Architectural shadow analysis
Check what shades a site and when: the surrounding buildings, trees and the terrain itself, in 3D or as a plan diagram for a board.
What you get
- 3D shadows
- Terrain, buildings, trees and bridges lit by the real sun at any date and time.
- Plan diagram
- Shadows on level ground at a chosen time, with lighter shadows 3 hours either side.
- Sun hours
- Hours of direct sun on the ground for a day or averaged over the year, with shadows from terrain, buildings and trees, and the share of open ground over your threshold.
- Your proposal
- Buildings drawn in the site plan editor cast shadows in the presentation view from a chosen sun.
- Sheets
- Insolation sheets and analysis diagrams ready to print.
How to do it
- Generate the preview.
- Use Sun for 3D shadows, or Analysis for the shadow diagram.
- Choose the dates that matter (often the winter solstice).
- Download the sheet.
Limits to know
The shadow diagram assumes level ground for shadow lengths; the sun hours diagram and the 3D view include terrain. Sun hours are clear-sky figures (no cloud). Building heights are as mapped in OpenStreetMap. More on the data and accuracy page.