So far, my yards have dictated which way my hives faced, not from my preferences or choice. Seems like most of the time they either face North or South. I think facing the direction where there is least amounts of prevailing winds, especially in winter, might be more weighty than facing morning sun. I've noticed that facing north or south, one side gets sun in morning and other gets it in evenings. The opening may not face the morning, but shining on the full side of a hive should help warm things up inside? At any rate, the hives I have here now face north or south, depending on which rails they are sitting on. This was determined to be so because of the level/slope of the ground and the length of the rows, and how well I could see the hives from the front porch!