Retractable Awnings
The benefits of placing awnings on your building to protect windows and doors from direct sunlight or precipitation are many. However, there are situations where the awning is a hindrance and for these times retractable awnings have been designed.
While a shading awning may help cut air conditioning costs in the summer, it is equally useful to have the sunlight add to the ambient temperature of a room in the winter. A store front may use an awning in the summer to protect outdoor merchandise displays, but during the winter, this extra shade on a store front can cause a noticeable chill around the entrance area which can have a very negative effect on potential customers.
The various materials used to make retractable awnings range from cloth fabrics and fiberglass to aluminum and plastics. There are two basic designs for retractable awnings. A motorized version can give you the option of having the awning shade rolled up via pulleys within the lateral arms and this removed from view but still have the side braces extended. Other motorized retractable awnings will simply raise the awning screen up to lay flat against the building wall. This type does present a few problems as, for one, they hide a part of the wall surface which might include signs or other windows and also since they are still exposed to the weather, have a tendency to deteriorate more quickly.
For the old fashioned approach, manual hand cranked awnings are still popular, especially among businesses that cater to sidewalk traffic. One of the best advantages to t
he manual crank retractable awning is that the amount of retraction can be modified easily and different effects can be obtained. Since manual crank retractable awnings ae generally designed to roll up into a protective tube, they have a greater effective life-span than motorized fold away awnings.
