Chicago (demonstration)

The front porch nobody sits on

When the porch chair is open for morning coffee

Each month read on its 30th, or the last day of a shorter month · 2026

Works
Tight
No
Unanswered

Rings run from 4 am at the centre to noon at the edge. Schematic: A shape of the facts, not a picture of a particular date or a measured outline. Each month is its 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, not a promise about the other days.

The porch chair is open for morning coffee 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM, May to September. It opens at different hours October. Shut November to April.

November to April: shut for morning coffee. What it feels like is what stops it.
May to September: open 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
October: open 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

The shut months are shut for one reason: what it feels like. That is the thing to change if you want the season longer, and it is a different job from making the open months better.

The same year as a table

Month	Open	Usable hours	What decides it
January 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
February 28	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
March 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
April 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
May 30	7:00 AM–10:00 AM	3 h
June 30	6:00 AM–10:00 AM	4 h
July 30	6:00 AM–10:00 AM	4 h
August 30	6:00 AM–10:00 AM	4 h
September 30	6:00 AM–10:00 AM	4 h
October 30	9:00 AM–10:00 AM	1 h
November 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it
December 30	shut	—	What it feels like stops it

The porch chair for Morning coffee. October 30, 2026 at 3:02 AM, America/Chicago. Now on this date. Confidence low. Cause: What it feels like is what stops it.

Reading

For

Twenty minutes, first light, nobody looking.

Morning coffee

The porch chair does not work for morning coffee right now, and what it feels like is why.

“No” means the model does not support this use under the conditions being read. The controlling limits are listed below.

Past the limit What it feels like is about 36°F — 17°F under (at least 54°F)Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.
The air is 45.0°F. It feels about 9 degrees cooler than the air, near 36°F.
Early sun is usually the point, not the problem.

What would change this. This would change if what it feels like were measured and came out differently. The figure is an estimate, not a tape.

Confidence low (45%). Treat this as a starting hypothesis, not an answer.

What this answer was built from

Use: Morning coffee
Place: The porch chair
Weather: Humid continental, hot summers, real winters (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Method: Traced geometry and radiation at this hour, measured against what this use needs

Try a change Make a document

What next here

Testing a change

4 of 8 milestones. The place is described well enough to ask what a change would do, and to find out whether the forecast was right.

Getting an honest answer4 of 4 done
- Placed on the earth — done. The sun is in the right part of the sky for this address.
- A spot to read — done. 1 spot is being read.
- What stands in the way — done. 4 things are drawn, so the shade is worked out rather than assumed.
- Who can see in — done. Privacy and sightlines can be answered here.
Testing a changeyou are here0 of 2 done
- A change tested — not done. Testing a change before buying it is the cheapest part of the whole exercise.
- A forecast checked — not done. A forecast nobody goes back and checks is a guess with a date on it.
Proving it well enough to spend money0 of 2 done
- Corrected against reality — not done. After a couple of rechecks the model can be corrected against this specific garden.
- Photographed — not done. A photograph is what turns a drawing somebody sketched into a drawing somebody can check.

Get this place to Annotated
A photographic check on the mapped sightlines and geometry. That makes privacy estimates more credible, but does not replace measured dimensions. Right now: Sightlines drawn from mapped observers remain provisional until their positions and heights are checked. The drawn heights have not been verified against the actual place. What is missing: Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one. Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.
2 things left
Test a change before you buy anything
The plan is good enough to ask what a screen, a tree or a canopy would actually do here — including the ones that turn out to be a waste of money.
a few minutes, nothing bought
Add a second spot and compare the two
One spot gives a verdict; two give a reason. Most of what is worth learning here is why one corner works at six and the other never does.
one tap, then read across

2 more things worth doing here

See how this spot changes through the year
A terrace that works in July can be unusable in September for reasons that have nothing to do with temperature. The same geometry read in four seasons is the cheapest insight here.
a read, nothing to enter
Photograph the spot and mark what is in shot
A photograph is what separates a drawing you sketched from a drawing somebody else can check. It is also how heights get corrected without a ladder.
one photograph

How well this place is described

Mapped

Quick
Mapped
Annotated
Measured

Shade, sky view and daily light are computed from the geometry on this plan. Unmeasured dimensions remain estimates, not verified measurements.

Sightlines drawn from mapped observers remain provisional until their positions and heights are checked. The drawn heights have not been verified against the actual place.

To reach Annotated

Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one.
Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.

What that buys: A photographic check on the mapped sightlines and geometry. That makes privacy estimates more credible, but does not replace measured dimensions.

Everything that was checked

Quick A place on the earth: Chicago (demonstration), with a time zone, which is what makes an hour an hour.
Quick Somewhere to read: 1 spot marked. A reading is a height at a place, and moving it moves the answer.
Mapped The things in the way: 4 objects drawn. The house counts, and so does the neighbour's.
Mapped What is underfoot: 1 of 1 readings sit on a mapped surface.
Mapped Where the property ends: Drawn, so the product can tell you when the cheapest fix stands on someone else's land.
Annotated Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one.
Annotated Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.
Annotated Who can see in: 2 observers marked.
Measured Heights off a tape: 2 of 4 objects are measured. The remaining 2 are this product's own inference, so no figure here is a survey figure yet.
Measured Something checked against the day: Nothing has been checked against a real afternoon. The model is unopposed, which is not the same as being right.

What to measure next

None of the measurements tested here changes the recommendation enough to rank next. This checks only the listed assumptions and ranges; other inputs can still be uncertain.

BuildingNot yours (dashed edge)CanopySun’s path today (schematic)Can see inWhat a window can see, cut short where something is in the wayProposed

To scale · to the measurements given: Drawn to scale from the measurements given. Not a survey. It is not a survey.

Reading at

3:02 AM·October

The sun is down.

October 30 · The porch chair Schematic

7:22 AM1:52 PM3:05 PM5:45 PM

Tight (lined)
No (pale, edged)

The sun reaches the porch chair at 7:22 AM. The porch chair loses the sun at 1:52 PM because of the Street tree. The porch chair comes back into the sun at 3:05 PM, once the Street tree is no longer in the way. The porch chair loses the sun at 5:45 PM.

The evidence behind this whole day is thin, so nothing on the strip is marked out as worse than the rest. The shape of the day is still the model’s best reading; the confidence in it is low, and it stays low until something it needs is measured.

The porch chair is open for morning coffee 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

About 1 hours in October.

The same day as a table

The same day hour by hour, in text.
Hour	Sun	Verdict	Confidence	Sun position
12:00 AM	dark	No	a starting hypothesis
3:00 AM	dark	No	a starting hypothesis
6:00 AM	dark	No	a starting hypothesis
8:00 AM	in sun	No	a starting hypothesis	6° up, bearing 115°
9:00 AM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	16° up, bearing 126°
10:00 AM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	24° up, bearing 139°
11:00 AM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	30° up, bearing 153°
12:00 PM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	34° up, bearing 170°
1:00 PM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	34° up, bearing 188°
2:00 PM	shaded by Street tree	Tight	a starting hypothesis	31° up, bearing 204°
3:00 PM	shaded by Street tree	Tight	a starting hypothesis	25° up, bearing 219°
4:00 PM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	17° up, bearing 232°
5:00 PM	in sun	Tight	a starting hypothesis	7° up, bearing 244°
6:00 PM	dark	Works	a starting hypothesis
9:00 PM	dark	No	a starting hypothesis

When the sun arrives and leaves, to the minute.
When	What happens
7:22 AM	The sun reaches the porch chair at 7:22 AM.
1:52 PM	The porch chair loses the sun at 1:52 PM because of the Street tree.
3:05 PM	The porch chair comes back into the sun at 3:05 PM, once the Street tree is no longer in the way.
5:45 PM	The porch chair loses the sun at 5:45 PM.

Direct sun at the porch chair, month by month

Schematic · computed

The porch chair gets the most direct sun in January, about 10 hours on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and the least in April, about 1 hours.

Sun reaches the spot (solid)
Sun up, something in the way (lined)
Sun down (empty)

The grid, in a table

Hours of direct sun at The porch chair on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and when.
Month	Direct sun	When
January	10 h	8:00 AM–6:00 PM
February	4 h	7:00 AM–9:00 AM, 4:00 PM–6:00 PM
March	3 h	7:00 AM–9:00 AM, 7:00 PM–8:00 PM
April	1 h	7:00 AM–8:00 AM
May	1 h	7:00 AM–8:00 AM
June	1 h	7:00 AM–8:00 AM
July	1 h	7:00 AM–8:00 AM
August	3 h	7:00 AM–9:00 AM, 7:00 PM–8:00 PM
September	3 h	7:00 AM–9:00 AM, 6:00 PM–7:00 PM
October	8 h	8:00 AM–2:00 PM, 4:00 PM–6:00 PM
November	10 h	7:00 AM–5:00 PM
December	9 h	8:00 AM–5:00 PM

The sun’s path on the plan, October 30, in a table

Where the sun is at each hour it is up.
Hour	Comes from	Height
8:00 AM	SE (115°)	6° up
9:00 AM	SE (126°)	16° up
10:00 AM	SE (139°)	24° up
11:00 AM	SE (153°)	30° up
12:00 PM	S (170°)	34° up
1:00 PM	S (188°)	34° up
2:00 PM	SW (204°)	31° up
3:00 PM	SW (219°)	25° up
4:00 PM	SW (232°)	17° up
5:00 PM	SW (244°)	7° up

What the place is doing at 3:02am in October

Humid continental, hot summers, real winters (scenario shape).

What it feels like

Estimatecold

36°F

Felt temperature

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The air is 45.0°F. It feels about 9 degrees cooler than the air, near 36°F.

What is doing it

Take every named influence away and this reads 37°F. How much sky is overhead takes off 6°F, Air movement adds 6°F. That lands at 36°F.

How this was worked out

Air: 45.0°F from Humid continental, hot summers, real winters (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Radiant: 10.2°F mean radiant temperature
Method: Six-directional radiation integration, then ASHRAE operative temperature (from a published source)

Direct sun

Worked outafter dark

0 W/m²

Beam reaching this point

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The sun is down.

How this was worked out

Sun: below the horizon
Traced: 0% of the beam reaches this point

Glare

Worked outnone

On the 0–100 reporting scale: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale. Not a measurement.

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above; the tick is where this use stops working.

Nothing bright is in the line of sight at this hour.

How this was worked out

Facing: 180deg

Privacy exposure

Worked outscreened

On the 0–100 reporting scale: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale. Not a measurement.

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above; the tick is where this use stops working.

Nothing marked here has a usable line to this seat.

What is doing it

People on the sidewalk
+0.0
The house opposite
+0.0

How this was worked out

Observers: 2 marked
Method: Eye-to-eye rays, then scaled by how much brighter the seat is than the observer's own surroundings

Wind

Estimatelight

3 mph

Wind at the seat

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

Wind here is light.

How this was worked out

Reference: 6.1 mph at 10 m from Humid continental, hot summers, real winters (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
At seat height: 2.9 mph before shelter
Shelter: 0% removed by what stands upwind

View

Worked outopen

On the 0–100 reporting scale: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale. Not a measurement.

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The view from this seat is essentially intact.

What is doing it

The street
+97

How this was worked out

Corridors: The street
Method: Rays sampled across each corridor's angular window

Surface heat

Estimatecomfortable

45°F

Surface temperature

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The surface is running about 45°F.

How this was worked out

Surface: Painted board porch
Method: Absorbed shortwave against air temperature, flattened by air movement (from a published source)

Wetness

Estimatedries-fast

1 × the open

Drying time against the open

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above; the tick is where this use stops working.

Overhead cover keeps most of the rain off in the first place.

How this was worked out

Drying rate: 0.000 in/hour here
Method: Penman combination equation on the radiation and air actually reaching this spot (from a published source)

Light after dark

Estimateinvisible

0 lux

Light on the seat

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The seat is not appreciably brighter than its surroundings, so a person there is hard to pick out.

How this was worked out

Fixtures: 1 placed
On the seat: 0.0 lux
Spill: 0% of output leaves sideways or upward

Ask something else about this place

Everything on the plan, in text

Thing	Reading	Standing	Note
The house	25 ft	You said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.	100 per cent solid.
Porch roof	10 ft 6 in	Measured: Taken with a tape, a compass or a clock at the place.	100 per cent solid.
Porch rail	3 ft 1 in	Measured: Taken with a tape, a compass or a clock at the place.	50 per cent solid.
Street tree	26 ft	You said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.	70 per cent solid, and seasonal.
People on the sidewalk	open	You said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.	25 ft away, eye height 5 ft 3 in, -1 degrees above the seat.
The house opposite	open	Placed by the model: We put this in so the first answer could exist. It is not a measurement.	59 ft away, eye height 13 ft 9 in, 8 degrees above the seat.