Not a sundial - a shadow dial is what I want

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR Summary

I want to track what the sun does to shadows on my property over the course of the day/year.

We have little shade but plenty of wind on my property. The upshot of this is that I have to be judicious in how/where I put up shade-creating barriers in various places around my property to maximise shade without unduly large windage.

My property is an irregular polygon and not aligned with the cardinal axes, so it is not easy to tell where the shade will be at a given time. For example, I have put up an umbrella next to our pool, but it can only shade the southish-side of the pool, and only during certain hours.

I'm sure I'm not the first one to want to know such factors. Thought I'd check what work has been done before building my own device.

I figure it's as simple as a pole about 3-6 feet high, with placed markings on the ground at appropriate times of the day by season. I expect the pole to trace out hypebolic lines across the target area (which can, in principle, range all the way from on side of the property to the other, from sunrise to sunset).

I'm trying to look up these patterns but I'm not sure what to call them.

 

[DaveE]

Maybe something like these apps. I'm sure there's many others, I just saw these first.
https://shademap.app/
https://app.shadowmap.org/

 

[DaveC426913]

Yeah but I'm looking for a gadget that I can put my backyard. A sundial but shows me inclination and direction, rather than time.

 

[berkeman]

Do you have a WiFi camera? My wife has one watching watching our backyard for the birds and animal activity...

 

[Baluncore]

Yeah but I'm looking for a gadget that I can put my backyard. A sundial but shows me inclination and direction, rather than time.

I think you need a stick with a ball on the end, that will cast a shadow on the ground or a wall. Once you start using that to map the Sun's position you will realise it is quicker and easier to calculate it.

The analemma will give you the elevation of the Sun at midday on any day of the year. You are not interested in the distance from your time zone meridian, or the equation of time, only the elevation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma#As_seen_from_Earth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemmatic_sundial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equation_of_time#Notation

 

[Baluncore]

Tall deciduous trees like poplars, to your SE, South and SW, will allow the sunlight to pass during winter, but block the heat of the Sun in summer. Once the trees have gained sufficient height, remove the lower branches to allow the winter sunlight to reach the garden.

An evergreen tree canopy overhead, will keep you and your garden warmer in winter, as it reduces exposure to clear sky, typically –40°, overhead at night, when the frost is deepest. Remove the lower-hanging branches on the South side, to allow the winter sunlight to reach the garden and windows of the house.

A screen of shade-cloth, where each strip is at an angle like a louvre, can be used to allow full winter sunlight, while blocking the heat in summer. If you make the louvre from solar panels, you will get no electrical energy in winter, but sufficient to run the A/C in summer.

 

[DaveC426913]

Tall deciduous trees like poplars, to your SE, South and SW, will allow the sunlight to pass during winter, but block the heat of the Sun in summer. Once the trees have gained sufficient height, remove the lower branches to allow the winter sunlight to reach the garden.

An evergreen tree canopy overhead, will keep you and your garden warmer in winter, as it reduces exposure to clear sky, typically –40°, overhead at night, when the frost is deepest. Remove the lower-hanging branches on the South side, to allow the winter sunlight to reach the garden and windows of the house.

A screen of shade-cloth, where each strip is at an angle like a louvre, can be used to allow full winter sunlight, while blocking the heat in summer. If you make the louvre from solar panels, you will get no electrical energy in winter, but sufficient to run the A/C in summer.

I should probably have specified that I'd like to implement shading in my yard sometime before my toddler grandchildren graduate high school...