I'd tend to agree with you, Susan. In a lot of areas the direction the front of the house faces is generally the road, and not south to take advantage of solar gain.

However, there are some newer communities starting to pop up here and there with house rows and roads traveling east west.

My Brother-In-Law actually had to get permission from a HOA to angle his house catty-corner to the street it was on. He finally got the OK, but only because his house was on an intersection. This allowed him to place a bunch of windows on the back of his house, facing south.

I'm currently trying to get him to add Solar PV to the back of his house.
_________________________
"Learn survival skills when your life doesn't depend on it."