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[Tyak]

My patio is 32 feet long and we had two of them for that length. Back in 2001 they cost us 6K. We loved them but we get a lot of wind and after about 12 years they needed to be replaced. We thought we'd try something else, drop shades, and we regret it to this day. I sure miss my awnings. Get them, you won't regret it!

[Lilysmom]

Collegechick, I didn't give a price in my post. I paid $5000 eight years ago. The awning dropped the indoor temperature at least ten degrees in summer which was wonderful. I see someone mentioned that it made it dark inside. I never had a complaint about that. I could still enjoy the sunny view without suffering from the heat of the sun. I think it's a lovely effect. Also, the awning retracts so if you want sun, you just have to retract it. It is a lot of money but I really don't regret it. Happy hunting for your shade source! LM

[conniebird]

We had a Sunsetter awning installed on our deck & it's the best thing we ever did. About 3 yrs. ago, we paid $2,300. It has a remote control that we use to make it work . The deck was so hot in the summer that it was impossible to enjoy the day. With the awning, it's at least 10 to 20 deg. cooler. We love it!! Go & look at them...price them & have them install it for you. Too large to handle by yourself. As someone said, "if it's windy, retrack it. I only open it up if I want to sit outside to have my morning coffee or to read in the afternoon. It's nice to eat supper out there now.

[Jackielee]

We have lived in our home for 30 years, in Southern California and one of the first things that we did was to have a retractable awning put on the back patio. The first one lasted 25 years and when that was worn out, we replaced it with a new one . We love them. Ours is electric. It truly was the best thing that we ever did. The nice thing is that , when it's down it provides some very badly needed shade on the patio and also provides shade inside the house so that we still have our view and don't have to close our shutters inside the house yet it cools the house down. We use our shade every single day from about April until late November. I put the shade down in the early afternoon and put it back up after dinnertime when the sun is lower. With the intense sun that Southern California has , I think that it's not a understatement that we've gotten our money's worth out of our awnings. I agree that, when a strong wind comes up, I'd put the shade up to be safe. And , one of the main reasons that we originally had it installed back 30 years ago (when no one had them) was because we did not want the standard patio cover that everyone had which really did darken the house all of the time. With the awning , it can darken the house inside to keep it cool and then put it up when you don't need it. All winter long, when the sun doesn't come into that part of the house, we don't have a patio cover darkening up that part of the house.Our awning is up during the winter. Love, love, love the awning and many of our family members and friends have had them installed on their homes after seeing how well ours has worked for our family.

[Gooday]

My cousins have one. They are in a suburb of Chicago. I do not know what they paid for it but they are frugal - not cheap but they do their due diligence and comparisons. It is quite nice as they have a western exposure on their back patio. It is really nice and I would recommend them.