What is ShadeMap?
ShadeMap is a global simulation of mountain, building and tree shadows for any date and time. ShadeMap calculates shadow positions in realtime and displays them on a map.
ShadeMap can display how many hours of sun or shadow a specific location gets over the course of a day and even over the course of an entire year.
What can I use ShadeMap for?
Anything! I use ShadeMap to plan outdoor activites like rock climbing, skiing and mountaineering. My wife and I also used ShadeMap to find everyone shade for our summer backyard wedding. Below is a list of ideas from our users:
- Sun mapping for gardens, permaculture and landscaping
- Property and neighborhood assessment
- Solar potential assessment
- Construction impact assessment
- Photography
- Event planning
- Academic research in ecology and agriculture
- RV and campervan parking
Do you have another use case? Let me know!
ShadeMap won't load or it's very laggy
ShadeMap relies heavily on the graphics processing unit (GPU) of your device. In general, all modern smartphones come with a GPU and have small screens which make them ideal for using ShadeMap.
If using a computer, make sure your browser supports WebGL (test page) and reduce the size of the browser window to increase the performance.
Shadows disappear when I zoom in
For optimal perfomrance, ShadeMap only uses the data displayed in the viewport to calculate shadows. Mountains, trees and buildings beyond the borders of the map will not be shown. Zoom out if you want to include more data in your simulation.
How does ShadeMap work?
Given a location and time of year, it is possible to calculate the sun's position. ShadeMap then traces a path from each pixel on the map towards the sun. If the path intersects another object such as a building, mountain or tree, the pixel where the path originated will be in the shade. If the path does not intersect any objects, the pixel will be in the sun.
Can I see how many hours of direct sun a location receives?
Yes. You can see cumulative hours of direct sunlight for any date by choosing 'Hours in the sun' from the layers menu. You can change the date by clicking on date/time button at the bottom of the screen.
You can also see the annual amount of direct sunlight for a specific location by choosing 'Annual sunlight' from the Layers menu.
Where does the building data come from?
I am always seeking up-to-date data at low cost so the map can change periodically. Buildings missing height data are set to 3.1 meters (1 story) by default.
If you want exact heights and roof shapes, you can purchase Premium data which uses measurements gathered through LiDAR and photogammetry surveys.
My house is not on the map
You can use the drawing tool to draw your house on the map and set its height. More information in the video below.
Can I remove a building?
To remove an existing building or tree from the map, draw a polygon on top of it and set its height to 0. The shadows will disappear and hours of daily or annual sunlight will be recalculated.
Why should I pay for premium data?
The shadows displayed by default are estimates gathered through indirect means like crowd sourcing and machine learning models. The default data gives a general idea of shadow distribution and sun direction, but errors in the data can vary by several meters.
Premium data is composed of precise measurements collected via LiDAR and photogammetry surveys. This means building layouts, roof, tree and building heights will be exact to within 30 centimeters. This is the most accurate shadow modeling data available.
If this data is available in your region, an Upgrade button will appear when you zoom into street level. Premium data is purchased by square kilometer.
There are no tree shadows at noon
By default, shadows are displayed on top of the tree canopy, as viewed from an airplane.
To view shadows underneath the tree canopy, choose the Below canopy option in the Settings.
What direction is the sun?
You can display lines indicating the current direction of the sun, sunrise and sunset in the Settings menu. The directions of these lines will automatically update as you change the location, date and time.
Can I use this to sunmap my garden?
Yes, check out the video below
I purchased premium data but an email never came
I use a service called SendGrid to send emails from ShadeMap. SendGrid is used by many companies world wide and unfortunately some bad apples also use SendGrid for sending phishing attempts and junk mail. As a result, some mailboxes block any incoming emails sent via SendGrid. The good news is that this is rare and doesn't affect Gmail and other popular email providers.
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