and most houseplants that already live happily a few feet back from a bright window will do fine here. If you’re set on growing vegetables or flowering plants that want more light than a north wall can offer, a supplemental grow light is usually the easier fix than trying to reflect your way to full sun.
Floor Height: Why the Same Direction Can Feel Completely Different
Compass direction sets the ceiling on how much sun a balcony could get; floor height determines how much of that ceiling you actually reach. On the first few floors, neighboring buildings, fences, and street trees routinely cut into your sun window, and the effect is usually worse in winter, when the sun’s low angle means even a modest obstruction across the street can shadow your whole balcony for hours.
Climb above roughly the fourth floor in most urban and suburban settings, and you typically clear the bulk of that interference. Street trees, fences, and two- or three-story rooflines stop being a factor, and your balcony starts getting close to the full exposure its compass direction allows. Keep climbing into high-rise territory and the main change usually isn’t more light, it’s more wind. Higher floors tend to be noticeably breezier, which dries out containers faster and can stress tall or trellised plants that catch more of a gust.
DIY Method: Measure Your Own Balcony’s Sun Hours
Charts are a starting point, not a substitute for watching your own balcony. Here’s a simple way to get real numbers:
- Track it by eye. On a clear day, check your balcony every 30 to 60 minutes from sunrise to sunset and note whether direct sun is hitting the floor or railing. Add up the direct-sun blocks; that’s your real hour count for that day and season.
- Use a sun-path app or NOAA’s calculator. Plug in your address and date to see the sun’s solar noon altitude, meaning how high it climbs in the sky at its peak. At 40°N latitude, for example, that angle runs about 73.5° at the summer solstice, 50° at the spring and fall equinoxes, and 26.5° at the winter solstice. The closer that number is to 90°, the more directly overhead the sun sits at midday, and the less a given obstruction will shade you.
- Calculate shadow length if you want precision. Shadow length equals the height of the obstruction divided by the tangent of the sun’s altitude angle. A 30-foot building across the street at a 26.5° winter altitude throws a shadow roughly 60 feet long, more than enough to shade a balcony that’s otherwise a full floor or two above it. Run the same math for your actual obstruction height and the sun angle for your latitude and season, and you’ll know almost exactly when and how long you lose light.
Grow Lights: When You Need Them and How to Use Them Safely
If your charted exposure lands in partial shade or full shade and you still want to grow sun-loving plants, a supplemental grow light can close the gap. A few safety basics matter more on a balcony than almost anywhere else in the house:
- Plug grow lights, small pumps, and heat mats into a GFCI-protected outlet, the same kind of outlet required for outdoor and damp locations under US electrical code. Balconies count as damp locations, especially if they’re exposed to rain or snow melt.
- Unplug fixtures and let them cool before handling, adjusting, or moving them.
- Never look directly into a high-output grow light while it’s on, and keep the fixture at or beyond the manufacturer’s minimum distance from your plant canopy. Too close risks leaf burn; too far and you lose most of the benefit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does glass railing or a solid wall change how much sun I get?
Yes. A solid or opaque railing blocks low-angle morning and evening light the same way a building would, which matters most on east- and west-facing balconies. Glass or open metal rails let that low light through, so two balconies facing the same direction can still log different hour counts depending on railing style.
Can I turn a shaded balcony into a full-sun one?
Not really; you can’t change your compass direction or the building across the street. What you can do is choose shade-tolerant plants, add reflective surfaces (a white wall or light-colored flooring bounces some usable light back onto plants), or add a grow light for the hours you’re missing.
Do these hour ranges apply everywhere?
They’re built for mid-latitude locations, roughly 35° to 45°N. Closer to the equator, seasonal swings shrink and every direction gets more consistent light year-round. Farther north, the gap between summer and winter hours gets much more extreme.
Why does my south-facing balcony still feel shaded some days?
Check for overhangs. The floor above you, an awning, or a roofline sticking out can block the sun’s path even on a balcony that should otherwise get full exposure. Deep overhead cover cancels out most of the directional advantage no matter which way you face.
Does a higher floor always mean more sun?
Only up to a point. Extra height helps you clear nearby obstructions, but once you’re above roughly the fourth floor in most settings, additional height mainly adds wind, not extra sun hours, for a given compass direction.
Reviewed and edited by Jason Paik. Spotted an error? Tell us — we verify and correct. See how we create content.