Sun Exposure for Real Estate
Evaluate sunlight conditions at any property. See how building shadows affect apartments, balconies, and gardens throughout the day and year.
Assess sunlight for any property
Sunlight is one of the most important factors when buying or renting a home, yet it is also one of the hardest to evaluate during a single viewing. You might visit an apartment at noon on a sunny day and assume it is always bright, only to discover after moving in that by 3 PM the neighboring building casts the entire living room into shadow. With Coffee in the Sun, you can see exactly how shadows from surrounding buildings affect any property at every hour of the day. Check how much direct sunlight a balcony, garden, or living room window gets from morning to evening. The app renders building shadows in real time as you scrub through the timeline, giving you a complete picture of the property's light conditions that no single visit could ever provide. Whether you are evaluating a ground-floor apartment in a dense urban neighborhood or a penthouse with an open sky, you will know precisely what to expect before you commit.
Check sun exposure across seasons
Sun conditions change dramatically between summer and winter, and this difference can fundamentally alter how livable a property feels. In northern latitudes, the winter sun sits so low on the horizon that even a modest building across the street can block direct light for months. Use the Time Travel feature to check how a property looks in December versus June. A south-facing balcony that gets eight hours of sun in summer might only get two in winter — now you can see this before signing a lease or closing on a purchase. Imagine you are considering two apartments in the same building, one on the second floor and one on the fifth. In summer, both get plenty of light. But scrub to a January afternoon, and the second-floor unit disappears into shadow cast by the building opposite, while the fifth floor stays bright. That kind of insight can save you from an expensive mistake and is nearly impossible to get from a single property viewing. The Time Travel feature lets you jump to any date of the year, so you can evaluate a property's worst-case light scenario, not just its best.
Show clients their future home's sunlight
Real estate agents can use Coffee in the Sun during property viewings to demonstrate sun exposure with visual clarity that no floor plan or compass direction can match. Show clients exactly when their potential balcony or garden gets sunlight — it is the kind of detail that closes deals. Instead of saying "this apartment faces south, so it gets good light," you can pull out your phone and show the client a minute-by-minute simulation of how sunlight moves across the balcony on a typical Saturday afternoon. Demonstrate that the living room will be bathed in morning light while the bedroom stays cool, or that the garden gets direct sun from 11 AM to 5 PM in August. This transforms an abstract selling point into a tangible, visual experience. Agents who use this approach report that clients feel far more confident in their decisions, and the conversation shifts from vague promises about orientation to concrete demonstrations of daily light conditions.
Evaluate garden and terrace potential
Planning a garden or outdoor living space? Check which areas get the most sunlight for growing plants, or find the spot that stays sunny longest for your evening drinks. Coffee in the Sun helps you make the most of your outdoor space. For gardeners, understanding sun exposure is essential — tomatoes and peppers need six to eight hours of direct sun, while herbs like parsley and mint can thrive in partial shade. Use the app to map out which sections of your garden receive full sun, which get dappled afternoon light, and which stay in shadow most of the day. This lets you plan your planting layout with precision rather than trial and error. For terraces and patios, the question is often simpler but equally important: where should you place the outdoor dining table so it is still in sunlight when you sit down for dinner at 7 PM? Scrub through the evening hours, find the last sunny corner, and arrange your furniture accordingly.
Compare multiple properties side by side
House hunting often means evaluating several properties in a short period, and it can be difficult to remember the light conditions of each one after a string of viewings. Coffee in the Sun solves this by letting you check and save any address. Imagine you are deciding between three apartments: one in a quiet residential street, one overlooking a park, and one in a new development surrounded by tall buildings. Open the app, navigate to each address, and use Time Travel to compare their light conditions at the same time of day. Save each location to your favorites so you can revisit and compare them later. You might discover that the apartment near the park — despite being on a lower floor — actually gets significantly more afternoon sun because there are no tall buildings to the west. Having this data for every property you are considering makes the decision process far more objective and removes one of the biggest unknowns in property evaluation.
Step-by-step: evaluate a property's sun exposure
Here is a practical workflow for using Coffee in the Sun when assessing a property. First, open the app and navigate to the address. Zoom in until you can clearly see the building and its surroundings. Next, set the date to the current month using Time Travel, and slowly scrub from sunrise to sunset. Watch how shadows from neighboring buildings move across the property throughout the day. Pay particular attention to windows, balconies, and any outdoor space. Note the times when the property receives direct sunlight — these are your sun hours. Now, change the date to mid-December and repeat the process. Compare the winter sun hours to the summer ones. If the property has a garden, check which areas stay sunny longest in both seasons. Finally, save the location to your favorites so you can pull it up during future viewings or discussions. This entire assessment takes less than five minutes and gives you more information about a property's light conditions than you could gather from multiple in-person visits.
Understand the impact of new construction
If there is a vacant lot or planned construction near a property you are considering, the future building could significantly change the sun exposure you currently see. While Coffee in the Sun shows existing building shadows, you can use the app to understand general shadow patterns in the area and assess the risk. Check how shadows from similarly sized nearby buildings fall at different times of day. If a six-story building to the south casts a shadow that reaches your property by 2 PM, a new building of similar height in the same direction would have a comparable effect. This kind of forward thinking helps buyers and renters anticipate changes rather than being caught off guard. Combined with the weather overlay that shows temperature and cloud cover conditions, you get a comprehensive understanding of not just where the sun hits, but what the overall outdoor experience at a property will feel like across different seasons and weather conditions.
