Shadow Calculator
Web and SaaS
shadow calculator
SHOW HN2022
120points
25comments
#516of 2,570 in 2022
Top 21%of 2022 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
7 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 3 critical, out of 20 comments about the project. Thread score +0.21.
Idea: 5 for, 0 againstExecution: 1 for, 1 againstDesign: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful for checking shadows and sun position at different times
From 3 comments
Awesome work! I'm using it to figure out the shadows cast by the Twin Towers (417 m. and 415 m., North and South towers, respectively) at different times of the day and different…
cpp_frog on HNAs an outdoor photographer I’m constantly referring to an ephemeris[0] to check out the light situation at different times. This isn’t nearly as full featured as what I use but I…
ldayley on HNAh this is perfectly timed--many of the old garden-focused azimuth / altitude / persephone day calculators are defunct and never handled the problem of cast shadows very well in…
weichbild on HN
Objections
Treats Earth as flat and ignores elevation and terrain shadows
From 5 comments
Very cool. Sorry for being "that guy" but I assume this doesn't take into account the earth surface curvature, just the relative sun position and then assumes a flat earth? It…
cyborgx7 on HNAssumes a flat surface, I've just tested it on a large crater [0]. [0] http://shadowcalculator.eu/#/lat/-23.928141910247348/lng/-68.26168716018941
cpp_frog on HNYup, seems to treat Earth as flat, not really useful in my area (living in the valley, surrounded by high mountains from east and west - sunrise time does not mean you're going…
alfanick on HNWow, this is going to be great for determining ideal time of day to climb at different areas edit: the controls really could use some work though edit2: It doesn't appear to take…
pcthrowaway on HNI thought this could solve the following problem: when camping during a mountain hike, figure out where to set up the tent, by knowing at which time you will be woken up by…
a3_nm on HN
Title is misleading since it only uses Google Maps as a map source
From 1 comment
The title is kinda misleading, as this has nothing to do with Google Maps other than using it as a map source.
seba_dos1 on HN
Controls such as drag handles are finicky
From 2 comments
Wow, this is going to be great for determining ideal time of day to climb at different areas edit: the controls really could use some work though edit2: It doesn't appear to take…
pcthrowaway on HNThe drag handles are a bit finicky/small to grab, and would be nice to be able to set the heights as a group. Otherwise great!
dsmmcken on HN
Requests
Shareable URLs with polygon parameters and datetimes
From 1 comment
good job! would be great if you could add polygon params and datetimes in the url so it would be easier to share
victormier on HN
Shadow-aware walking directions
From 2 comments
Very neat! An idea that often came up amongst coworkers while walking to a lunch spot during the hot summers was being able to get walking directions that preferred routes in…
pmlamotte on HNI actually proposed something similiar to friends at google maps, that it be interesting for walking directions to advise based on which route would be most shadowed (say in the…
compsciphd on HN
Group height editing for buildings
From 1 comment
The drag handles are a bit finicky/small to grab, and would be nice to be able to set the heights as a group. Otherwise great!
dsmmcken on HN
Questions
Could it estimate solar panel output?
From 2 comments
Could I use this to figure out what I might he able to achieve from adding solar to my home if I hooked it up to homeassistant? I'm in the UK and trying to work out if it's worth…
alias_neo on HNVery nice. Confirms that installing solar panels on my roof simply isn't economical. Guess installers would find something like this handy.
ricardo81 on HN
Alternatives named
ShadeMap
From 2 comments
I personally find http://shademap.app much nicer. And obligatory plug for my Android App (if you need an Augmented Reality type of application to visualize the sun position):…
folli on HNI made a tool for this. Check out https://shademap.app/@37.72457,-119.60944,10.69315z,1647011073272t,0b,0p
tppiotrowski on HN
Photoephemeris
From 1 comment
As an outdoor photographer I’m constantly referring to an ephemeris[0] to check out the light situation at different times. This isn’t nearly as full featured as what I use but I…
ldayley on HN
Sunlocator
From 1 comment
I personally find http://shademap.app much nicer. And obligatory plug for my Android App (if you need an Augmented Reality type of application to visualize the sun position):…
folli on HN
Solcast
From 1 comment
Nice work. If your interested in using this for evaluating solar production then check out https://solcast.com/ There is a free version. I have it hooked this up to Homeassistant…
monkeydust on HN