Solar-Powered Retractable Patio Screens – Metro Phoenix

They are exterior mesh screens that roll down over a patio, window, or door opening from a slim housing and run in side tracks, raised and lowered by a motor at a touch. Retract them and the opening is clear again. On this page the motor runs on solar power, so it charges itself and needs no wiring, but in every other respect it is an ordinary motorized retractable screen.

A small solar panel charges a battery, and the battery runs the motor that raises and lowers the screen. Mounted where it catches daylight, the panel keeps the battery topped up, so there is no connection to the building’s wiring at all. That is the only difference between a solar-powered roller shade and any other motorized retractable screen.

No, and the two are easy to mix up. Solar-powered describes what runs the motor, a panel and battery instead of house wiring. A solar screen, or sun screen, is a mesh chosen to block sun and heat. This page is about the power source. If shade is your goal, see our sun and shade page.

Not with a solar motor. The motor, battery, and panel arrive as one self-powered package, already wired together, so there is no new circuit, no electrician, and nothing opened up in your walls. Hardwired motors are available where an opening has no daylight for the panel, and only those involve a wiring run.

The best one is the one built to your opening, because every retractable patio screen is custom-fit rather than sold off a shelf. What changes between projects is the width and height, the mesh and color, and whether you run it on solar, hardwired, or a manual crank. Your specialist measures the opening and the light and recommends the combination that fits how you use the space.

There is no list price, because every screen is custom-fit to the opening it covers. The size, the mesh, the motor you choose, and the controls all move the motorized retractable screens price, so the only figure worth anything is the one you get after someone measures. That comes with the free on-site estimate, in writing and with no obligation. For a fuller breakdown, see what rolling screens cost in Phoenix.

A manual retractable patio screen costs less than a motorized one, because the motor, the controls, and any smart-home add-ons are what move the number. A gear-operated crank has none of those, so it is the least expensive way to cover an opening. Whether the savings are worth giving up one-touch operation depends on how often you use the screen, and the exact figures come only after a measure.

Yes. A gear-operated manual screen uses a hand crank instead of a motor, so it needs no power at all and never depends on daylight or an outlet. It is a good fit for a small opening you rarely move, or where you would rather keep it simple. What you give up is scheduling and one-touch group control, which is what the motor buys you.

Yes. Solar and battery motors keep working in an outage because they are not drawing from the house at all. That matters most in a Valley summer, when an outage is exactly when you want to drop the screens on the hot side. A hardwired motor stops until power returns, unless it has a hand-crank override.

We do not quote a battery lifespan, because the honest figure depends on the motor and how the screen is used. What we can stand behind is the 5-year motor warranty that comes with every screen. In normal use the panel recharges the battery in daylight, so you simply keep it charged and rarely think about it.

Yes, through a Bond Bridge. It is a small smart hub that connects your phone to the screens and adds voice through Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Without it, a handheld remote or a wall switch runs the screen just fine, and several screens can be grouped on one channel so a whole side of the house moves together.

Yes, with a Bond Bridge. Set the screens to drop through the hottest part of the afternoon and lift again in the evening, and the shade takes care of itself whether or not anyone is home. A sun or wind sensor can trigger them automatically too, which is the most useful thing the motor does for heat.

With the right tracks, yes, and with the sense to retract them in a real blow. Side tracks lock the fabric into the rails so it stays taut in a gust instead of billowing or pulling loose. A wind sensor can retract the screen on its own, because the safest place for any retractable patio shade outdoors in a serious blow is up in its housing. Wind damage is not covered by the fabric warranty, which is exactly why the sensor exists.

Yes, with the right fabric. A denser privacy mesh turns an exposed patio or window into a private space on demand, then rolls away when you want the view back, which is what makes retractable privacy outdoor screens different from a permanent wall. The hardware is the same as a sun-control screen; only the fabric in the roll changes. See our Metro Phoenix privacy screens.

Yes. The same system fits any opening with something solid to mount to, so solar-powered exterior window shades go on bedroom and living room windows, sliding glass doors, covered patios, and storefronts alike. Only the size and the fabric change from one opening to the next, which is why a single project can mix them.

Across the whole Valley, from our own crews rather than a subcontractor. We measure and install in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, and Surprise, and in the communities between them. Roll-A-Shield has been doing this from the Valley since 1979, licensed, bonded, and insured under ROC 342265.

The manufacturer warranty runs 10 years on the fabric against fading, 5 years on the motor, 5 years on the extrusions and parts, 2 years on the electronics, and 1 year on the installation labor. Fabric gets the longest term because Arizona sun is hardest on fabric. Wind damage is excluded, along with closing the screen on an object, unauthorized modification, misuse, and acts of God. After the first year, covered parts stay covered but labor for a repair becomes the customer’s responsibility.

For a Phoenix property, usually, and the reason is the calendar. A fixed screen commits the opening to cover in December exactly as much as in July, while retractable patio shades come down when you want them and roll completely out of sight when you do not. You take the cover back for the months you want the winter sun, and lift it out of the way during monsoon wind.

Within 4 weeks of your deposit, or we send you $500. Your install date is confirmed in writing before we leave your home, and your eligibility is confirmed in writing before you place a deposit, never after. Full terms are on the 4-Week Install Guarantee page.

On the screen housing, or nearby where it can see open sky. It goes wherever it gets the best daylight on the same structure, and it can often be moved to a sunnier spot if the housing itself sits in shade. Where an opening genuinely cannot reach the light, a hardwired or plug-in motor is the right choice, and your specialist confirms which at the measure.