Advice on the size of the balcony overhang on the upper floor

We have a covered south-facing terrace measuring 8 meters wide and 4 meters deep! The clear height at the front by the columns is 2.65 meters. We feel much more comfortable with this roofing than before without it. The rooms are definitely bright enough… no one has ever complained that it was too dark. The winter sun is so low that it shines deep into the room. In summer, the effect is of course undisputed. We even removed our blinds because they simply are no longer necessary. Whether you want the balcony is then your decision. Here are a few impressions of the lighting situation..

How do you see it? Can I still expect enough light? I am someone who likes to sit in the sun in the apartment. What do you think?

The correct choice of the overhang dimension, in my view, depends on how much sun comes through the windows into the room at different times of the year and how one personally evaluates that. Our architect chose the height and depth of the overhang so that at the highest sun position no sun comes through the window and at the lowest sun position the sun shines through the window all the way to the opposite wall. I think that’s great. My wife sometimes finds that in winter she is too dazzled by the sun but likes the brightness. She also sometimes finds the warm days in May and September, when the sun does shine through the glass, too hot. Since we can fold the panes away completely, this is not so crucial, because then the sun simply shines into the open room. Conclusion: I am mostly satisfied and consider the issue solved, and my wife finds the solution, depending on the weather or her mood, sometimes great, sometimes “problematic”. There doesn’t seem to be a “completely right” solution for everyone.

Our architect chose the height and depth of the overhang so that at the highest sun position no sun comes through the window and at the lowest sun position the sun shines through the window all the way to the opposite wall. I think that's great.

In the picture, I have marked the respective 60 cm overhang. Our room is "at the back." In the middle is a seating area with a correspondingly larger overhang; the children's apartments have a wider balcony terrace but also the 60 cm overhang. The 60 cm only works of course with the correct height ratio. The photo was taken on April 11, 2020, at 10:45 AM – so a "medium" sun position. [ATTACH alt="Bildschirmfoto 2025-01-21 um 12.01.40.jpg"]90103[/ATTACH]

From my point of view, the overhang depends on how much sun comes through the panes into the room at what time of year and

whether one also has corner or other uncovered windows.

whether there are also corner or other uncovered windows.

That's true, the two narrow side windows in our room have proven themselves in practice, but did not influence the choice of the overhang.

For my next house, I would definitely choose an overhang of the upper floor of 1m-1.5m on the south side with large, tall windows. This ensures it doesn’t get too hot too quickly in summer, and in winter the sun is low enough to shine through the windows anyway. So don’t worry about the brightness! However, I would seriously reconsider the balcony issue. With a large garden or terrace, no one sits there. And considering thermal bridging and the additional work, it is quite expensive for that.