Shadow map for UK homes

A shadow map helps you understand where shade is likely to fall at different times of day through the year.

For a home, that can matter more than it first appears. Shade can affect how a garden feels, where you might sit outside, how bright the area around a home appears, how useful a patio may be, and whether a viewing gave you a fair impression of the property.

SunStory helps you explore likely sunlight and shade around a UK home. It creates a home-specific sunlight and shadow view for the property you choose.

For a quick viewing aid, you can read how to check sunlight before buying or renting a home, or use SunStory Compass to check the sun's direction at a property for free, without creating a full report.

Why a simple map or photo can mislead

A listing photo, map image or street-view screenshot usually captures one place from one angle at one moment.

Sunlight does not work like that. The sun moves across the day, changes height through the year, and interacts with nearby buildings, terrain, fences, hedges and walls. A garden that looks bright in one image may feel quite different in winter. A home viewed in the morning may have different shade later in the afternoon.

That is why a shadow map can be useful before making a property decision. It gives you a way to look at likely shade more deliberately, rather than relying on a single viewing or a few photos.

What you can compare

With SunStory, you can explore a selected UK home in 3D and change the date and time.

That can help you compare:

• Morning and afternoon shade.
• Summer and winter sunlight.
• Different parts of a garden or outdoor space.
• How neighbouring buildings may affect the property.
• Whether a patio, garden area or space around the home is likely to feel brighter or darker at different times.

This can be useful when buying, renting, planning a garden, thinking about an extension, or simply trying to understand why one part of a property may feel darker than another.

How SunStory works

SunStory uses available building, terrain, map, sun-position, date, time and the property's location to create a home-specific sunlight and shadow view.

The result depends on available data and modelling assumptions. It should be treated as practical guidance, not a guarantee of sunlight.

SunStory is in early access and still improving. The scene is built from available building and terrain data, and may suggest fences, hedges and walls for you to review. Trees are not added automatically yet, but you can add them yourself to include their shade.

SunStory is not formal planning, surveying, architectural, legal or right-to-light advice. For formal assessments or legal decisions, you should speak to a suitably qualified professional.

Check a home

Check sunlight for a home with a postcode, or read more about sunlight analysis for UK homes.