Sunlight analysis for London homes

London homes can be difficult to judge for sunlight.

Terraces, narrow gardens, neighbouring buildings, extensions, dense streets and low winter sun can all change how bright a home or garden feels through the year.

SunStory helps you explore likely sunlight and shade around a specific London home. Enter a postcode, choose the property, and create a home-specific sunlight and shadow view that you can check by date and time.

Why sunlight is hard to judge in London

Many London homes are viewed quickly, often at a time chosen by the estate agent rather than the buyer or renter. That single viewing may not show what the property feels like later in the day, in a different season, or when the sun is lower in winter.

A garden may get useful morning light but lose the afternoon sun. A lower-floor flat may be affected by neighbouring buildings. A terraced house may have shade patterns that are hard to understand from photos alone.

London has more flats than most other UK cities. A lower-floor flat in a dense street, backing onto a neighbouring extension or beneath a rear addition, can have a very different light profile to the flat above it. That difference is rarely obvious from photos or a single viewing.

SunStory gives you a more practical way to explore those questions before you commit more time or money to a property.

Areas covered

SunStory is for UK homes, including London homes where the selected property can be found and enough data is available to create a useful scene.

It may be useful across inner, outer and fringe parts of London, including boroughs such as Ealing, Hackney, Newham, Redbridge, Havering, Bexley, Bromley and Hillingdon.

Example local areas include Plaistow, South Hackney, Barkingside, Collier Row, Noak Hill, Cudham, Yiewsley, Park Royal and Sundridge Park.

What to keep in mind

SunStory uses available building, terrain, map, sun-position, date, time and the property's location to create a home-specific 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. If you need a formal assessment, planning evidence, legal advice or professional design input, you should speak to a suitably qualified professional.

Start with a London postcode

Check sunlight for a home with the postcode for the property you want to review.

You can also read the broader guide to sunlight analysis for UK homes or learn how a shadow map for UK homes can help compare likely shade.