How DarkestHouse works
DarkestHouse computes the real sunrise, sunset and hours of direct sun for every home in Golden, behind the actual mountains, neighbouring buildings and trees, from public LiDAR and building data.
Questions
Which neighbourhood in Golden gets the most sun?
On average East Bench is the sunniest, with about 10.2 hours of direct sun a day (3,716 hours in 2026). Southeast is the darkest, at about 9.8 hours a day. Every one of the 5 neighbourhoods is ranked on the rankings page, and each has its own page with its sunniest and darkest streets.
How much sun does my house get?
Type your address on the home page. For every one of 1,026 ranked Golden houses we measure the real horizon from the walls (mountains, then optionally neighbouring buildings and trees) and follow the sun across it minute by minute for a year. The median house gets about 10.0 hours of direct sun a day, 3,645 hours a year, out of 4,479 hours of daylight on a flat horizon.
What time does the sun reach my house in Golden?
Later than the sunrise in your weather app. A weather app assumes a flat horizon, but Golden sits where the Kicking Horse River meets the Columbia, between the Dogtooth Range of the Purcells to the west and the Rockies to the east. On each address page we show when the sun first clears the real horizon around your house and when it drops behind it, for any day of the year.
How much sun does Golden get in winter?
Even on a flat horizon the shortest day, 21 December, has only about 7 h 52 min of daylight, and the mountains cut much of that. On 21 December East Bench averages about 5.9 hours of direct sun, while Southeast averages about 5.1. Each address page shows any date, so you can check the shortest day for your own house.
Does this account for clouds, trees and neighbouring buildings?
Clouds are not modelled, so real sunshine is lower than the figures. The headline rank counts only mountains and terrain, because that is the part nobody can change. Buildings and trees (from 2016 to 2020 LiDAR surveys) can be switched on; a minute behind trees counts as 30% of a sunny minute, since crowns let some light through.
Can my address be corrected or removed?
Yes. Use the “Contact / remove or correct my address” link in the footer and tell us the address. The page is built from public survey and address data, and we will remove or fix it on request.