An external venetian blind operates in the same way as an internal version in that you can raise and lower the blind and tilt the slats to control the amount of light and heat entering though the glass.

As you would expect, the construction of an external venetian blind and the materials used need to be more robust and are therefore significantly different to its internal counterpart.

The slats of the blind are wider, typically 60mm or 80mm. In order to prevent the blind from moving in the wind, either side channels or stainless steel guide wires are used.

These blinds can be operated either by a gearbox fitted to the end of the headbox of the blind and by using a detachable crank handle, or by an electric motor. Motorisation is typically the chosen method of operation as the blind can be simply adjusted from inside your home using a radio controlled handset. It is recommended that a sun and wind sensor is also fitted so that the blind will extend automatically depending on the light levels and also retract, should the wind speed exceed the safe operating limits of the system.