Difference between Awning Cassettes – A buyer’s guide

What Is A Cassette?

When people refer to cassettes as they talk about awnings, they’re referring to the case into which the awning retracts. The purpose it serves is to protect the awning from the elements, including harsh weather conditions, dirt, and any other natural causes of damage.

Naturally, there is a direct correlation between the protection gained from the amount of protection you get and the amount of money you have to pay. For context, there are 3 different cassette types at 3 different price points:

Full Cassettes

As the name implies a full cassette covers a retracted awning fully. When retracted the fabric rolls into the cassette completely and the arms fold into it. It’s designed to be completely weather resistant, providing the full range of protection your awning needs. This includes sun damage and discoloration. Aesthetically speaking, it has the tidiest look out of all the cassettes as there’s no sign of the internal workings of the awnings themselves.

Typically, full cassettes are reserved for areas with the harshest of weather conditions. We’d recommend it for customers in the North of England where heavy snow is still a regular occurrence, or coastal towns with climates unique to their environment. In terms of price points, full cassettes are the most expensive option out of the three.

Half/Semi Cassettes

Partial coverings from a half /semi-cassette protect your awnings to a moderate degree. These units mainly sit on top of the retracted awning as opposed to completely covering it.

Unlike full cassettes and open cassettes, half/semi cassettes are far more customisable. With the capability for additional guards to be installed and implemented, this happy mid-point is very budget-friendly for homeowners who want a protective option that can be upgraded over time.

Units with half/semi cassettes installed are reserved for more sheltered gardens and patios, or areas with only moderate weather changes throughout the seasons. Geographically speaking, we’d recommend this for customers in the lower range of the midlands where there’s a good amount of distance from the sea and moderate temperature and humidity spikes and drops.

Open Cassettes

Though they’re the cheapest in price point, these aren’t always classified as entry-level. Unlike the previous types of cassettes, they completely expose the retracted awning to the elements. However, from a strategic point of view, if you’re in a property that has overhanging rooftops, it’s one of the smarter options in terms of cost-effectiveness. Provided that they’re positioned on a part of your property that already has an architectural feature that shelters the awning, it’s a financially strategic choice to make.

However, should you take this approach we urge you to ensure that the material used to build the awning is at the very least UV-resistant. There’s a science behind the discoloration and fading that occurs when sunlight touches fabric and awnings are no different to this.

Our Recommendations

Your first guess would be that we’d only recommend full cassette systems, however, we believe that both semi and full cassette systems are viable choices when it comes to structural integrity against British weather. If we didn’t believe in them both so strongly, we wouldn’t have made it a point to introduce a line of products that feature both:

For full cassette systems

We typically recommend this for our seasoned home improvement enthusiasts as we have awnings that feature full cassette systems which have comfort features that complement the added security. If you’re on the lookout for a full cassette system awning we recommend browsing our MF2600 Haus Awning®. It not only comes with a full cassette but features optional lighting and temperature control thanks to infrared heating systems, and more.

For semi cassette systems

We highly suggest browsing our H2450 Haus Awnings®. We recommend these for the majority of our customers who are ready to renovate their outdoor space with an additional 24.5 sq ft of shading and shelter. Compatible with the same comfort features as the MF2600, it’s an even more cost-effective option with the same level of comfort.

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