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  • Folding Arm Awnings  Folding Canopies

    Folding Arm Awnings & Folding Canopies

    Folding arm canopies and awnings for homes can reduce your cooling costs while protecting your outdoor furniture from harmful UV rays.

  • Retractable Pergola Covers  Awnings

    Retractable Pergola Covers & Awnings

    Retractable pergola covers are best for residents in areas prone to heavy rain and high wind while also adding beauty and interest to your outdoor space.

  • Retractable Drop Arm Awnings

    Retractable Drop Arm Awnings

    Retractable home drop arm awnings provide shelter for windows and doors. They are available in a multitude of color options to complement your personal style.

  • Retractable Patio Screens and Vertical Drop Awnings

    Retractable Patio Screens and Vertical Drop Awnings

    Retractable screens fit nicely in the spaces of gazebos and pergolas to provide your backyard with some extra privacy. Vertical screens can also be installed over windows.

  • Retractable Window Awnings

    Retractable Window Awnings

    Retractable canopies add a little interest to the exterior of your home. They’re a great option if you want to add some UV protection to windows and doors.

  • Retractable Free Standing Awnings and Canopies

    Retractable Free Standing Awnings and Canopies

    Provide shelter to your patio or deck with retractable free standing awnings and canopies. They are easy to install and the louver roof option can handle snow load.

  • Retractable Lateral Arm Awnings

    Retractable Lateral Arm Awnings

    Retractable lateral arm awnings are commonly used for commercial decks and patios to provide protection from UV rays and light rain. They are installed to the wall, fascia, beam, roof, or an eave/soffit/overhang.

  • Retractable Pergola Roof Covers

    Retractable Pergola Roof Covers 

    Retractable pergola roof covers can be free-standing or installed on a building, patio or deck. These durable structures can handle heavy rain, high wind and are chosen for both practical and decorative purposes.

  • Retractable Side Arm | Drop Arm Awnings

    Retractable Side Arm | Drop Arm Awnings

    Retractable side arm / drop arm commercial awnings protect windows and doors from the sun, rain, and other weather conditions. They are easily customizable with a large variety of fabric options.

  • Power Retractable Screens

    Power Retractable Screens

    Retractable vertical drop screens are flexible window awnings that can be retracted and rolled up into a cassette box. For privacy, you can install them inside or outside a rectangular or square opening, such as on the sides of pergolas and gazebos.

  • Retractable Canopies for Commercial Buildings

    Retractable Canopies for Commercial Buildings

    Retractable canopies protect areas from sun, UV rays, light rain, and light wind. They are available in a variety of colors for coordinating with your business’s color scheme or logo.

Need help with installing your retractable awning, pergola, canopy, shade sail or screen? We've got you covered!

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Here Glare, Comfort, and Awnings

For the better part of two decades, studies have been looking at the effects of natural lighting on students and work places, and the findings have definitely been in favor of the sun.

The appreciation for natural lighting goes back even farther, with seminal architecture works like A Pattern Language devoting whole chapters to the balance of natural light and shadows to encourage activity.

The problem with natural lighting is glare. The sheer brightness of sunlight can make it uncomfortable. At noon, the sun's output is as high as 100,000 lumens, more light than 15,000 candles burning at once. A standard office with standard fluorescent lighting is at about 400 lumens, roughly the same as sunset.

Since peak light hours – 10am to 4pm – coincide with peak work hours, it can be difficult to use natural light effectively without making a room uncomfortably bright.

A 2009 study in Britain found that 84% of schoolrooms had rooms so bright that they were physically uncomfortable and actually decreased visibility. Poor interior design prevented even Venetian blinds from being effective at mitigating glare in sunlight, but artificial lighting in 90% of rooms was at a frequency that could cause headaches.

There are a couple of different ways to incorporate natural lighting techniques into a building by mitigating the glare while bringing in brightness:

  • Solar shades work by reflecting light off walls or ceilings. Reflected light is less bright than direct sunlight, and reflecting the light over the room makes the room seem brighter. These require additional construction both inside and outside to be effective.

  • Retractable awnings block the sunlight, while the lightweight woven fabric in slightly translucent, letting diffused and lightly colored light into the room.

Retractable awnings use solution-dyed acrylic fabrics that block the harshest of the UV rays and glare, anywhere from 70% to 95%, depending on the fabric color and manufacturer. (Solution-dyed acrylics from manufacturers like Sattler are even endorsed by the American Skin Cancer Society for preventing UV damage.) The gentle color that comes into the room from sunlight through fabric makes the close tasks like reading easier on the eyes.

Studies have consistently shown that using natural light in place of artificial light improves cognitive performance, decreases sick time, and improves mood. People just feel better in natural light. Putting the right awning in the right place can help you control the glare so that you can welcome in the light.

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