Support

Sungrade measures how much direct sun your windows get using the NOAA solar position algorithm, grades them A–F, shows a month-by-month sun chart, matches them to 51 houseplants, and calculates grow-light supplements for dim spots — all on device.

Common questions

• How do I add a window? Tap + in the top right. Hold your iPhone flat against the inside of the window pane with the top edge pointing up. Tap Capture when the compass dial is steady. Then confirm your location and save. The grade appears within a few seconds.
• What does the grade mean? A = 6+ hours of direct sun per day (great for succulents and herbs). B = 4–6 hours (bright indirect; fiddle leaf figs, monstera). C = 2–4 hours (medium; pothos, snake plant). D = 0.5–2 hours (low light; ZZ plant, peace lily). F = under 30 minutes (only the toughest plants survive unaided).
• What is the month-by-month sun chart? On every window detail page, below the seasonal summary, a 12-bar chart shows the daily-average direct-sun hours for each calendar month (January through December). The peak month glows gold, the lowest month is shown in blue, and the annual swing is displayed. Use it to spot shoulder months — for example, when your south window drops from 5h in September to 2h in November — so you can time plant moves precisely.
• What is the golden hour highlight? When "Highlight golden hour" is turned on in Settings, the sun arc chart shades the 60-minute bands after sunrise and before sunset in soft amber. These are the windows of low-angle, warm light that are ideal for portrait photography and for plants that need bright but non-scorching early-morning sun. Toggle the preference in Settings → Preferences.
• What is the Plant Finder? The Plant Finder tab lets you browse all 51 plants, tap one, and see which of your windows are a great match, acceptable, too bright, or too dim — ranked by how well the window's daily sun hours fit that plant's tolerance range.
• What is the grow-light supplement card? On C, D, and F windows, Sungrade shows how many hours of supplemental 6500K grow light per day could bring specific plants to their minimum light threshold. The estimate assumes a 2500-lumen LED panel at 12 inches. Always leave plants at least 8 hours of darkness per day.
• Can I see the sun path for a different day? Yes. On any window detail page, tap a day in the 7-day strip under the arc chart to see the sun's path for that specific day.
• How do I compare all my windows? Open the Compare tab. It ranks your windows by annual direct-sun hours and shows a seasonal table with winter, spring, summer, and fall averages.
• What does "Re-grade" do? It re-runs the solar position calculation for the current year. Use it if you've changed the window's direction or after a time-zone move.
• How do I share a window's sun report? Tap ··· on any window detail page, then Share Report. You get a plain-text summary including grade, daily average, seasonal data, a full month-by-month table with peak and lowest months marked, the annual light swing, peak and lowest day.
• The compass shows wrong readings — what should I do? Compass accuracy depends on calibration and nearby metal. On the Aim step, wave your iPhone in a figure-8 to calibrate. If compass is unavailable (simulator, or interference), you can skip to Locate and enter coordinates manually with a known azimuth — the grade will still be accurate.
• Does my location leave my device? No. Your coordinates are used only for the on-device solar calculation and stored locally with the window record. Nothing is uploaded.
• Is there an account or subscription? No. Sungrade is a one-time purchase with no login, no ads, and no in-app purchases.

Contact support

Email the App Store product page with your device model, iOS version, and a short description of the issue.