Sun Path overview
The sun's path across the sky for your exact site, with solstice and equinox angles and the nearest station's solar radiation.
Sun Path draws the sun's path across the sky for an exact site: the path on the 21st of each month, and for the solstices and equinoxes the noon altitude, daylight hours, sunrise and sunset, and where the sun rises and sets. It also charts the monthly solar radiation recorded at the nearest weather station.
A Sun Path scheme saves its name, the weather station, and the site's location. The sun angles are computed for the site; the radiation comes from the station.
Sun Path works the same way as the other climate tools (Wind Rose, Rainfall and Thermal), but saves its own schemes.
The main screen #
From top to bottom:
- The toolbar. Project ▾ on the left, then the scheme's name (click it to rename) and a status message when something happens. On the right: ▦ Board, ⇄ Change station, New, Import, Export ▾, and Share / Snapshots last. ▦ Board and ⇄ Change station show once a station is loaded.
- The study. A Colors setting, then four cards: Site location, Sun path, Solstices and equinoxes and Solar radiation by month. See Sun path and radiation.
- The source line at the bottom: the dataset, the station's file and who publishes it.
Before a station is picked, the tool shows its start screen: Saved in your projects, Find a station by name, Or map it from your site, and Demos to the side.
Start a new sun study #
Sun Path isn't on the project page's + New menu. Start it one of these ways:
- From a project page. Under Approximate location, click Sun ↗. Sun Path opens with the project's location as the site and its nearest stations on the map.
- From Site GIS. Under Site facts, click Open in Sun. Sun Path opens at the site's center. See Climate links.
- From inside the tool. Click New (confirm if a station is open), then map your site under Or map it from your site: search an address or click the map to drop a pin.
Then pick the nearest weather station. Sun Path keeps the site you mapped from with the scheme. How the start screen works is on Weather stations.
You can also pick a station by name first and set the exact site afterward. Until you do, Sun Path uses the station's own location.
A new scheme lives only on this computer until you open Project ▾ and click Push to a project…. Once it's in a project, it saves as you work. See Projects and schemes and Local only.
Open existing work #
- Saved in your projects, on the start screen, and Project ▾ both list your sun schemes. Click one to open it. It opens with its own saved site.
- On a project page, click the scheme's name.
- Import opens a scheme file saved with Export ▾ → Scheme file (.json).
Who can see a scheme #
A scheme in a project is shared with the people on that project, with their roles. Viewers see the site but can't change it. See People and roles. To share outside the project, use view-only links or snapshots.
Live station data needs you signed in with tool access; signed out, the demo stations still work. See Who can load station data.
An AI assistant connected through the AI connector can read the scheme, its site, the solstice and equinox numbers and the station's solar radiation, but can't change the scheme.