For something that we all experience daily, sunlight can feel oddly personal – especially if you don’t feel like you’re receiving enough of it at the right time in your house. If you’ve been in the market for new data or a tool to help draw in real estate clients – or just appeal to your current ones – Shadowmap may be your saving grace.
Shadowmap, a tool from creators George Molzer and Simon Mulser, is a deceptively simple product with some really cool applications: It allows you to map out solar shadows in any environment using “3D data in a worldwide interactive maps app.”
The base program itself is free for online use, and it’s extremely easy to use. Simply typing in an address will take you to the property in question, at which point you can drag a slider to simulate the passage of time throughout the day.
Shadowmap’s “Pro” subscriptions start at $14.99/year and allows you to select specific dates (both past and future) as well as view high-definition visuals; you’ll also receive updates as they come.
Adding this to your toolbox could help convince clients who are on the fence about purchasing certain properties, and it makes for a powerful discussion piece when taking on new clients.
Being able to tell someone exactly how the sun will illuminate certain sides of their property after only a few seconds of research is impressive, and it entails information that many consumers will want to hear whether or not it is at the forefront of their minds.
There are plenty of applications for developers and casual designers, too. Product Hunt cites several different users proclaiming their joy at the creation of Shadowbox, from people who are excited at the idea of Feng Sui to relieved developers positing that the tool will make compliance easier to achieve.
Employees who work in the elements are similarly intrigued: “As I work with Wine Imports the use-case for weather-sensitive products such as Rosé are clear,” says Andreas Bøggild.
Of course, the technology is only as accurate as past weather conditions can dictate, but Shadowmap is a welcome alternative to standing in the garden and looking up at the sky for hours to see when the sun will finally hit the living room window.
Jack Lloyd has a BA in Creative Writing from Forest Grove's Pacific University; he spends his writing days using his degree to pursue semicolons, freelance writing and editing, oxford commas, and enough coffee to kill a bear. His infatuation with rain is matched only by his dry sense of humor.
