Turn on Sunlight to light the 3D property view based on the sun's position for a selected date and time.
It can help you understand things a single aerial image cannot show clearly, such as:
Which beds stay shaded in the afternoon
Where a tree may cast a shadow across a lawn
Whether a patio gets evening sun during summer
How shade changes throughout the year
Turn on Sunlight
Open a property and switch to the 3D view.
Select Layers using the stacked-layers button.
Turn on Sunlight.
The 3D scene updates immediately and the Sun panel appears in the bottom-left corner.
Why is Show geometry locked?
Sunlight needs the property's 3D geometry to cast shadows.
When Sunlight is on, Show geometry turns on automatically and cannot be switched off.
If you hover over it, Duranta shows:
Unavailable while sunlight is on.
Turn Sunlight off to control Show geometry again.
Read the sun's position
The top of the Sun panel shows the current position of the sun for the selected date and time.
It displays:
{{azimuth}}° az · {{elevation}}° alt
Azimuth shows the sun's compass direction
Altitude shows how high the sun is above the horizon
If the selected time puts the sun below the horizon, the panel shows:
Below horizon
The scene is then lit as it would be after dark.
Change the time of day
Use the Time of day slider to move the sun through a single day.
💡The slider moves in five-minute steps.
The displayed time is solar time, not the local time shown on your phone or computer.
Solar noon is the point when the sun is highest over the property, so solar time may not exactly match local clock time.
The view starts at 06:10 solar.
Change the date
Use the Date slider to move through the year one day at a time.
The date is shown as a month and day, for example:
Sep 28
It starts on today's date.
Changing the date changes the path of the sun, which helps you compare seasonal shade.
💡For example, an area that receives full sun in June may spend much of the day in shade during December.
Adjust shadows
Use the Shadows slider to control how dark shadows appear.
The range is:
0% to 100%
It starts at 100%.
Lower the setting when deep shadows make it difficult to see the property underneath them.
This keeps the shape of the shadows visible while making the 3D geometry easier to inspect.
Play a sunlight timelapse
Select the play button beside Time of day to move the sun automatically through the day.
The timelapse advances by about 16 minutes of solar time each second.
Playback stays within daylight hours.
When the sun reaches sunset, it returns to sunrise and starts the day again.
If you start the timelapse after sunset, playback begins at the next sunrise rather than continuing through a dark scene.
Select the same button again to pause.
The timelapse keeps running if you close the Layers menu, so you can watch the property without the menu covering the view.
Turning Sunlight off stops playback.
