How DarkestHouse works
DarkestHouse computes the real sunrise, sunset and hours of direct sun for every home in Nelson, behind the actual mountains, neighbouring buildings and trees, from public LiDAR and building data.
Questions
Which neighbourhood in Nelson gets the most sun?
On average Waterfront West is the sunniest, with about 9.5 hours of direct sun a day (3,467 hours in 2026). Waterfront North Shore is the darkest, at about 8.9 hours a day. Every one of the 10 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 2,781 ranked Nelson 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 9.2 hours of direct sun a day, 3,353 hours a year, out of 4,474 hours of daylight on a flat horizon.
What time does the sun reach my house in Nelson?
Later than the sunrise in your weather app. A weather app assumes a flat horizon, but Nelson climbs from the West Arm of Kootenay Lake up the steep north face of Toad Mountain, with Elephant Mountain across the water. 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 Nelson get in winter?
Even on a flat horizon the shortest day, 21 December, has only about 8 h 9 min of daylight, and the mountains cut much of that. On 21 December Upper Uphill averages about 4.3 hours of direct sun, while Fairview averages about 3.7. 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 the 2017 LiDAR survey) 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.