Free tool
How many hours of sun does my spot get?
Choose your city and a date, say what is in the way, and see exactly when the sun reaches your garden bed, hot tub or patio on a real sun-path chart.
Direct sun at your spot
14.4 h
Full sun
Daylight
14.4 h
4:50 AM to 7:10 PM
Lost to shade
0 h
from what you added
Six or more hours of direct sun: good for vegetables, fruiting plants, solar lights and a sun-warmed hot tub. In summer you will want shade where people sit.
Sun path on June 21
You are at the center, looking up. The rim is the horizon, and the shaded wedge is what blocks the sun. Gold is sun reaching you, gray is blocked. Numbers are solar hours.
Sun through the day
At solar noon the sun is 77° above the horizon, so your 24-ft obstruction casts a shadow about 5 ft long.
Across the seasons
| Date | Daylight | Direct sun | Noon sun height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20 | 11.9 h | 5.8 h | 53° |
| Jun 21 | 14.4 h | 14.4 h | 77° |
| Sep 22 | 11.9 h | 5.8 h | 53° |
| Dec 21 | 9.6 h | 0.3 h | 30° |
A spot that is shaded all winter can be baking in July, and the other way around. Check both ends before you plant, place a hot tub or buy a shade.
How this is calculated
Sun position uses the standard solar-declination formula for your latitude, sampled every five minutes. It ignores the equation of time (up to about 16 minutes) and atmospheric refraction, and the times shown are local solar time, so your clock may differ by up to an hour with daylight saving.
Each obstruction is modeled as a flat wall of the width you give, facing your spot. Trees are really lumpy and let some light through, so treat tree results as a worst case. Haze, hills and anything not listed are ignored. Full sun is 6 or more hours of direct sun, part sun is 3 to 6 hours, and mostly shade is under 3, the usual gardening bands.
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Quick answers
How many hours of sun is full sun?
Gardeners generally call six or more hours of direct sun full sun, three to six hours part sun or part shade, and under three hours shade. Many vegetables and fruiting plants want full sun, while hostas and ferns are happy with much less.
Where should I put a hot tub with respect to the sun?
It depends on your climate. In cool places, a spot with afternoon sun helps the cover stay warm and the evenings pleasant. In hot places, partial shade keeps the cover and the people cooler. Check the sun hours in both summer and winter before you commit to a spot.
Why does the sun path change with the seasons?
Earth's tilt makes the sun climb high and stay up long around the June solstice and stay low and brief around the December solstice. A wall that casts almost no shade in July can shade a spot all day in January.
Is this accurate for my exact yard?
It is an accurate model of where the sun is for your latitude and date, and it treats each obstruction as a simple flat wall. Real trees, rooflines and hills are messier, so use it to compare spots and seasons rather than as a survey.
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