Keep the sun off you.
Free tools that work out where the sun will be over your patio, deck or window at any hour of the year, and plain guides to the awnings, shade sails, umbrellas and blinds that stop it.
Tools
All tools →- Sun and shadow plannerPick a place, a date and a time and see where the sun is, how it moves through the day and the year, and where the shadow of an awning, sail, umbrella or wall falls on your patio, drawn to scale.
- Awning size and projection calculatorFrom the wall, the way it faces and the hours you sit out: how far the awning must project, at what pitch and how wide, so the patio is shaded in summer and lets the winter sun in.
- Shade sail plannerSet the anchor points on a grid and get the sail size, its area and shape, the twist and fall for rain to run off, and the posts, fixings and hardware to buy.
- Patio umbrella size calculatorTable shape and seats to the canopy size that covers them, the base weight it needs for its size and type, and the wind to close it in.
- Window heat gain and shading savings calculatorThe summer sun a window lets in by the way it faces, its glass and size, how much an awning, blind or film keeps out, and a rough figure for the cooling it saves.
- UV index and time in the sun guideWhat a UV index means for your skin type, how shade, cloud, water and sand change it, and the protection the WHO and health services advise. Not medical advice.
- Outdoor shade fabric comparerSolution-dyed acrylic, polyester, PVC-coated polyester and shade cloth side by side: UV block, fading, water, wind, weight, care and how long each lasts.
- Which way does my garden face?Use your phone's compass or the sun to find which way your garden or window faces, and see the hours of sun it gets in each season and where shade is worth having.
- Pergola louver angle calculatorThe angle to set a louvered pergola or a slatted screen to block the sun at a given hour, how much light it still lets through, and when the louvers must close.
Play with the sun
The same ideas as the tools, as games: how high the sun climbs, where shadows fall and what shade works.
Shadow ChaseA game: place umbrellas, sails and awnings on a budget to keep the guests in the shade as the sun crosses the sky. Ten gardens, from London to Phoenix.Sun Angle DailyA daily puzzle: a city, a date, a time. Guess how high the sun is and where it stands, then see how close you came and share your score.How well do you know shade? The quizTwelve questions on the sun, shade and keeping cool: which way an awning should face, why a sail twists, what UPF means. Each answer says why.
