3 Ingenious Ways for Protecting Your Awning
Investing in an awning helps keep your outdoor space shaded, which protects your outdoor furniture, enhances your property's value, and expands your outdoor living space. However, it is easy to lose the benefits if you do not protect your awning from the elements. Most homeowners believe regular maintenance and cleaning is the only way to make awnings last. Although they are critical steps, you can protect your awning from premature wear using different strategies. This article explores three ingenious ways to safeguard an awning.
Install Wind Sensors
Winds along the Australian coast can stir up gusts with forces like a hurricane. Such winds can be strong enough to bend awning frames and rip the fabric. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell the strength of wind just by standing outdoors, and most realise this when it's already too late. Instead of retracting an awning prematurely or leaving it out until the last minute, you can install wind sensors on the frames. Wind sensors measure wind speeds and alert you when it is time you retracted your awnings.
Sun Sensors
Homeowners know awnings as screens that provide shade from direct sunlight. However, the sun shifts position throughout the day. Therefore, you might be forced to continually adjust the awning position several times a day, which places undue strain on movable parts over time and causes premature wear and tear. It is especially the case if an inexperienced person operates an awning. You can prevent such wear by installing a sun sensor on top of an awning. The sun sensor detects changes in the sun's intensity and automatically adjusts an awning's position accordingly. The subtle and smooth extension and retraction eliminate strain on awning arms, which improves the structure's durability.
Install a Manual Override Awning Motor
Power blackouts are not limited to rural areas because Australian cities also experience outages. Since retractable awnings are powered by electricity, they remain immovable when there is a blackout in your house or neighbourhood. Therefore, you cannot retract an awning to safety, leaving it exposed to the elements, especially during harsh weather conditions such as snow and torrential rainfall. A manual override motor is critical during such situations because it allows you to retract an awning manually. It goes a long way in helping you protect the awning fabric and arms from the elements. Most importantly, it enhances service life and lower maintenance costs.
To learn more, contact a local awnings supplier.