The short answer: for most UK homes the best electric awning is a full-cassette awning, where the fabric and arms fold away into a sealed aluminium case, with a mains motor, a remote and a wind sensor. Choose the type by your wall and the space: an end-fix awning for most patios and bifold doors up to 6 m wide, longer arms if you need more reach, a heavier multi-fix awning beyond 6 m wide, a recessed awning if you’re building, and an over-glass awning for a hot glass roof. We fit electric awnings only, never manual ones, and we don’t rank by brand: we rank by what each type does.
The short version
- What makes an awning good: cassette, wind rating, motor, fabric, brackets
- The ranking: which type is best for which home
- Real homes: what we fitted and proposed, and why
- The honest limits of any awning
- Your questions answered
Why we rank types, not brands. We don’t compare brand names here. What decides whether you’ll be happy is the type of awning, the size, how it’s fixed to your wall and how well it’s set up. So that’s what we rank, using the systems we actually fit. For the full range, see the electric awnings we fit. Written by Chris Gargett.
What makes an electric awning good
- A full cassette. When it’s closed, the fabric and arms sit inside a sealed aluminium case, out of the rain and dirt. It’s what we recommend, and what most UK homeowners choose, because of our weather.
- A stated wind rating. The end-fix awnings we fit are rated up to 28 mph (Beaufort force 5). The heavier multi-fix awning in our proposals is rated up to 38 mph (Beaufort force 6). Any awning should come in before the wind gets beyond its rating.
- A mains motor with a remote, and a wind sensor. The sensor brings the awning in when gusts pick up, even when you’re out. A hub and phone app can be added for automation, with sun and wind sensors.
- A fabric made for outdoor use.
- Brackets that suit your wall. On a single-storey wall the top courses of brick aren’t load-bearing, so the awning needs spreader plates or gutter brackets to carry the load down into structural brickwork. See our bespoke brackets.
- The right height and pitch. About 14 to 15 degrees lets rain run off, and the front bar still has to clear open doors and your head.
The ranking: which electric awning is best for which home
We’ve ranked these by how many UK homes each type suits, starting with the one that fits most. The best one for you is the one that suits your wall and space, which may not be number 1.
| Rank | Type | Size | Wind and strength | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full-cassette end-fix awning | Up to 6 m wide; arms of 1.6, 2.1, 2.6 or 3.1 m | Up to 28 mph (force 5) | Most patios, terraces and bifold or sliding doors | Needs strong fixings at each end; single-storey walls need brackets |
| 2 | Full-cassette end-fix awning with long arms | Up to 6 m wide; arms of 3.6 or 4.1 m | Up to 28 mph (force 5) | Deeper terraces where you need the shade to reach further out | Check your wall and fixings, and the shade it really gives |
| 3 | Heavy-duty multi-fix awning | Fixed across its width; multi-fix is needed beyond 6 m and goes up to 9 m | The one in our proposals is rated up to 38 mph (force 6); option of a 1.2 m electric drop-down valance | Wide rear elevations and long terraces, and where a higher wind rating matters | Needs load-bearing brackets right across; costs more than end-fix |
| 4 | Recessed (built-in) awning | Up to 6 m wide; up to 3.6 m reach | Checked on a free call; the cassette sits in the structure | New builds and extensions, where the cassette can disappear | Has to be planned at build stage |
| 5 | Over-glass conservatory awning | To suit the roof | Checked on a free call | A glass roof that overheats, with the heat stopped outside the glass | Checked against your roof on a free call |
| 6 | Zipped pergola | To suit the space | Checked on a free call | A covered outdoor room, not just shade at the wall | A bigger project than an awning |
Not on our list: manual awnings, which we don’t supply, and open awnings without a full cassette, which we don’t recommend for UK weather. Sizes and wind ratings are for the systems we fit; we’ll confirm what suits your wall on a free call.
Real homes: what we fitted and proposed
Janice’s extension (fitted). Janice’s single-storey extension has large south-west-facing glass, and the sun brought heat and glare onto the dining table and patio. We had already fitted three awnings over her glass roof. For the rear wall we fitted a full-cassette awning over 5 m wide with 2.1 m arms, made bespoke spreader plates with covers over the bolts, and powder-coated every visible part to suit the brick. A wind sensor brings it in automatically. She came back to us for this one after the roof awnings. Read Janice’s story.
Two 4.5 m awnings on a single-storey home (proposal). Front and rear decking to shade, on single-storey walls. Our proposal was two end-fix full-cassette awnings, 4.5 m wide, with gutter brackets to get the right height above the fascia and still fix into load-bearing brick. See the 4.5 m single-storey proposal.
A terrace with two bifold doors (proposal). Two 2.6 m bifold doors on walls with a step between them. We set out two awnings side by side, or one wider end-fix awning with a bespoke pipe bracket to bridge the step, and compared the heavy-duty multi-fix option. See the terrace proposal.
The honest limits of any awning
- Shade moves with the sun. No awning shades the same spot all day. How much shade a retractable awning really gives shows it hour by hour.
- Awnings come in when it’s windy. They’re for sun, not storms.
- Your wall decides a lot. If it can’t take the load, the answer is brackets or a different system, not a bigger awning.
- Power has to be planned. A mains supply needs to be in place before fitting. See what electrical supply an awning needs.
Your questions answered
What are the best electric awnings in the UK?
For most homes, a full-cassette electric awning with a stated wind rating, a mains motor, a remote and a wind sensor, fixed with brackets that suit your wall. Which type is best depends on your width, how far you need it to reach and your wall: see the ranking above.
What is the best retractable awning for a UK garden?
A full-cassette retractable awning, because the fabric and arms are closed away from the weather when it’s in. An end-fix one suits most patios up to 6 m wide; beyond 6 m wide you need a multi-fix awning, which goes up to 9 m.
Which awning brand is best?
We don’t rank by brand. Compare the things that matter instead: a full cassette, the wind rating, the motor and sensor, the fabric, the warranty and how it will be fixed to your wall. The end-fix awnings in one of our published proposals carried a 5-year warranty on the motor, fabric and structural parts.
Full cassette or half cassette?
We recommend a full cassette, where the fabric and arms fold right away into a sealed case. It keeps them out of the rain and dirt, which matters in the UK.
How windy is too windy for an awning?
The end-fix awnings we fit are rated up to 28 mph (Beaufort force 5), and the heavier multi-fix one in our proposals up to 38 mph (force 6). A wind sensor brings the awning in automatically when gusts pick up.
Do you sell manual awnings?
No. We only supply and fit electric awnings.
How much does a good electric awning cost?
It depends on the width, the arm length, the brackets your wall needs and extras such as sun and wind sensors. As one worked example, a proposal we published for a single end-fix awning under 5.5 m wide with 2.6 m arms and a bespoke pipe bracket was from £6,425 including VAT, the manufacturing survey and installation. Automated sun and wind sensors were £190 extra. This is a historical quotation example and its date has not been confirmed, so current prices may differ. See our electric awnings price guide and what bespoke electric awnings cost and why.
Can I fit an electric awning on a single-storey extension?
Yes, with the right brackets. The top courses of brick on a single-storey wall don’t carry load, so we use spreader plates or gutter brackets to fix into structural brickwork lower down.
Can I control an awning from my phone?
Yes. The motors we fit work with a remote handset and with a hub and app, and sun and wind sensors can automate it.
Where do you fit electric awnings?
Across Great Britain, not Northern Ireland. Send us a photo of the wall and the space you want to shade.
Next step
Book a free call with us, and send a photo of the wall and the space you want to shade. We’ll tell you which awning fits, what it will take, and if an awning isn’t the right answer.
Read next: the electric awnings we fit, and what bespoke electric awnings cost and why.
