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See where the sun lands on your home.

Shade Map measures your house and the trees around it, then shows you sun and shade on your own ground at any hour of any day of the year.

GardenPatioN3:17 PM

Garden in shadePatio in shade

See the shade at your homeHow it works

One payment. No subscription.

Sun now Free

123 Main Street

Decatur, GA · example

Where the sun is, right now

Sunrise
—
Sunset
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Daylight
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Drag through the day

Plan your own home, any hour, any day
A courtyard house from above, palm shadows across its terraces

Every home gets its own sun. Shade Map measures yours, the house, the trees around it, and where the light lands at any hour of any day of the year.

See the shade at your home

Light moves. Shade moves with it.

Drag through a day on one house. On the right, what Shade Map shows you at that same moment: the shade on the ground, and what is in sun.

Golden hour
123 Main Street7:52 PM
GardenIn sun
PatioIn shade
6.0 hof sun on the garden today
40 ftA two-storey house's noon shadow in December
4.7 ftThe same shadow in June
6.0 hSun on the example garden, June 21
39%Of the yard under six hours of sun in midwinter

Drag the sun across a real yard.

An example home in Atlanta, to scale: the house and its five trees, every shadow cast by the sun's true position. It shifts between the photo and the plan Shade Map draws from it.

GardenPatioN

3:23 PM

Sunrise 6:27 AMSunset 8:52 PM
  • Sun65° up, west
  • GardenIn shade
  • PatioIn shade

6.0 h of sun on the garden, June 21

Every sunrise and sunset, all year.

Yellow is daylight, black is night, for Atlanta. Drag across it to read any day.

October 2

Sunrise
7:32 AM
Sunset
7:20 PM
Daylight
11 h 48 m
12 AM6 AM12 PM6 PMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecToday

Atlanta: 14 h 24 m of daylight on June 21, 9 h 54 m on December 19. The steps in March and November are the clocks changing.

Every patch of ground, rated.

Plant labels mean hours: full sun is six or more, part shade three to six, shade under three. This is every patch of the example yard, counted every ten minutes from sunrise to sunset.

61%Full sun
25%Part shade
14%Shade
GardenPatioN

The same house at noon, every month.

40 ftnoon shadow in December, the sun 33° up
35Jan25Feb17Mar10Apr6May5Jun6Jul10Aug17Sep26Oct36Nov40Dec

One house, four questions.

A shady garden of ferns and hostas under old trees

What to plant, and where

6.0 h in June, 7.8 h in December

Tomatoes want six hours. Hostas want under three. Put each where its hours really are.

Solar panels on a roof, a tree's shadow falling across them

Where solar earns its place

6.8 h of direct sun on the south roof, December 21

Winter sun is what panels miss. Know what each face of the roof gets before you get quotes.

A courtyard where a pergola throws striped shade

Somewhere shady to sit

Shaded 3:19 PM to 6:44 PM, July afternoons

Find where the patio is cool at five in July before you pour concrete or plant a hedge.

A house with a pool, garden beds and solar panels, from above

Whether to buy the house

December light, before you make an offer

A listing shows one sunny afternoon. See what the yard and the roof get in midwinter.

Figures for the example yard above, worked out the way Shade Map works out yours.

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The sun right now is free. Planning is one payment.

Sun now

Free

  • Where the sun is over any address, right now
  • Today's sunrise, sunset and length of day
  • Your lot from above
Try it at the top

Shade Map

$24.99 once

  • Your house and the trees around it, measured
  • Sun and shade at any hour of any day
  • Hours of sun on every spot, June against December
  • The sunniest and shadiest ground near the house
  • Your homes saved to your account
See the shade at your home

No subscription.

Sun, shade and your yard.

How much sun does my yard get?

It depends on the day of the year and on what stands between the sun and the ground: your house, your neighbours' houses and your trees. Shade Map measures your house and the trees around it, then counts the hours of direct sun on every patch of your yard for any day you choose.

What counts as full sun, part shade and full shade?

Garden centres use hours of direct sun a day. Full sun is six hours or more, part sun or part shade is three to six hours, and full shade is less than three. Shade Map gives you those hours for each spot, in midsummer and in midwinter.

How does Shade Map measure my home?

Shade Map is powered by measure.so technologies. It measures your house and the trees around it, then works out where the sun is for your exact location, minute by minute, on any day of the year.

Does it include trees?

Yes. The tallest trees around your house are measured one by one: where each stands, how tall it is and how wide its crown spreads. Smaller trees are not modelled, so the hours of sun shown are a best case, most of all in winter, when a low sun reaches furthest through the trees.

Does it work for my address?

It works for homes across most of the United States. It measures houses, not campuses: a building more than about 260 metres (850 feet) across is too large to measure.

Does it account for clouds or weather?

No. Hours of sun are the hours the sun is clear of your house and trees: the most a cloudless day can give that spot. For gardening and siting that is the number you want, since plant labels and solar installers both start from it.

Can I use it to plan solar panels?

You can see how much direct sun each part of your roof gets in summer and in winter, and how much of it your trees take. It does not estimate energy output. Use it to know which roof faces are worth quoting before an installer visits.

What is free, and what does it cost?

Where the sun is over any address right now, with today's sunrise, sunset and day length, is free and needs no account. Everything else (measuring your house and trees, any hour of any day, hours of sun on every spot) is $24.99, paid once. There is no subscription.

Is it the same as the iPhone app?

It measures the same way, powered by measure.so technologies. The web version and the iPhone app are bought separately for now.