Shadows move, and site plans usually do not
The layout gets drawn once, in the morning, on an empty square. By the time the event starts the shadow of the building on the west side has crossed half of it.
Move the map through the hours of the event and watch which parts stay lit. It takes about a minute and it changes where the seating goes.
Plan the site in five steps
- Find the square, terrace or field on the map.
- Set the date of the event and step through its hours. The free version allows three time jumps a day; Pro removes the limit.
- Note where the shadow line falls at the start, at the busiest hour and at the end.
- Tap the exact positions you have in mind for the stage, the bar and the seating, and read the timeline for each.
- Add the shadows of your own tents, stages and trucks, which the map cannot know about.
Placing the things that care about light
Seating and bars want late sun. Screens, stages and anything with a camera pointed at it usually want shade. Food service wants neither extreme.
Because you can read the timeline for a specific point rather than the whole square, you can check each of those positions separately instead of arguing about the site as a whole.
The date matters as much as the hour
An event in May and the same event in September have the sun in noticeably different places at the same clock time. If you are choosing between dates, check both: the shadow line across the site can shift by tens of metres.
The sun hours report gives the whole year for a fixed point, which is useful when a venue is booked annually.
Limits to plan around
Marquees, stages, trucks and stalls are not in the building data, and they cast the shadows you are about to add yourself. Trees on a square are not modelled either.
Treat the map as the site before you build on it, and remember that weather sits outside the calculation entirely.
Common questions
Can I see the shadows for the date of my event?
Yes. Move the map to the date and step through the hours, and the shadows of every mapped building are redrawn for each moment. The free version allows three time jumps a day; Pro removes the limit.
Does it include tents, stages and trees?
No. Only permanent mapped buildings cast shadows in the app. Anything you put up yourself, and the trees on a square, will add shade the map does not show.
Can I compare two possible dates?
Yes. Move the map to each date and compare the shadow line across the site. For a fixed point, the full-year sun hours report in Pro shows how the light changes across the seasons.
Does it predict the weather for the day?
The shadow answer ignores the weather completely. The app shows a forecast alongside the map, which becomes useful in the days before the event.
