# Deconstruct Sun — Sun-hour analysis for any site > Solar site analysis tool for direct sunlight hours and obstruction mapping. (iPhone/iPad app by Andrew Harrell.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deconstruct-sun/id6794658469 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Andrew Harrell](https://appshunter.io/developer/6794658471) - Category: Productivity, Utilities - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 5.00/5 from 3 App Store ratings · 1 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.1 · 39 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-08-21 - Data updated: 2026-09-08 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deconstruct-sun/id6794658469/reviews.md ## What is Deconstruct Sun? Know the sun before you build, plant, or place a panel. Deconstruct Sun turns your phone into a solar site-analysis tool. Stand where a garden bed, greenhouse, patio, or solar array will go, trace the buildings and trees on the horizon, and get the number that actually matters: how many hours of direct sunlight that exact spot receives, today, at the solstices, and at the equinoxes. It works the way a designer thinks. The sun's path is drawn as an arc across a sky chart; your obstructions are a skyline you paint over it. Where the sun clears your skyline, it shines. Where a building or a tree blocks it, it doesn't. The math is honest, a five-minute-step calculation over the real solar geometry for your latitude and date. THE NUMBER BEHIND THE PLANT TAG Full sun, part sun, part shade, full shade. Every one of those is a claim about hours of direct sun, and almost every site is guessed at rather than measured. Deconstruct Sun gives you the real figure for one spot, so you can put the right plant in the right place instead of hoping. TRACE THE REAL HORIZON Don't guess the skyline, trace it. Photograph the view, or import a wide shot, and paint the obstructions directly over your own photo. A guided sun-arc sweep walks you through a few framed shots that follow the sun's band across the sky, and a live overlay projects the sun's path onto the camera so you can see where it will travel before you capture. SEE THE WHOLE YEAR One tap shows direct-sun hours for the summer solstice, winter solstice, and both equinoxes, and today, so you can tell a spot that bakes in June but goes dark in December from one that works year-round. WORK A WHOLE PROPERTY Group sites into a project: a foundation bed, a vegetable garden, the pool surround, all under one address or client. Then export a single combined PDF covering every site. It is the difference between a stack of separate studies and one document you can hand over. KNOW THE HARDINESS ZONE Every US site shows its plant hardiness zone, derived from the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map and read from a copy stored inside the app. No connection needed, and your coordinates are never sent anywhere to look it up. A site near a zone boundary is told so, rather than claiming a precision the data doesn't have. SHARE A REAL STUDY Export a clean, branded PDF sun study for a client or your own records, one site at a time or a whole project at once. Or share a photo-real composite of the site with the sun arcs drawn over your skyline. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything stays on your device. Your sites, coordinates, skylines, and photos are never uploaded. No accounts, no ads, no analytics, no tracking. You can also hide precise coordinates from the app's own screens, and every PDF export asks before printing them, so a study you send to a client need not carry the exact location of someone's home. FREE • Sun-path charts for any location and date • Hand-paint the obstruction skyline • Today's direct-sun, daylight, first-light, and last-light hours • Plant hardiness zone for US sites, offline • Projects, to group sites by property or client • Privacy controls for precise coordinates PRO: a one-time unlock, no subscription • Trace the skyline over your own photos (camera + import) • Guided sun-arc capture with a live sun-path overlay • Full-year seasonal breakdown (solstices and equinoxes) • Photo-real composite and a landscape trace view • Branded PDF sun-study export • Combined multi-site PDF for an entire project Deconstruct Sun does not need an internet connection to do its analysis. Sun position is computed on your device from published astronomical formulas. Hardiness zones are derived from the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USDA Agricultural Research Service with PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University) and are not the official map. Built by a landscape architect in North Carolina. Questions or feedback: design@deconstructterrain.com ## Key features - Solar site analysis - Trace horizon obstructions - Direct sunlight hour calculation - Year-round sun path visualization - Project site grouping - PDF sun study export - Plant hardiness zone identification ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Pro | $11.99 | one-time | ## Recent user reviews (1 of 1) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deconstruct-sun/id6794658469/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Helpful and unique! *2026-08-30* Such a cool and helpful app! It’s great to help me figure out which plants will thrive in my yard! ## Frequently asked questions about Deconstruct Sun ### How does Deconstruct Sun calculate sunlight hours? Deconstruct Sun uses a five-minute-step calculation based on the real solar geometry for your latitude and date. You trace your obstructions on the horizon, and the app determines where the sun will shine based on its arc across the sky. ### Can I use Deconstruct Sun for multiple projects? Yes, you can group multiple sites into a project, such as a foundation bed, vegetable garden, or pool surround. This allows you to manage and export studies for an entire property or client. ### What kind of exports does Deconstruct Sun offer? Deconstruct Sun allows you to export clean, branded PDF sun studies for individual sites or entire projects. You can also share a photo-real composite of the site with sun arcs drawn over your skyline. ### Does Deconstruct Sun have ads? No, Deconstruct Sun is ad-free. The app is designed with privacy in mind, and it does not include advertisements or analytics. ### Is Deconstruct Sun available on Android devices? Currently, Deconstruct Sun is available for iPhone and iPod. The app is designed to work on these iOS devices. ### How often is Deconstruct Sun updated? The latest version of Deconstruct Sun is 1.1.0, and it was last updated on September 6, 2026. Updates typically include improvements and new features based on user feedback and development cycles. ### Does Deconstruct Sun require an internet connection to work? No, Deconstruct Sun is private by design and does not require an internet connection for its core functions. Your sites, coordinates, and photos stay on your device, and the hardiness zone data is stored locally. ### What is the age rating for Deconstruct Sun? Deconstruct Sun has an age rating of 4+. This indicates it is suitable for users of all ages, with no mature content or themes. ## Version history (last 2 releases) ### 1.1.0 — 2026-09-06 Projects Group the sites for one property or client job, and export a single combined PDF covering every site — with a summary table comparing direct-sun hours across the whole property. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Every US site now shows its 2023 USDA hardiness zone, worked out entirely on your device. No connection needed, and your coordinates never leave your phone. Privacy controls New Privacy & sharing settings hide precise coordinates in the app and leave them out of PDF reports. Every export asks before including them. Also in this update • Rate and Send feedback buttons in About • Prices now shown in your local currency • Fixed: photos could go missing after an app update, they're restored automatically • Fixed: several PDF layout and photo problems ### 1.0 — 2026-08-22 No release notes. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-08.*