Outdoor living spaces are an essential addition to homes. These spaces create unique environments where families and friends gather and build memories that last a lifetime. While considering an expansion to your outdoor deck or patio space, you may be questioning the difference between awnings and power screens. Our team frequently answers the question, “what’s the difference between awnings and screens?” We gathered information from our team of experts to address the best option for your outdoor space, whether it be large or small.

Retractable awnings and power screens provide shade from the sun, but the two offer different types of sun protection. It’s important to consider the depth of sun protection you need to enjoy the comfort of your deck or patio, year-round.

Let’s start with the basics:

Retractable Awnings Shade Your Outdoor Space

We manufacture multiple configurations of awnings, but by far the most popular one is our retractable awning. Retractable awnings provide an extended outdoor space, beyond the walls of your home. In many cases, customers who choose retractable awnings have a deck or patio where they’d like to sit and enjoy a refreshing drink during the hot summer months, but the afternoon sun makes it too uncomfortable!

Retractable awnings provide sun when you want it, and shade when you don’t. They retract and are self-storing when you’re not using them.

Screens Block the Sun without Sacrificing Your View

Enjoy the outdoors on your terms with a power screen! We have a full line of screen products to choose from, but our most common is the exterior side-retention system.

Power screens are manufactured with mesh fabric extend straight up and down, making them the perfect choice for those west facing windows where the afternoon sun turns your living room into a sauna and creates a glare on your TV!

Using a retractable awning or exterior screen to cool a home is more energy efficient than traditional air conditioning. We participated in funding and research for an independent study which found that shading with a screen or awning can reduce cooling costs here in the Seattle area by over 60%!

Our exterior screens keep as much as 85% of the heat from the sun from cranking up the temperature in your living room.

Making the Right Choice for Your Home

Choosing the sun protection solution that’s right for you depends on which problem you have to begin with! We offer free in-home consultations, so we’re happy to take a look at your situation and discuss which solution fits your needs and your budget.

Click here to request a consultation, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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Although we are in the middle of winter, you might want to start thinking about how you can get ahead on your energy savings this summer. More often than not, it isn’t until after that first heatwave, after the AC has run full blast, and after the energy bill arrives that it is too late to start creating energy savings solutions for your home. Before it gets to that point, here are a few things to know about how you can save some dough on your energy bills this summer.

Awnings can reduce your cooling energy by 25%.

This can result in an annual savings of $200 or more a year, according to the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA). The first step in cutting your energy consumption is to figure out which side of your house gets shade; this will help determine where you should install an awning.

Awnings can reduce solar heat between 55% – 77%.

On southern-facing windows, fabric awnings can reduce heat between 55% – 65% and 72% – 77% on western-facing windows. Since the sun’s rays can increase the temperature in your home by as much as 20%, an awning can help keep your home cooler and can reduce your dependency on air conditioning.

Shades and awnings work in conjunction with your air conditioner.

According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers, external shade devices like retractable awnings can minimize the heat load of your house. When you reduce the amount of heat coming into your home, you can also reduce the amount of air conditioning used. This will not only help save costs on your energy bill, but it is also environmentally friendly. By using less energy, you can offset your carbon footprint by emitting fewer greenhouse gases into the air.

The type of fabric used in your awning can influence your energy savings.

Choosing fabric for your awning is important because it can influence how much heat comes into your home and how much energy you can save. Choosing fabrics that are light in color helps reflect the sun’s rays away from your home. Dark-colored awnings absorb heat and are ideal in colder climates that get a lot of light through the windows. Luckily, Rainier Shade offers Sunbrella® fabrics in a variety of colors and patterns. Sunbrella makes one of the longest-lasting fabrics on the market and is guaranteed not to fade for 10 years. For more information on Sunbrella fabric, click here.

To figure out how you can cut down on energy costs in your home, check out the Home Energy Saver audit tool.

Have more questions on how you can get ahead of the game on your energy savings this year? Schedule a free in-home consultation with a local dealer. They will come to you and help find the best shade and awning solution for your home. Click to find a dealer near you.

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We’re excited for the reveal of Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year, Classic Blue. It also happens to match our branding and logo, so we’re pretty happy about that! This means we are going to see a lot more of this color heading into the new year. If you’re not familiar with who Pantone is, they are the company that creates a color matching system used in a lot of graphic design, fashion, printing, manufacturing, and product design companies. You might have come across some of their color-matching books at a paint store or print shop.

Pantone’s Classic Blue represents consistency, confidence, dependability, foundation, and is a representation of the night sky, challenging us to think and look beyond the cosmos.

For the past two decades, Pantone has released a Color of the Year, which is chosen based on current fashion and pop culture trends. 2020’s Classic Blue is bound to influence what we’ll see this year for home decor, clothing, jewelry, art, and graphic design.

So, how can you incorporate this beautiful color into your own home? We are now offering this color as a powder coat finish for our retractable screens and awnings! Get the timeless and classic look incorporated into your home by scheduling a free in-home consultation with a local dealer today.

Although you may not be ready to hang out on your patio just yet, it’s actually a great time to get a head start on your home improvement projects, especially when it comes to scheduling services. The winter is a great time to make an appointment with a local dealer before the busy spring season.

A new year brings new possibilities for updating the look, feel, and functions of your home. We hope that 2020 brings you joy, laughter, comfort and color to you and your home!

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So you want to buy an awning.  It’s a smart move!  But it’s a big purchase, and you’re a smart buyer so you’ll want to do some research before you sign the dotted line.

These are six questions to ask your salesperson (whether you’re considering an awning from Rainier or one of our nationwide dealers.) We hope these questions will help you make an informed purchase decision.

1. Where will the awning be installed?
   For most of our customers, the awning will be over a deck or a door.  Ask if the location will fit your needs and provide the protection from the shade you’re hoping for.
2. How will the awning be mounted?
   The awning can be mounted to the exterior wall, to the roof above the gutter, or to the eave under the soffit.  This is an important discussion to have, because this will affect the height of the awning, and thus, the pitch (or, how steep the slope is.) The mount will make a difference when it comes time for the awning to be installed.
3. What does the warranty cover?
   This can be a little confusing, because the different components all have different warranties. On all products, our frame finish is
   warranted to be free of defects in workmanship and materials under proper use and no closer than 1 mile from the ocean, for five (5) years from the original date of purchase. We warranty our installation for the first year. We use Sunbrella fabric that is warranted by the manufacturer for ten (10) years; and the motor is warrantied by Somfy (the manufacturer) for five (5) years.  Be sure to ask your salesperson for more detailed information.
4. Is motorized or manual the best option for you?
   We’re biased, but we highly recommend motorization for your awning! We’ve learned from customer surveys that the customers who have motorized awnings are much happier with their purchases than those who have manual. Motorized awnings are convenient (you can even control the awning with an app on your smartphone) and you won’t have to use your arm muscles.
   However, many customers choose manual operation. Often because they don’t have electricity on their decks and having it installed would be too costly or, in some cases, their home owner’s association would not allow for it.
5. What is the lead time?
   You’ll want to make sure that the awning can be installed at a time that is convenient for you.

6. Who will install the awning? We recommend working with a company who uses professional installers – like our skilled team! Some of our customers choose to install their awnings themselves, but be aware that this will affect your warranty.