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Energy crunch gives new impetus to older technology
Energy crunch gives new impetus to older technologyBy Bill Walsh
Times-Democrat Staff Writer
The good news is that much of the summer has been temperate, with the usually oppressive month of August standing out as a particular delight.
The bad news is that Dominion Virginia Power was granted an 18 percent price hike, effective July 1, and most homeowners are now in receipt of bills reflecting the higher cost of cooling their homes.
Rob Montgomery believes that some of those homeowners might want to take a fresh look at an old technology. Awnings, according to the owner of Montgomery Shade and Awning in New Baltimore, offer savings that go beyond the Dominion bill.
"You spend a fortune having nice furniture, nice upholstery, nice wood floors, and the sun just tears them up," Montgomery, 61 and a long-time Fauquier and Loudoun resident, said last week. "If you put up a shade to block that, you can find immediate relief."
Protecting furnishings and floors is a real benefit, but energy is on every mind these days, and studies indicate that awnings can reduce cooling bills substantially — about 25 percent according to a university study released late last year that looked at various temperature zones across the country.
"The energy savings is in the 20 to 30 percent range," Montgomery agreed, "depending on the orientation of the house."
Awnings are a pre-air conditioning architectural embellishment that came into popular use early in the last century.
These are not your grandparents' awnings, Montgomery says of the 21st-century product.
There are a lot of different styles and a huge selection of different materials, but cotton remains a popular choice because of its sustainability.
"The old awnings, the ones that go back to the turn of the century, were a painted cotton fabric," Montgomery said. "It is not necessarily going to be the most durable fabric, and it's not necessarily going to be the most dollar efficient. "
Still, he adds, "most folks are getting between seven and 12 years out of a cotton awning cover." When it's time to replace the fabric, the modern hardware that supports it is still in showroom condition.
Awnings that retract are more popular now, Montgomery added.
Given the energy pinch, the market is alive with new developments, including exterior shades that raise and lower, yet are invisible from inside the home. "They have been popular in Europe where air conditioning is less pervasive," Montgomery said, "and there is a huge market for that kind of product coming down the road."
Mesh fabrics that are transparent yet block 80 to 90 percent of the sun's rays are another window treatment gaining in stature.
There is something for every taste and every architecture — lean-tos, radius, domes, and waterfalls. Choosing the right awning style is important and is a big part of the expertise, developed over 40 years in the business, that Montgomery provides.
His parents opened The Shade Shop in Warrenton in the mid 1960s, mostly selling drapes and shades and shutters for the home's interior — products that he continues to handle. Awnings took over the bulk of the business in the 80s, Montgomery recalled. He took the business over from his late parents in 2002.
"The other staple for us is the patio canopy, which gives you additional room that you can use this time of the year, an area that is shaded from the sun, that will tolerate rain, that is retractable," Montgomery said.
That's an accurate description of the awning his company installed at Yakir and Claire Lubowsky's home just outside Old Town Warrenton about six weeks ago.
"It could be brutal back here," Yakir said. "Once it got to be about 11:30 and the sun got overhead and started going the other way, it was way too hot. Now we have all this additional, truly usable space that wasn't usable before. It's quite nice in the evening, as well. It gives an indoor/outdoor feeling that the architects I admire is a central thing. It has been wonderful."
Montgomery also gets a lot of calls this time of year from people who have a door that is totally exposed, "and they realize, after getting soaked in a thunderstorm fumbling in their purse for the keys, 'wouldn't it be nice to have an awning?'" he said.
Montgomery Shade and Awning is located at 6628 Electric Ave., in New Baltimore. The office can be reached at (540) 347-1941 and the company maintains a Web site at www.montgomeryawning.com.
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