The cross-sectional depth of the fins.

You can use any units for the fin depth — millimetres, centimetres, metres, etc. — as long as you use the same units for all fin measurements in this tool.

The cross-sectional thickness of the fins.

You can use any units for the fin thickness — millimetres, centimetres, metres, etc. — as long as you use the same units for all fin measurements in this tool.

The horizontal spacing of the fins, measured on-center.

You can use any units for the fin spacing — millimetres, centimetres, metres, etc. — as long as you use the same units for all fin measurements in this tool.

The tilt of the fins with respect to the window or wall they shade:

The tilt should be between -90 and 90 degrees, with positive values indicating fins tilted toward the left (from the top view), and negative values indicating fins tilted toward the right. For fins oriented normal to the window or wall, use a tilt of 0 degrees.

Entering the latitude value

Please enter your geographical latitude in decimal notation, such as "42.5" (don't include the quotation marks in the input field). The value should be between 0 and 90 degrees, although horizontal overhangs are typically only effective for temperate latitudes (24 to 60 degrees).

Use the North/South drop-down menu to indicate North or South Hemisphere.

Finding your latitude

• Google Maps

  (use the "what's here?" option to display coordinates)

By default, the analysis depicts the degree of shading by the darkness of the data cells, but you can select to have the numerical percentage of sun or percentage of shade listed as well.

If you select "Sun %", each data cell will have the percentage of sun listed, in addition to the background color as an indicator. A value of "70%", for example, indicates that the shading provided by the vertical fins is about 30%, and 70% of the incident sunlight gets through.

If you select "Shade %", each data cell will have the percentage of shade listed, in addition to the background color as an indicator. A value of "70%", for example, indicates that the shading provided by the vertical fins is about 70%, and 30% of the incident sunlight gets through.

This is the compass direction that the window or wall being shaded by the vertical fins faces. You can select one of the eight cardinal directions (North, Northeast, etc.), or 10-degree increments in between.

For example, "10° E of S" means that the window or wall faces 10 degrees East (i.e. counterclockwise) of due South.