Knowledge Base

Sun Exposure

What is Sun-Hour Exposure Analysis?

Sun-hour exposure analysis is a critical assessment tool used to measure the amount of direct sunlight and help optimize the design to ensure natural light and the comfort and well-being of occupants. This tool is essential for proposed developments, open spaces, landscapes, and gardening.

Set SketchUp for Sun Exposure Analysis

1. Set up the desired camera position (Shadow Colour supports any camera position).

Shadow Colour 2.2 SketchUp View Perspective

2. Set the geo-location of the project
Windows
Model Info Geo-Location

Shadow Colour 2.2 SketchUp Location

We recommend saving the view as a new scene: 

  • View  Animation  Add Scene 
Shadow Colour 2.2 SketchUp New Scene

Conduct Sun Exposure Analysis

1. Click on the ‘Sun Exposure’ tab to switch to the sun exposure analysis mode.

Shadow Colour 2.2 SketchUp Sun Exposure Mode

2. Select a date for the analysis.

Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Select Date

3. Select the time range.

Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Select Time Range

4. Select time intervals. – 2 Hours, Hour, 30 Minutes, 15 Minutes.

Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Select Intervals

5. On the time-increments bar you may:

  • Adjust the time increments by dragging the hour marks below the bar.
Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Adjust
  • Add increments by clicking below the bar.
Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Adjust2
  • Remove increments by clicking the garbage bin icon.
Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Remove
  • Assign colours for time increments by clicking the coloured section.
Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Adjust Colours
Colour Bar Animation - L

5. Click ‘Preview Image’ to get a preview of how your sun exposure analysis will look like.

Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Preview Image

Short walkthrough video for sun-exposure:

Sun Hours - Area Calculation

Shadow Colour allows you to calculate the sun hours area within selected regions.

To generate a sun hour area calculation, please ensure the following:

  • The view is Top and orthographic/parallel projection.
  • The site is fully contained within the view.

1. Click ‘Region’ and select a property line from the Revit view.

Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Select Region
Shadow Colour 2.2 SketchUp Sun Exposure Select PL

2. You can rename the region under ‘Name’.

Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Name Region

3. Under ‘Actions’ you can delete or remove the selected region.

Shadow Colour 2.2 Sun Exposure Region Actions

4. Click on ‘Preview Image’ and the area calculation will be displayed alongside the preview image.

  • Please note that generating the preview image may take some time when calculating areas.
  • You may deactivate the area calculation from the settings.
Shadow Colour 2.2 SketchUp Sun Exposure Area Calc
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