About Tende Sole

Tende Sole takes its name from tende da sole, Italian for sun awnings. It is a practical shade-planning site for homeowners in the US and UK who want to keep the sun off a patio, deck, garden or sun-struck window, and who want the numbers settled before they spend money. We cover awnings, shade sails, pergolas and louvered roofs, patio umbrellas, window blinds, shutters and film, outdoor fabric, and the sun itself.

The site is built around free interactive tools: a sun and shadow planner, awning, shade sail and umbrella sizers, a window heat gain calculator, a UV index guide, a fabric comparer, a louver angle calculator, a garden aspect finder, and a few games that teach the same ideas. The sun's position in every one of them comes from the solar equations the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes, checked against NOAA's own calculator and the US Naval Observatory. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Each tool links to the guides that explain the method behind it, and each guide names its sources, so you can check a figure rather than take our word for it. Measurements are given in both feet and metres. Where US and UK conditions, products or rules differ, as with permits in the US and planning permission in the UK, we say so.

Our guides follow the seasons. In winter we look at solstice and equinox sun angles, in spring at awning and sail installs, in summer at heat and UV, and in autumn at fabric care and storage. They are written to stay accurate for years. The aim is simple: you should know the exact size, angle and cost of your shade before you buy or build it.