Solar
A roof that looks sunny in June can spend December in a tree's shadow. Home Shade measures your house and the trees around it and shows the hours of direct sun on your roof, any day of the year, so you know which faces are worth panels before an installer visits.
See the shade at your home
Direct sun on one example roof, month by month. The dip is winter: a low sun, long shadows, and the trees taking more of it.
Panels earn most in summer, but the difference between a good roof and a poor one shows up in winter. The sun sits low, every shadow is long, and a tree that misses your roof in June can cover it from November to February.
So look at December, not just June. A face that keeps its midday sun in midwinter is the one to put panels on.
In the United States, south-facing roofs get the most direct sun across the year, with west and east faces next. West suits homes that use more power in the late afternoon. North faces rarely make sense unless the pitch is very shallow.
Home Shade shows the sun on your own roof, so you can compare faces directly instead of relying on a rule of thumb.
Shade is not only your own trees. A neighbour's oak, a taller house next door, or your own chimney can each take hours off a face. Home Shade measures the trees around your house one by one and casts their real shadows across the roof.
It tells you how many hours of direct sun each part of the roof gets, on any day. It doesn't estimate kilowatt-hours or savings: that depends on panels, inverters and your utility. Use it to know where to ask an installer to quote.
Many installers look for around four or more hours of direct sun a day across the year, with the roof clear of shade around midday. Home Shade shows your roof's hours for any day, summer or winter.
Yes, most of all in winter, when the low sun casts long shadows. A tree that misses your roof in summer can shade it for months. Home Shade casts your actual trees' shadows across the roof.
No. It shows hours of direct sun on each part of the roof. Energy output depends on the panels and your system, so use Home Shade to decide where to get quotes.
