Posts by julieb
Energy Saving Solutions for Homeowners
Shade products are a highly sought-after upgrade for homeowners. They provide unique home styles, shaded patios, increase home values, and reduce energy costs. Rainier Shade products provide fresh and innovative solutions for going green and preserving energy year-round. Having an awning on your home is a great way to shelter from the elements and is a sleek addition to your home’s look and feel. Energy Savings Retractable awnings and power screens will help homeowners cut down on the energy costs of their homes. Not only will they help keep you cool outside, but they will also keep you cool inside during the summer, warm inside during the winter, and save you money. When installing an awning on your home, you can create shade outside and inside your home. You will be able to use cooling systems less which will ultimately save you money on your energy bill – up to 25%! And the bonus: when you use less electricity, you also reduce your carbon footprint! Hooray for sustainability! During the winter months, you can retract your awning to allow the sun’s rays to heat your home. Retractable awnings can even help trap some of the heat around your windows. Dark-colored fabric will absorb light energy, so if you live in a cooler climate, you might want to consider choosing a darker color. We recommend that homeowners in a warmer climate, select a lighter color to keep their awning from absorbing too much heat. Lighter colors will also keep the home interior partially shaded. Choosing the best fabric color for your awning based on your climate is easy because Sunbrella fabrics are fade-resistant. The retractable awnings will maintain their color while helping regulate the temperature in and around your home for years to come. Schedule a free in-home consultation to find the best retractable awning for your home. Click here to find a dealer near you. Fade Resistant Fabric The question we often hear from customers is, “What are your retractable awnings made of, and how will they protect us from the elements?’ We manufacture our Retractable Awnings with Sunbrella® fabric. Sunbrella is among the highest quality and most durable fabrics on the market. Sunbrella fabrics are highly water-resistant, protect from harmful UV rays, and are resistant to mold and mildew. The fabric is 100% solution-dyed and is guaranteed not to fade for ten years. Rather than dying the top of the fabric, which would then fade in the sun, Sunbrella manufactures its fabric by adding color pigments to fade-resistant fibers which are then woven into the fabric, allowing the color to penetrate throughout. Even better, there are thousands of colors to choose from. That means you can create an awning that will complement the color of your home and even add a little pop of color. Learn more about Sunbrella fabrics here.
Read More4 Ways that Awnings Help Save Energy
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.
Read MorePantone’s Color of the Year
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!
Read More7 Tips to Help You Enjoy Your Patio All Year
Just because we’re headed into the cold-weather season doesn’t mean that you should pack away the patio furniture and stay indoors until Ground Hog Day. With the right planning and preparation, you can enjoy your outdoor living space all year long. Here are 7 tips to keep you living the good life in your own backyard. 1. Cover Your Patio with a Retractable Awning Sitting outside in rain and drizzle is no fun when you don’t have anything over your head keeping it dry. Hiring a contractor to build onto your house to create a patio roof can be an expensive and lengthy project. Luckily, Rainier Shade offers retractable awnings that allow you to extend the area of your outdoor living space, will keep you dry outside during the rainy season as well as cool and shaded in the summer. Just to make sure to retract the awning during inclement weather or when not in use. To find out what type of awning would be best for your home, contact a dealer near you and schedule an in-home consultation. 2. Stay Warm with a Power Screen When the wintertime comes around, there’s no better way to enjoy your patio than a warm area and a hot cup of cocoa. Rainier power screens can help keep the cold out and the warmth in, especially with a heat source. It can also offer a level of privacy so that you can stay out while no one looks in. Learn more about Rainier Power Screens here: https://www.rainier.com/shade/power-screens/ 3. Get an Outdoor Heater Depending on where you are in the country, this winter’s going to get a little chilly, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sit outside and do some stargazing or sipping on hot cocoa. Investing in an outdoor heater will not only keep you and your guests cozy but will also add an extra layer of ambiance outside. You can find tall propane heaters, table style fireplaces, or octagon stoves like this one from Rainier Outdoor: https://rainieroutdoor.com/kwik-kamp-octagon-stove.html 4. Warm Up in a Hot Tub One of the best things about having a hot tub is that it can be used year-round. There is nothing more relaxing than soaking in a hot tub on a cold night, or better yet, a snowy night! Doubling as your own private spa, it can also help relax and soothe achy muscles. 5. Add Some Mood Lighting No outdoor living area is complete without lighting. Gather some hanging patio string lights or candles and watch the ambiance of your seating area change in an instant. Once you know what kind of lighting you want, make sure you know how to light them up. LED lights will last a long time, and traditional lighting might need some extra electrical wiring outside. 6. Weatherproof Furniture If you really want to enjoy your outdoor space year-round, you’ll need weatherproof outdoor furniture so that you’ll be able to enjoy your outdoor living area for years to come. Look for furniture created…
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