Uses
What the sun figures are used for
Sun is one of the few things about a home you cannot renovate. Below is what buyers, sellers and estate agents use the figures for. The same calculation runs for every address, so figures from two homes can be compared directly.
Compare homes on the same basis
The photos in the listing were taken on the finest day of the year, and the viewing lasts half an hour. When every address is worked out the same way, the difference you see between two homes is real — not the result of weather, timing or the photographer. It also gives you and whoever you are buying with one shared starting point, instead of two separate impressions.
See what you are paying for
Two flats in the same block can have very different sun — the top floor facing south, compared with the second floor facing into the courtyard. That difference is in the price whether or not anyone has measured it. With hours per year and the December figure on the table, you can judge for yourself whether the price difference matches the sun.
Know it before the viewing
A viewing is one half-hour, one day, one season. The report covers the whole year — December included, when the difference between homes is largest. It also shows what takes the sun: the building next door, the trees or the terrain. Then you know what to look for once you are actually standing there.
Selling? Show the sun
“Good sun conditions” appears in almost every listing, and therefore does not set your home apart from the others. If the home really does get good sun, a concrete figure is what shows it. And because anyone can look the address up themselves, the figure carries more weight than a turn of phrase.
For the estate agent: the same answer for every address
The sun is among the most common questions at a viewing, and the hardest to answer precisely. Here the answer is worked out in advance, with the same method for every address, and free to look up. It can be used in the listing, at the viewing, and to set realistic expectations before the bidding.
Already living there?
The figures are worked out per facade and per floor, so they say which side of the home gets the most sun through the year. Useful when you are placing the terrace, deciding where the beds go, or judging whether the hedge and the tree take more sun than you think.
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