Aluminum Awnings and Metal Awnings for the Patio

Awnings For The Home

Awnings are designed to provide shade over doorways and windows, especially those facing patios, porches and decks so that these exterior areas of the house can get additional shade. Popular designs of modern home awnings include both the swing-arm retractable awning, as well as the rolling or roll-out retractable awning.

Both of these use some sort of fabric as the main shade material which is either rolled-up or folded when retracted. Besides shading the exterior porch, patio or deck, an additional benefit of having an awning over windows and doors is that it can cut down on the temperature increasing by quite a lot.

DOE Declares Awnings To Be Energy-Saving Devices

According to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) the use of an awning can cut down temperature rises of between 60-80%. The reason is that less solar radiation can get into the house which is the major reason for causing interior temperatures to rise. Therefore from a cost point-of-view, adding an awning is advantageous to both the utility bill and to efforts at conserving energy. Finally, awnings are great at preserving interior furniture that can fade from the powerful rays of the sun, although window shades and blinds overlap in functionality for this purpose.

Choosing An Aluminum Awning Or A Metal Awning The Patio

The most common type of awning material is fabric like canvas or a synthetic which we cover in another section of the site. Here we discuss aluminum awnings, or variants made of another metal. The advantage of having an aluminum awning is many fold: one, they last longer physically while requiring less maintenance; two, they do not fade; three, they have less problems with microbes. However, there are also a few disadvantages, primarily being that they are supported by posts that help hold up the heavy metal parts which in turn are susceptible to rust or metal wear.

Aluminum Awnings Last Longer And Need Less Maintenance

The big advantage of aluminum is that it is not so susceptible to tearing like fabric. Fabric shades have come a long way since traditional canvas, and many of the dense new fabrics are indeed highly robust to damage. However, they cannot possibly compete with a coated metal that is virtually indestructible as well as highly resistant to corrosiveness. Fabric shades do require some light maintenance such as cleaning with a solution every now and then. After periods of sustained rain, a fabric awning might soak up some moisture but metal ones shrug it off easily.

Aluminum Awnings Do Not Fade

Exposed to solar radiation over time, the color dyes in fabric awnings will tend to fade over time. There is almost no remedy for this except to buy new fabric or to redye it (something no one does). In contrast, metal awnings do not fade. They usually have a protective coating but this is not susceptible to break-down like the dyes when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This will appeal to those who demand a constant aesthetics. On the other hand, the look of aluminum is much less customizable and therefore most people who purchase such a product mostly certainly will compromise on the initial aesthetics.

Fitting For Patio Awnings

One question for buyers is that in order to fit over a patio or window, the awning size needs to be customized to some extent. This is easy with fabric products, but harder for rigid, metal products. The sizing has three factors: the width, the extension or projection, and the height. The width depends on the size of the window or door over which the awning fits, and also the area of the patio that needs to be covered. The extension or projection is the amount of space the awning needs to extend from the house to cover the area. The height is the depth of the awning from its highest point to its lowermost point. Of these metrics, the extension determines how much light is able to enter the window, which in turn depends on how tall the window is.

Popular Brands

SunSetter offers metal and aluminum awnings that are customizable. Dura-Bilt offers a limited window version that runs between $600 to $700. But there are not many nationwide companies that deliver to your door. Instead, you should try taking a look at home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot. For example, Home Depot carries the NuImage Aluminum Door Canopy, 2100 Series with measurements of 72 in. x 48 in.