American Light Design Motorized Awnings
Open-Roll Motorized Awning
Effortless everyday shade — the budget-friendly, low-profile style for covered or sheltered patios.
Specifications
| Sizes (W × projection) | 10'×8' · 12'×10' · 14'×10' · 16'×10' · 20'×10' |
|---|---|
| Frame colors | Bronze, White |
| Warranty | 5 years — hardware, fabric, motor (non-prorated, transferable) |
| Pitch | Manual crank |
| Hood | Optional (~50% coverage) |
Perfect for
The mechanism
How it works
The open-roll style is the simplest motorized awning: fabric on a roller tube, folding arms, a motor inside the tube, and no housing wrapped around them. Fewer parts, lower cost, less material overhead.
It is the right choice under a covered area or a sheltered wall where the retracted fabric is not exposed to constant weather — a second-story deck under a roofline, or a patio that already has partial cover.
Sizes are fixed rather than custom: 10, 12, 14, 16, and 20 feet wide with 8 to 10 feet of projection, in bronze or white, with manual crank pitch adjustment and an optional hood that covers roughly half the roll.
Why it's worth it
What this system gives you
The lowest cost way into a motorized retractable awning.
Fixed widths keep lead time short and price predictable.
Standard and upgrade patterns, fade- and mildew-resistant.
Set the angle for low afternoon sun or for rain shed.
Adds partial protection for the rolled fabric.
Non-prorated and transferable, covering hardware, fabric, and motor.
Ownership
Care & maintenance
Retract the awning in high wind, heavy rain, and snow — a wind sensor does this automatically and is the single best accessory you can add. Fabric awnings are designed to be retracted, not to fight weather.
Let the fabric dry before retracting when possible; rolling a soaked awning repeatedly invites mildew even on mildew-resistant Sunbrella. If you must roll it wet, extend it again to dry within a day or two.
Hose the fabric down two or three times a season and brush off leaves and pollen. Sunbrella cleans with mild soap and water; avoid pressure washers, which drive water into the seams and the roller tube.
Local fit
Built for Virginia, Maryland & DC
Virginia and Maryland summers put west- and south-facing decks out of use from about two in the afternoon. An awning is the cheapest square-footage you will ever add to a house, because it converts a deck you avoid into a room you use.
Our winters mean the awning spends months retracted. Anti-corrosion aluminum frames and a housing that shelters the fabric are what let it come out of March looking like it went into November — and it is why we steer most Mid-Atlantic clients toward cassette models.
Knowledge base
Learn more about Open-Roll Motorized Awning
Motorized Screen Cost in Northern Virginia (2026): Typical Prices and the Best Systems
Typical installed costs for motorized retractable screens in 2026, what drives the price, and which system fits your patio. Your firm quote is free.
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How do I adjust the pitch on an Open-Roll awning?
A manual crank sets the fabric angle — how pitch works, and when to change it through the seasons.
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Where should an Open-Roll awning be installed?
Sheltered locations — under overhangs, soffits, and upper decks — and the honest rule for exposed walls.
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Motorized Awning Anatomy: Open-Roll, Semi-Cassette, Cross-Arm, and Full-Cassette
The four American Light Design awning styles share the same bones — roller, arms, motor, Sunbrella fabric. What separates them is housing, geometry, and where each belongs.
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Choosing the Right Motorized Awning Style for Your Home
Open-Roll, Semi-Cassette, Cross-Arm, or Full-Cassette — a decision guide keyed to your mounting location, patio shape, and how exposed the awning will live.
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Wind Sensors Explained: Why a Good Awning Retracts Itself
An extended awning is a sail on a lever arm. Here is how a wireless wind sensor protects your investment automatically — and why we recommend one on every awning we install.
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What makes the Open-Roll different from cassette awnings?
No housing over the roll — which is why it costs less, and why placement decides whether it is the smart buy.
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Motorized Awning Care Through a Virginia Winter
A season-by-season maintenance guide: the fall shutdown routine, the winter rules for snow and wind, and the spring restart checklist that keeps a 10-year awning going for twenty.
View moreThe American Light Design Motorized Awnings line
Retractable shade, assembled in Florida, USA — backed by a 10-year warranty
Our own line of motorized retractable awnings: anti-corrosion aluminum frames, Sunbrella fabrics, Dooya or Somfy motors, and built-in dimmable LED arm lighting on cassette models. Non-prorated, transferable warranties.
