"Hello, I'd like a bioclimatic pergola, 4 × 5, but one that can retract." One sentence, three names and two different products.
The customer isn't making a mistake. The names are used loosely on the market and the customer writes down the word they heard. What isn't fine is when those three words travel all the way into the price list and the configurator, and nobody can say which one is which product.
A bioclimatic pergola and a louvered pergola usually mean the same product in practice: a pergola with rotating aluminium louvres that regulate light and ventilation. A retractable pergola is different. Its roof doesn't rotate, it slides away, and the configurator has other rules to handle for it.
Three names, two products
- Bioclimatic. A marketing name, not a standard. It usually means a pergola with rotating louvres. Some sellers also use it for a roof without louvres, if it can be opened and controlled.
- Louvered. It describes the roof itself: a row of blades that rotate. In most offers it is the same product as bioclimatic.
- Retractable. Two meanings. A fabric roof that pulls back along guide rails, or louvres that, besides rotating, slide away into a stacking zone. Both have different rules from a rotating roof.
Nobody is doing anything wrong here. The customer is looking for the word they heard from a neighbour.
What the configurator has to set for a pergola with rotating louvres
For a pergola with rotating louvres the configurator has to know three things.
Dimensions are divided into bays and posts
The customer enters a width and a length, the configurator divides them into bays and adds a post when the distance between posts would pass 5 m. A design without a post over a larger span can't come out of it.
Colours and finishes from your range
The colour of the frame, the louvres and selected parts is offered from the finishes you really do. The customer can't pick a shade you don't have.
Accessories only where they fit
ZIP screens, glazing, louvred walls, lighting and sensors are offered according to compatibility. Side enclosures and lights aren't offered where they can't safely be used.
The page for the louvered pergola configurator knows "bioclimatic pergola" as a synonym. An existing foundation supports pergolas, fences and verandas. During implementation, we set up the rules from your price list.
A retractable pergola is a different job
With a retractable roof the configurator doesn't ask only about dimensions and colour. It also has to handle these things:
- The stacking zone. The design has to reserve room for the folded blades and show the real size of the clear opening.
- Direction and divisions. The direction of retraction, the bay divisions and the position of the supporting members follow the specific system and its maximum span.
- The path. ZIP screens, glazing and lighting must not reach into the blades' path or the service space.
We are preparing retractable louvres with a pilot manufacturer. This option is in preparation. For the pilot we need technical drawings, dimension tables, division and pricing rules, and a technician who can confirm the manufacturing limits.
How to carry this into your price list and website
- One row per product, not per word. A pergola with rotating louvres has one row in the price list, whether the customer calls it bioclimatic or louvered. How to turn a price list into rules is the subject of Why your Excel price list should be a 3D configurator.
- The customer's word belongs on the website. "Bioclimatic pergola" can be a heading and a search term if it stands over a product you really sell.
- Retractable is a separate item. If you sell it, it has its own row and its own rules. If you don't, don't write it into a quote as a second name for a rotating roof.
When not to tell the three names apart
Not every firm has to. In these situations one name is enough:
- You sell a single type of roof. The customer has nothing to choose between, and one name is enough.
- A partner brings the customers and uses its own name. A dealer network names the product its own way and you supply the same one.
- You aren't planning retractable louvres. You don't have to prepare anything for them.
If you didn't recognise yourself in any of these, carry on.
A five-minute test: is it time?
Open your price list and your website and answer three questions:
- How many names do you sell one product under? If it is three, the customer and the colleague in production may each understand something different by the same word.
- Does every name have its own row in the price list? If it is the same product, you are paying for a difference that doesn't exist.
- Can "retractable" go into a quote for a product with no stacking zone? If so, nobody checks it in time.
The first step takes five minutes and doesn't need us: go through your latest enquiries and note which word the customer used in each. That is the list of names your website and price list have to know.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bioclimatic pergola the same as a louvered one?
Usually, yes. Bioclimatic is a marketing name for a pergola with rotating louvres, and louvered describes the roof itself. The term isn't standardised, so some sellers also use it for a roof without louvres.
What is a retractable pergola?
A pergola whose roof slides away: either a fabric roof on guide rails, or louvres that slide into a stacking zone after being turned. For a configurator it is a different product from a rotating roof.
Does the configurator support retractable louvres?
This option is in preparation. We are preparing it with a pilot manufacturer. An existing foundation supports pergolas with rotating louvres, fences and verandas.
What now
And the customer who wants a bioclimatic pergola that can retract? They get one question back: "Do you mean louvres that rotate, or a roof that slides away completely?" The answer decides which row of the price list you use.
If you'd like to see how a pergola with rotating louvres would look in a configurator, see the pricing or send us your price list and we will show you a configurator on your own product.
