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Automatic protection against the sun and storms
The beach bar Strandgut 33 in Nöda in the district of Sömmerda in Thuringia is situated on an idyllic spot on Alperstedter lake. The largest lake around Erfurt covers an area of around 66 hectares and has become a hot spot for water sports. Strandgut 33 is a popular destination for day trippers from across the region. Guests can enjoy a fantastic view from the large lakeside terrace throughout the year. You would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful spot to enjoy the sunset anywhere in the region. To ensure that as many guests as possible can enjoy this view, two lakeside terraces have been built at the restaurant. However, the large market umbrellas that had been used up to now to provide shade were a rough-and-ready solution. “The sun protection concept was not thought through properly and lots of space was left uncovered. The umbrellas also took up too much room unnecessarily. It was also impossible to provide shade to the entire outdoor area using the umbrellas”, explains Roman Avanzato, Managing Director of avanzato sonnsegel.design. This company is based in Erfurt and has been in business since 2003. It specialises in large-scale shade solutions (up to 85 square metres) and sells its product throughout the entire State of Thuringia.
More turnover thanks to better shade solutions
Roman Avanzato and his team knew precisely what was required and installed large shade sails at the restaurant. As a result, it is actually now possible to provide an ideal amount of shade across almost the entire outdoor dining areas. The shade sails are also rainproof, which means the terrace can now also be used on cloudy days with a risk of a shower. The new shade concept has allowed the restaurant to almost double its seating capacity. This has of course had a positive impact on the turnover at Strandgut 33. It has also made the terraces more attractive because shade sails can be installed high above the heads of the guests to provide them with shade. This makes the outdoor spaces airier and lends them a modern flair. Shade sails are an attractive alternative to large umbrellas on terraces and pool decks and radiate a perfect holiday feeling. To ensure that they can respond to all weather conditions, the shade sails are controlled by solutions from Becker-Antriebe GmbH, which automatically respond to the wind and sun and autonomously regulate how much shade the outdoor areas receive.
An Avanzato shade sail equipped with the SC861 sun/wind sensor from Becker-Antriebe
Roman Avanzato’s and his team’s customers especially appreciated the planning services and subsequent realisation of the project, which required very precise work. It was vital to select the right type of shade sail and precisely measure out and manufacture each individual shade sail down to the last millimetre for the intended location. Two different solutions were selected for the beach bar – a rectangular shade sail (22 square metres) and a fully automatic shade sail with a diagonal wave design for the larger terrace (44 square metres). Both shade sails were manufactured by the company Soliday. A special “Soliday Wave” design was used for the larger outdoor area. This enables the shade sail to be unfurled and retracted again fully automatically. It is possible to smoothly adjust the amount of shade provided by the sail from zero to 85 square metres. The shade sail is controlled by a specially adapted drive and a SC861 sun and wind sensor from Becker-Antriebe. The desired threshold values for the sun and wind can be saved to the drive so that it can automatically respond to the values transmitted by the sensor.
Automatic response to sun, gusts of wind and storms
Avanzato has now been working together with Becker-Antriebe for eight years. “For this project, the cooperation with Becker was directly requested by the manufacturer of the shade sails Soliday but we have also been impressed by their solutions on other projects. Both companies are thus fans of Becker-Antriebe. The sun and wind sensor is very easy to install without any wiring”, explains Avanzato. The sensor technology automatically measures the intensity of the sun and can be pre-programmed to handle certain situations. The wind sensor can respond to gusts of wind and storms without staff at the restaurant needing to take any action. The catering team uses a Centronic hand-held transmitter to manually control the sensor. It can also be used to slightly adjust the threshold settings. The drive and sensor can also be integrated into the smart home solution CC41 from Becker.
SensorControl SC861: the perfect solution for the catering sector
The SC861 is an autonomous sensor that has proved to be the ideal choice for this restaurant. The solar power supply makes the outdoor terrace independent of the mains power supply and means that it is not necessary to lay a power cable to the sensor. Commands can also be transmitted wirelessly between the drive and sensor. The wireless connection between the sensor and transmitter is permanently monitored to ensure a maximum level of security. The SC861 provides the drive with a sort of weather report in sensor format. The wind sensor can detect when the weather starts to change and the wind picks up. The drives from Becker immediately respond by retracting the awning and shade sail to prevent any wind damage. The integrated sun sensor is just as reliable. It ensures that the ideal amount of shade is provided no matter where the sun is in the sky. It means that staff can concentrate on the stresses of running a restaurant on a daily basis without worrying about the shade sails but also gives them the option of manually adjusting the amount of shade if required.