When it comes to retractable awnings for a deck or patio, there are really only two options for you. There's Sun Setter awnings and then there's everyone else.
And don't get me wrong, this isn't exactly a situation that I think is great, especially for a guy like me who runs a consumer information blog and tries to get the best deals for people. (Monopolies haven't exactly been kind to the average "man on the street," know what I mean?)
But as of right now, luckily for us I guess, even though Sunsetter has basically cornered the market on canopies and awnings for residential consumers, it's still very possible to get a great price on the product.
All you need to know is where to go, and you can actually get a couple hundred bucks off of a brand-new awning. But we'll get to that secret in the second. (Stay tuned!)
First, I just wanted to talk about some of the factors that you need to look for when you're doing some comparison shopping for your retractable awning.
I said at the beginning of this review that the name Sun Setter has basically become synonymous with retractable awnings. It's like how you ask for a Kleenex today when what you actually need or want is just any old tissue.
But when it comes to a structure that is going to be on your property for years, you don't want just any old...well...tissue, so to speak.
Sunsetter is fond of saying that their offerings will keep you up to 20 degrees cooler than if you didn't have one. I think that that's pretty much true, and I'll try and explain why their awnings tend to work better in this respect than many others that you might get from a local company or from another national supplier.
Almost all standard awnings are made from a fabric known as sunbrella. Now, this is not a bad fabric and all. In fact, it comes in variety of different colors and all kinds of different patterns and generally it works pretty well. The only problem with that is that it doesn't block the heat -- in fact, it just lets everything right through.
So even though you're sitting in the shade with a sunbrella awning or a canvas awning, you're still not all that much cooler, if you're cooler at all.
Take it from me, someone who was thrilled to buy a home with an enclosed porch. I envisioned many balmy summer afternoons lounging on the porch sipping some iced tea. But because the porch wasn't constructed using material that would block the heat, that place gets hot enough to roast a darn chicken. And I don't necessarily like feeling like that chicken in the middle of July or August.
Sunsetter, on the other hand, makes their awnings out of a material that only they use. I won't go into all the technical details about it, but it does have some special properties that really does help keep you much cooler than if you didn't have the awning at all, or if you had one of the lower quality awnings mentioned above.
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