Commercial building owners and operators have long embraced the aesthetic beauty and sheltering benefits of awnings, but the energy saving potential is creating renewed interest.

Fabric awnings have long been used commercially for promotion, and to provide shade and cover. Today, the push for improved green building practices is leading organizations to an even greater appreciation of awnings.

Commercial buildings professionals report the positive impact awnings have on their operations. The video “Awnings Extend Commercial Success” can be viewed at www.awninginfo.com. The video highlights the spectrum of organizational benefits provided by awnings.

For restaurants and retail operations, visibility is critical to success. “One of the things that is important with this facility, and with any facility you have, is to ensure that people can find you,” says Dan Linnen, Owner of the Andiamo Restaurant in Novi, Michigan. “Every location has its challenges in a metropolitan market. Awnings, in our opinion, help set the building off, and we use them often as an icon… The brightness of the color and the size really stand out.”

In addition to the branding benefits, Andiamo Novi also built an awning structure to significantly expand seating capacity and generate additional revenue. When it came to creating more revenue-producing dining space, “The payback on the construction of the awning for us was really a short time – it was four weeks,” reports Linnen. “So, from a cost-effective standpoint, from a timing standpoint, and from a cosmetic standpoint, we found that the awnings were a much better application for our use in a commercial environment than that of traditional construction.”

Bazzani Associates is an established leader in green building design and construction, with a passionate focus on historic preservation, urban renewal and improvement of existing building stock. “If you are not building a green building, you are building an obsolete building,” says Guy Bazzani, President.

“Awnings contributed to our LEED energy and atmosphere credits. We lowered our cooling costs by placing awnings in the right positions… We suspect the awnings give us about 11 percent better performance in the summer months by controlling sunlight.” Per Bazzani, positioning awnings properly also increases passive heat gain in the wintertime. “So [awnings] give us help in the winter and help in the summer.”

Energy savings are important, but appearance matters, too. Bazzani finds awnings deliver on that front as well. “When we approach owners about redesigning their buildings, we find that awnings are not a hard sell. If you give them the right product, and the right design it really enhances the building.”

After a vehicle lost control, crashed into the Providence Hospital and destroyed approximately one-third of the emergency room area, Joe Serra, Manager of Plant Operations, needed a quick, safe and cost-effective solution for the hospital’s patient discharge area.

“Due to the incident, we had to come up with some kind of design to facilitate security, to facilitate the elements of the weather, and also to have a nice comfortable place… for our patients being discharged, [and for the nurse, attendant or volunteer accompanying them],” says Serra. “And that’s where the awning came in with this unique design.”

“If you look at [the awning] you’ll see where it’s compartmentalized… We have heat in there. It’s very comfortable, even when it’s down in the teens.”

What Serra appreciates most about the new awnings is how seamlessly they’ve integrated into the hospital facilities. “It serves its functions… so well that you don’t notice it anymore. It’s just there… It’s part of the building. So from that aspect, it’s been very advantageous for us.”