If you are looking to shade your home or garden, it would be very frustrating to have one installed only to find the shade is cast in a different place from where you wanted it, or that it didn’t throw enough shade. If you’ve ever been to a park or other public place where shade sails have been erected, yet found there was very little or no shade, you may wonder if they really work.

Part of the problem is that you may have been there at a time when the sun was in a different position than the one chosen to give shade. For instance, early morning shade will be missing if the angle of the sail was set to provide shade at midday or later in the afternoon. This is why you need to give some thought as to exactly what you want your sail to do.

If a sail is to throw shade onto the walls of the house, the angle of it will need to be different from one that is to provide shade on the ground at noon. The shape of the sail must also be taken into consideration. In addition, you’ll need to ensure the sail is stretched in the right way to avoid wind shear and prevent water or wind-blown debris from sitting in the middle and weighing it down.

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