What makes a house feel like home? It is not simply the number of bedrooms, the size of the kitchen or the asking price. It is also the light that comes through the windows, the way the rooms feel throughout the day and whether the morning sun reaches the places where we live, work and wake up.

In this episode of Sunlight Matters, Dave Wallace and Georg Molzer are joined by Ariel Dos Santos, Chief Product and Design Officer at Redfin — one of the largest property platforms in the United States, with around 50 million monthly active users.

Ariel explains how Redfin is moving beyond showing people what a property looks like to helping them understand what it might actually be like to live there. That means bringing together information about neighbourhoods, climate, environmental risks and, increasingly, sunlight.

We hear how the partnership between Redfin and Shadowmap led to the launch of Sunscore: a simple property-level measure that helps buyers understand a home’s access to sunlight, with the option to explore the detail at different times of day and throughout the year.

Ariel also shares Redfin research showing that 67% of US residents consider sunlight an important part of how satisfied they are with their home. The conversation explores whether sunlight could eventually influence property values, how better environmental data can give estate agents new “superpowers”, and why buyers need this information before they move in — not after.

The discussion also looks further ahead. Could we identify the best places in a neighbourhood to find the morning sun? Could property searches eventually show whether sunlight will reach a particular bedroom window? And might greater awareness encourage architects and developers to design brighter, healthier homes?

Along the way, Ariel talks candidly about Redfin’s culture of experimentation, what it means to be a genuine pioneer, and why companies cannot expect people to take risks if failure is punished.

And, on a more personal note, he explains why he will always choose sunrise over sunset — and describes the rare moments when sunlight, cooking and discovering a great piece of music come together perfectly.

In this episode:

• How Redfin serves buyers, renters, sellers and homeowners across the entire property journey
• Why property search must explain what a home is like to live in
• The research showing how much sunlight matters to homeowners
• How Redfin and Shadowmap developed Sunscore
• Why a simple score can make complex sunlight data understandable
• How people use property information differently as they get closer to buying
• The possible relationship between sunlight and property value
• Using sunlight data for gardens, renovation and solar energy decisions
• The idea of community “sunspots” for finding morning light
• How better data could help architects create brighter homes
• Redfin’s approach to innovation, collaboration and intelligent risk-taking
• Why Ariel is firmly on the side of sunrise

Sunlight Matters is a podcast exploring the role of the Sun in human health, architecture, cities, and everyday life.

Through conversations with scientists, architects, and technologists, the series examines how natural light shapes our bodies, our buildings, and the way we live indoors.

Hosted by Dave Wallace, Sunlight Matters asks a simple but overlooked question: what happens when we disconnect from the Sun?

Because sunlight isn’t optional. It matters.

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