Decide on the area you ideally want to shade and protect and then add extra sizing on top, simply because we have never, ever had anyone say their awning is too large, but we have had a few people wish they had gone larger on their size. The sun’s rays will slip underneath the awning in the mornings and late afternoon, so make sure if you want to cover say an area of 4m wide and 2.5m out from your home you go for 5m and 3m projection. The pitch in the awning will reduce the distance it projects out and the fabric on any awning is always smaller than the cassette size, simply because of the physics. Awning fabrics can be up to 300mm narrower than the cassette size, so always check if this is crucial to you.

There are a lot of awnings for sure to choose from, however most people will focus in on a cassette style, whether that is rounded or square in style and this narrows it down a lot and not all awning models will do every size either. Some awnings are only ‘end fixed’, with wall fixing bracket positions only at either end and no choice. Many awnings have brackets which can be positioned anywhere which is often a necessity to get to suitable fixing points on a wall. It is also worth noting that an open cassette and semi cassette awning are no less of an awning than a full cassette and often an open or semi cassette awning is better and stronger in overall specification and design. The full cassette is usually limited in fixing positions too.

You have an awning for protection from the sun and heat, but many people also want protection from light rainfall too. If you do want the awning for light rainfall protection then you are best with certain models which have stronger and larger arms to be more stable too. The biggest criteria however is the awning has at least 15 degrees of pitch on the fabric canopy when extended to make sure the rainwater flows freely and quickly off the cover.. You need an awning which can be adjusted to 15 degrees or more pitch and has the most stable arms and overall build. For sun shade protection then this depends on how much sun you want to block out. Obviously very dark fabrics will block out more light and UV rays generally and very light fabrics can actually act like a diffuser with sunlight to stop the glare but spread out the light better underneath. If you are south facing and don’t like the sun’s heat, UV and brightness then go darker on the fabrics, otherwise there is a massive choice generally of over 200 fabrics per brand we offer. Drop down valances at the front are an option to provide additional shade against low lying sun and also provide privacy and protection from cool breezes. LED lighting is readily available in various forms and positions on many of our awnings and allows you to go into the evenings with the awning. If you choose LED lighting on the cassette then the awning can double up as a large wall light even when not is use as an awning. Smart app controls are readily available now on most of our electric operated awnings with Somfy electric drive motors. These apps allow you to operate the awning from literally anywhere in the world to assist in keeping rooms cool. Make them operate themselves from sensors too and protect themselves in high winds or even rain, closing automatically if you are not around.