Yesterday we received the above question through our contact form on our cbsolarshading.co.uk website and given that studies by the WHO (World Health Organisation) indicate a threehold increase in skin diseases caused by harmful UV radiation and that our patio awnings are designed to offer optimum sun protection we thought we would post an expanded answer / information on here. So just how well do our awnings protect you from the suns harmful ultraviolet radiation…
All materials within our awning fabric collections have been certified according to the stringent regulations of ‘ARGE Dermatologische Pravention e. V. Schweizer Krebslig’ CH-Bern in accordance with UV standard 801.
The UV protection factor (Sun Protection Factor) of our awning materials indicates the extent to which they increase the natural exposure of human skin to direct sunlight. The natural exposure time of human skin depends on skin type.
The minimum UV protection factor offered by any of our awning materials is UV 30, meaning even someone with light skin who always burns in the sun and never tans is offered protection under our awning fabrics of circa 150 minutes (30 x natural protection time of 5 minutes = 150 minutes). The highest UV protection factor offered is UV 80 which in this scenario would offer a light skinned person with over 6 hours of sun protection under our awnings.
The UV protection fabric of our materials is measured for both new and weathered material in the stretched, unstretched and humidified state.
