How much winter sun rural blocks get
For every rural, lifestyle and urban-fringe block in Lotline’s national build of 1 Oct 2026, we modelled the hours of direct sun on 21 June, averaged over about 150 points spread across the block. The sun has to clear both the slope of the ground itself and the hills around it, out to 2.5 km. Nationally, the median block gets 8.4 hours, and 3% of blocks get under 5 hours.
| Region | Blocks | Median hours of sun | Of the daylight | Blocks under 5 hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury | 51,187 | 8.5 of 8.8 | 99% | 3% |
| Southland | 21,848 | 8.1 of 8.5 | 96% | 1% |
| Taranaki | 18,351 | 8.6 of 9.2 | 93% | 3% |
| West Coast | 10,314 | 8.3 of 9 | 92% | 2% |
| Waikato | 58,509 | 8.7 of 9.5 | 92% | 1% |
| Bay of Plenty | 23,536 | 8.6 of 9.2 | 92% | 1% |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 39,869 | 8.4 of 9 | 92% | 3% |
| Auckland | 39,004 | 8.6 of 9.5 | 91% | 1% |
| Hawke’s Bay | 18,187 | 8.3 of 9.2 | 90% | 2% |
| Northland | 46,126 | 8.6 of 9.5 | 89% | 1% |
| Wellington | 18,954 | 8 of 9 | 89% | 7% |
| Otago | 29,457 | 7.5 of 8.5 | 88% | 7% |
| Gisborne | 7,807 | 8.1 of 9.2 | 86% | 4% |
| Tasman | 11,078 | 7.7 of 9.2 | 85% | 7% |
| Marlborough | 8,921 | 7.3 of 9 | 81% | 18% |
| Nelson | 1,052 | 6.8 of 9 | 75% | 14% |
Where the shade bites
The flat plains do best: Canterbury (99% of the daylight) and Southland (96% of the daylight). The shortest winter sun is in the steep, enclosed country of Nelson (median 6.8 hours; 14% of blocks under 5), Marlborough (median 7.3 hours; 18% of blocks under 5), Tasman (median 7.7 hours; 7% of blocks under 5). A block on a south-facing slope, or tucked under a ridge to the north, can lose half its winter sun even where its neighbours get all of it.
Why it matters
Winter sun affects how warm a house is, how long frost lies, how fast pasture grows and dries, and how much a solar system makes in the months you need it most. It’s also hard to judge on a summer viewing.
How to check a block
- Visit on a winter afternoon if you can, and note where the shade falls at 2 or 3 pm.
- Look north from the house and the main paddocks: a ridge, a shelterbelt or a line of trees can block the low winter sun.
- Every Lotline block report models winter and summer sun for that block, shows which way the land faces and how steep it is, and maps the largest gentle area.
Find the areas in a region where blocks get good winter sun, or see the example reports.