Motorized & Electric Retractable Awnings
A motorized retractable awning is the electric version of our Sunesta, Sunstyle, and Sunlight awnings for the Kansas City metro, run by a Somfy motor instead of a hand crank. One press of a Somfy Telis 4 RTS remote extends the fabric for shade; a second press retracts it into the dual-cable arm system with no front posts. Every awning is custom-built in Jacksonville, Florida and installed by our in-house Sunesta-Certified Installers, with a four to six week lead time.
The reason to go electric here is Kansas City weather. Spring gust fronts of 50-plus mph arrive fast, and a manual awning only retracts if someone is home to crank it. A motorized Sunesta with a wind sensor retracts itself: we set the threshold at 28 mph across most of the metro, and a lower 22 mph for bluff-edge sites above the Missouri River in places like Parkville. That is the difference between shade when you need it and a fabric panel taking a 50 mph gust unattended.
Motorized Retractable Awning: How the Somfy System Works
Every motorized Sunesta runs on a Somfy tubular motor sized to the awning. A Sonesse 30 handles our smaller widths, and a Sonesse 50 carries the heavy Sunesta Model out to its full 40' width and 14'8" projection. The motor lives inside the front roller tube, so there is no visible box and no exposed wiring once we are done. You operate it from a handheld Somfy Telis 4 RTS remote, and the same motor accepts a wind sensor, a sun sensor, and a TaHoma smart-home hub so the awning can run on schedule or react to conditions on its own. Want to talk through which motor and controls fit your deck? Call us at 913.355.1236.
Electric Awning Controls: Remote, Wind Sensor, and TaHoma Hub
An electric awning is only as good as what you use to control it, so we set up three layers. The Somfy Telis 4 RTS remote is the everyday control, with channels so one handset can run more than one awning. The wind sensor is the safety layer that auto-retracts the awning when gusts cross the threshold we program for your site. The Somfy TaHoma hub is the optional smart layer: it connects the awning to your phone and lets you set times of day or pull the fabric in remotely when a storm shows up on radar and you are not home.
- Somfy Telis 4 RTS Remote — A five-channel handheld remote that extends and retracts the awning with one button. Multiple channels let a single remote control more than one motorized awning on the home.
- Wind Sensor Auto-Retract — Mounts to the front bar and retracts the awning automatically when wind crosses the set threshold. We program 28 mph across most of the metro and 22 mph for bluff-edge sites near the Missouri River.
- Somfy TaHoma Smart Hub — The optional hub links the awning to your phone for scheduled run times and remote control. Pull the fabric in from anywhere when KC weather turns before you get home.
- Manual Override — Every motorized awning still ships with a manual override crank, so a power outage never leaves the fabric stuck out or stuck in.
Retractable Awning Motor: Somfy Sonesse 30 and Sonesse 50
The motor is matched to the awning, never the other way around. Smaller and mid-size widths run the Somfy Sonesse 30, which has the torque for a Sunstyle or Sunlight and keeps the roller tube slim. The flagship Sunesta Model at full size, up to 40' wide with 14'8" of projection, calls for the higher-torque Sonesse 50 to drive that much fabric and arm weight smoothly. Because the motor is inside the tube, the same dual-cable arm system that carries the awning with no front posts is what extends and retracts it. Our installers are employees, never subcontractors, and they program the motor limits and walk you through operation before they leave the jobsite.
Motorized vs Manual: Why KC Decks Go Electric
A west-facing deck in Lee's Summit or Blue Springs takes its hardest sun at 4 p.m., which is exactly when nobody wants to walk outside to crank an awning. A motorized Sunesta extends from the remote or runs itself on a TaHoma schedule, so the shade is already out when the sun rounds the corner. The bigger argument is protection: KC's spring gust fronts and summer storms move fast, and a wind sensor retracts the fabric on its own at 28 mph, 22 mph on the bluff edge. Manual awnings cannot do that. If you are weighing the two, get a free quote and we will spec the motor, controls, and wind threshold for your exact site.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a motorized awning retract automatically?
A wind sensor mounted to the front bar reads gust speed and signals the Somfy motor to pull the awning in when wind crosses the threshold we set. We program 28 mph across most of the Kansas City metro and a lower 22 mph for bluff-edge sites above the Missouri River, such as parts of Parkville. It works whether or not anyone is home.
What is the difference between a motorized and a manual retractable awning?
Both use the same Sunesta dual-cable arm system and the same fabric. A motorized awning runs on a Somfy Sonesse 30 or 50 motor inside the roller tube, operated by a Telis 4 RTS remote and optionally a wind sensor and TaHoma hub. A manual awning is hand-cranked. The motorized version adds automatic wind retraction and scheduled or remote operation, which matters most on west-facing KC decks and during spring gust fronts. Every motorized awning still includes a manual override crank for power outages.
Which Somfy motor goes in a Sunesta awning?
It depends on the awning size. Smaller and mid-size widths use the Somfy Sonesse 30. The flagship Sunesta Model at full size, up to 40' wide with 14'8" of projection, uses the higher-torque Sonesse 50 to drive the larger fabric and arm load. We size the motor during the measure so it matches your awning exactly.
Can I control my electric awning from my phone?
Yes, with the optional Somfy TaHoma hub. It connects the awning to your smartphone so you can extend or retract it remotely, set scheduled run times, and pull the fabric in when a storm shows up before you get home. Without the hub, the standard control is the Somfy Telis 4 RTS handheld remote.