window covering

Motorized louvered pergolas are becoming more popular as homeowners look for ways to improve their outdoor spaces to make them comfortable and safer for family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Epidemiologists have predicted for some time that cooler weather would send more gatherings indoors and that factor would cause COVID-19 infections to dramatically rise because there is not enough space between people and because there is no continuous fresh air flow.

But motorized louvered pergolas give you an outdoor setting with fresh air flow that facilitates social distancing. With the addition of heating systems and electronic amenities, you and your family and friends can have the best of indoors holiday fun and traditions in the safer environment of an outdoor space with a motorized louvered pergola.

So, in addition to holding your holiday gatherings in your motorized louvered pergola, here are some other tips to ensure that your time with family and friends is as COVID-19 safe as possible.

The first tip is to make sure that seating reflects social distancing guidelines. In general, people from the same household can be seated together, but each household should be seated at least six feet from other households.

While this may mean that your traditional holiday get-togethers may be smaller because it will mean you can’t get have as many people together as in the past, it will still allow you to have some guests to carry on holiday traditions with. It is all about creativity.

If you do not yet have a heating system installed in your motorized louvered pergola, consider having the main holiday meal in the middle of the day rather than late in the afternoon or early evening. This will eliminate mealtime being when the day is getting cooler, and people naturally start to drift indoors.

Another tip is that if you normally serve your holiday meals buffet style, this is the year to do something different. Serving food buffet style means that a lot of people are touching the food and this can facilitate the spread of COVID-19.

Instead, you can either ask a single household to be responsible for cooking or you can order a takeout holiday meal from a restaurant. Designate one of your guests to be the sole person responsible for serving the food to everyone. Use disposal (after every serving) plates, bowls, cups, napkins, and flatware for people to eat with.

Another option that many people who are hosting holiday gatherings this year are using is having a picnic meal. Each household who is attending will prepare, bring, and eat the food for their own household, which virtually eliminates any risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Remember that the same guidelines for meals should be applied to snacks, appetizers, drinks, and deserts. Instead of serving plates of hors d’oeuvres, bowls of chips and pretzels, large bottles of water, tea, and soda, and whole pies and cakes, use single serving packaging for appetizers and snacks, individual-sized cans or bottles for drinks, and precut slices of pies and cakes.

Another tip to keep guests outside is to make sure that you have everything you need outside before they get there. If you plan well in advance, you can make a checklist of what needs to go outside so you make sure that nothing is forgotten.

A final tip is to make sure children have outdoor activities that allow them to be socially distanced. These can include games like frisbee or football or activities like drawing chalk art on sidewalks.

If you’d like to learn more about motorized louvered pergolas, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm.

Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization brings you the newest technology to make operating your Hunter Douglas window treatments easier than ever. However, as people start to think about incorporating Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization, there are many common questions they ask. Maybe some of them are questions you have too.

Question: How do I operate my window coverings with Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization?

Answer: Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization can be operated using several different methods. These include using a remote control, a wall switch, a smartphone or a tablet (using the PowerView app). In addition, you can operate your motorized window treatments using Amazon Alexa, Google assistant, and Nest.

Question: Does Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization require me to have new electrical wiring installed in my home?

Answer: You do not need to hire an electrician to do any electrical wiring with Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization. Your motorized window coverings are powered by either batteries or a plug-in power supply. Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization requires a simple battery pack installation. The battery pack is installed behind the headrail where it is not visible. Battery replacement recommendations are based on their size, configuration, and usage.

Question: What styles of Hunter Douglas window treatments can be installed with Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization?

Answer: Most of Hunter Douglas’ window coverings can be installed with Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization. The window treatments include cellular window shades (Honeycombs), Silhouette window shades, Nantucket window shades, roller window shades, Roman window shades, Woven Wood window shades, window shutters (with slat tilt operation), wood and metal window blinds (with slat tilt operation), and Somner vertical window blinds, among others.

Question: I am away from home a lot. Does Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization give me the ability to automate the operation of my window treatments when I’m gone so it looks like someone is always home?

Answer: One of the great benefits of having Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization is that you can set up a schedule where your window treatments automatically open and close during the day at the times you choose. In addition, using the PowerView® app, you can use your smartphone or tablet to manually open or close your window coverings, no matter where you are.

Question: Do I need to have an internet connection to use Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization with my window treatments?

Answer: Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization can be used without an internet connection if you are using only a wall switch or Pebble remote with your window coverings. However, if you want to use the PowerView® app or you want to integrate Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization with other smart technology in your home, then you will need to have an internet connection and a smart hub installed.

Question: Do I really need to integrate Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization with other smart technology I am using in my home?

Answer: You should definitely consider it. One of the main reasons that smart technology is so popular among homeowners is because it gives them a lot of control over things in their home even when they are not home. By integrating Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization into your home’s smart technology, you can make your home more secure if you and your family are away during the day or on a trip. You can coordinate Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization to operate your window treatments in coordination with smart lighting, so that when your lights come on in the evening your window coverings close and when your lights go off in the morning your window treatments open.

If you’d like to learn more about Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization, our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm can help you.

Motorized louvered pergolas in Miramar Beach, FL give you greater functionally than louvered pergolas that have to be manually adjusted. There are many advantages to having a motorized louvered pergola installed at your home.

Louvered pergolas are adjustable sheltering systems for patios that give you the opportunity to spend time outside gathering with friends and family when the weather is nice, without having to worry about excessive sunlight or sudden rain showers sending everyone scurrying back into the house.

When you have a motorized louvered pergola installed, you will immediately be impressed with how much easier it is to optimize its functionality.

Two advantages that you’ll have with a motorized louvered pergola are greater comfort and better ventilation. Let’s face it. Sometimes the most beautiful summer days in Florida aren’t ideal for being outside because the high humidity can make the heat oppressive.

Louvered pergolas are very popular in Florida because they provide a cooler, shaded shelter that makes it more bearable to be outside even on the hottest and most humid days of summer. However, to get the maximum amount of coolness with shading and ventilation, your louvered pergola should be motorized.

With motorization, instant adjustments to shade and ventilation can be made so everyone is comfortable from the intense glare and heat of the sun and with the maximum amount of airflow from the ocean breezes that make their way through the space underneath the louvered pergola.

Motorized louvered pergolas have the advantage of versatility. The roof of the louver pergola can be completely opened, or you can have the roof closed and simply angle, with exact precision, the louvers so that you have complete light control.

Motorized louvered pergolas can also have a rain sensor installed in them so that they close as soon as moisture is detected. You don’t have to do anything. This is a great feature because even in the instant it takes you to push a button, you and your guests can get drenched by a heavy rain shower.

Other shading systems like umbrellas and retractable awnings do not prevent moisture from coming under the areas they cover. Therefore, you are limited as to what kind of extra equipment and features you can include under those spaces.

Motorized louvered pergolas have the advantage of providing a completely dry area underneath them. Because of that, you can install things like ceiling fans (which will enhance the movement of air), televisions, and heating solutions for wintertime.

Optionally, you can also install retractable screens, lighting, and even misting systems that will add an extra element of coolness on hot summer days.

Motorized louvered pergolas also offer the advantage of smart integration with the rest of the smart technology in your home. This means that you can use any of your digital devices to control the louvered pergola, no matter where you are.

The enhanced functionality of motorized louvered pergolas lets you plan events far in advanced without stressing about what the weather on the day of the event will be. Additionally, motorized louvered pergolas can more than double how much you can use your home’s outdoor space, because you don’t have the limitations in unsheltered areas.

Florida is a fun place to live all year long. With a typically moderate climate during the winter and the advantages of sea breezes to cool things off during the winter, Floridians can spend more time outdoors than most of the rest of the nature.

Having a motorized louvered pergola installed at your home will ensure that you have the perfect outdoor space where you can spend your time outside with family and friends.

If you’d like to learn more about motorized louvered pergolas in Miramar Beach, FL, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm.