Outdoor Living Guides & Tips

What Is the Zeus Night Series™?

The Zeus Night Series™ is the integrated LED lighting upgrade for the Zeus Shademaker Retractable Awning, sold factory-direct at 1800Awnings.com in Tampa, Florida. Rather than bolting light fixtures onto a finished awning, the Night Series builds LED lighting into the arms of the system itself, with optional front bar illumination, and routes every wire internally so nothing is visible from below. Shademaker Retractables describes it plainly on the product page: "This is not an add-on. This is a system upgrade."

The practical effect is simple. A retractable awning gives you comfortable shade during the day, and then goes dark and unused the moment the sun sets. The Zeus Night Series™ extends that patio, lanai, or poolside space into the evening with warm ambient lighting that turns on by remote, dims to the level you want, and can sync with the awning's own extension and retraction. In Tampa Bay — where the most pleasant hours on a patio between May and September are frequently after sunset — that's less of a luxury feature than a usability one.

Key Specifications

Why the Zeus Night Series™ Stands Out

The Lighting Is Inside the Structure, Not Attached to It

This is the difference that matters most. Aftermarket awning lighting means light strips, clips, and a power cord running somewhere — visible hardware that ages differently from the awning and dates the installation. The Zeus Night Series™ puts the LEDs inside the arm extrusions and, optionally, the front bar, with the wiring fully concealed. Retracted, the awning looks exactly like a standard Zeus: a slim, low-profile cassette with no evidence of a lighting system at all. Extended and off, you still see nothing. The lighting only announces itself when you turn it on.

That matters for a system whose entire design premise is architectural integration. The Zeus is marketed as a system "designed to integrate — not attach," with fully concealed components and hardware and a refined appearance in both open and closed positions. Strapping a light kit to it would undo the reason you bought it.

It Doubles the Hours You Actually Use the Space

A retractable awning's value is measured in usable outdoor hours. In Florida, daytime shade is only half the equation — for much of the year, the genuinely comfortable window on a patio starts around dusk. An unlit patio effectively closes at sunset. The Night Series carries the space through dinner, through evening entertaining, and through the hours when Tampa's heat finally breaks. Same footprint, roughly double the usable hours.

Warm Light, Chosen Deliberately

The Zeus Night Series™ uses warm ambient lighting rather than cool white. This is a deliberate specification, not a default. Cool-white LEDs read as utility lighting — parking garages, work sites, security floods — and make an outdoor room feel like a loading dock. Warm light reads as residential and flatters skin tones, wood, and stone. On a high-end residential patio, which is exactly the Zeus's target application, warm is the correct choice.

Remote Control, Dimming, and Smart Home Integration

The lighting is remote-controlled, with optional dimming capability and smart home / app integration. Dimming is the feature people underestimate: full brightness is right for setting a table or cleaning up, and 20% is right for conversation two hours later. A fixed-output light kit forces you to pick one and live with it. The Night Series can also sync with awning operation, so extending the awning in the evening brings the lighting with it as a single action.

It Shares the Zeus's Warranty-Backed Component Ecosystem

The Zeus platform is built on Somfy® motorization with a 5-year manufacturer-backed warranty and Sunbrella® solution-dyed fabrics with a 10-year manufacturer-backed warranty. The Night Series lives inside that same factory-built system and is installed at the point of manufacture rather than improvised in the field — one supplier, one system, one point of contact when you have a question. Somfy's ecosystem is also what makes the wind and sun sensor compatibility and smart integration work as a single coordinated setup rather than three unrelated gadgets.

Zeus Night Series™ vs. Aftermarket Awning Lighting

The honest summary: aftermarket lighting is cheaper and can be added to an awning you already own. The Night Series has to be specified with the awning, and it costs more. What you're buying is the fact that it disappears.

Zeus Compared to Apollo™ and Hercules™

Shademaker positions three retractable series, and choosing the right base system matters before you talk about lighting:

The Zeus sits in the sweet spot for residential outdoor living: enough span for most patios and lanais, a low-profile cassette that doesn't dominate the elevation, and the design-led feature set — including the Night Series — that a commercial-duty Hercules doesn't prioritize.

2026 Pricing

The Zeus Shademaker Retractable Awning starts at $4,322.00 and runs to approximately $14,965 depending on width, projection, fabric, and options. Free shipping applies to all retractable awnings, and financing is available at checkout starting at 0% APR.

A note on Night Series pricing: the upgrade is priced by awning width and by whether you include front bar illumination alongside the standard arm lighting, so there is no single number. Rather than publish an estimate, we'd rather you get the real figure for your exact configuration — call 1-800-AWNINGS (296-4647) or request a free quote.

Who Is This Best For?

• Tampa Bay and Florida homeowners whose patios are most comfortable after sunset for much of the year
• Poolside installations, where evening lighting is a safety consideration as much as an aesthetic one
• Lanais and covered outdoor rooms being treated as genuine extensions of the house
• Homeowners who entertain outdoors and want light levels that shift from dinner to conversation
• Design-driven buyers who will not accept visible strip lighting or a cord running to an outlet
• Anyone specifying a new Zeus, since the upgrade is dramatically simpler at the point of order than as a retrofit
• Smart home owners already running Somfy®, who want awning and lighting on one coordinated system
• Coastal and waterfront properties where concealed wiring means less hardware exposed to salt air

Who it isn't for: if you already own an installed Zeus and are looking for a quick, inexpensive lighting fix, an aftermarket kit will do the job for a fraction of the cost. The Night Series is a system upgrade specified with the awning.

How to Order

1. Measure your opening. Confirm the width you need (Zeus covers 9' to 40' in 1-foot increments) and the projection (6'-7", 8'-2", 10'-6", 11'-6", or 13'-0").
2. Pick your frame finish — Alpine white, Onyx black, Walnut bronze, or Sierra bronze. Your lighting is concealed inside this frame, so choose for the architecture.
3. Visit the product page: 1800awnings.com/products/zeus-shademaker-retractable-awning
4. Select your Sunbrella® fabric from the solution-dyed range, backed by the 10-year warranty.
5. Request the Zeus Night Series™ upgrade by calling 1-800-AWNINGS (296-4647) or using Request a Quote — specify whether you want arm lighting only or arm plus front bar illumination.
6. Add related upgrades while you're configuring — the Zeus Hood Complete ($506–$1,680) protects the rolled fabric and is independent of the lighting.
7. Confirm and order. Lead time is 2–3 weeks from the date of purchase. The system is built to order in Tampa, Florida and ships factory-direct with free shipping. Financing from 0% APR is available at checkout.

Note that all 1800Awnings products are custom-built to order, so all sales are final — review your dimensions and finish selections carefully before confirming.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Zeus Night Series™?
The Zeus Night Series™ is the integrated LED lighting upgrade for the Zeus Shademaker Retractable Awning. LEDs are built into the awning's arms, with optional front bar illumination, and all wiring is fully concealed inside the system. It produces warm ambient lighting and is controlled by remote, with optional dimming and smart home integration.

How does the Zeus Night Series™ differ from a regular Zeus awning?
A standard Zeus provides daytime shade only. The Night Series adds factory-installed LED lighting inside the arm structure so the same awning also works after dark. Every other specification — Somfy® motorization with a 5-year warranty, Sunbrella® fabric with a 10-year warranty, widths to 40 feet, projections to 13 feet, and the four architectural finishes — remains the same.

Can I add the Zeus Night Series™ to an awning I already own?
The Night Series is designed as a factory system upgrade specified when the awning is built, because the LEDs and wiring are integrated inside the arms rather than mounted onto them. If you already own a Zeus and want lighting added, call 1-800-AWNINGS (296-4647) to discuss what's possible for your specific installation before ordering anything.

How much does the Zeus Night Series™ cost?
Pricing depends on your awning's width and whether you include front bar illumination in addition to the standard arm lighting, so there is no single published figure. For context, the Zeus awning itself runs from $4,322 to approximately $14,965 depending on configuration. Call 1-800-AWNINGS (296-4647) for an exact quote on your size.

Is the lighting visible when the awning is retracted?
No. The LEDs sit inside the arm extrusions and the wiring is fully concealed, so a retracted Zeus with the Night Series looks identical to a standard Zeus — a slim, low-profile cassette with no visible lighting hardware, fixtures, or cords in any position.

Can the lighting be dimmed?
Yes. Optional dimming capability is part of the Night Series control package, alongside remote control, smart home and app integration, and the ability to sync the lighting with the awning's own extension and retraction so a single command handles both.

What color is the light?
Warm ambient lighting, specified deliberately for comfort rather than the cool-white output typical of utility and security fixtures. Warm light suits residential outdoor rooms and flatters the wood, stone, and fabric surfaces typically found on a patio or lanai.

Does the Night Series work alongside other Zeus upgrades?
Yes. The lighting is located in the arms and front bar, while the Zeus Hood Complete protects the roller assembly at the wall — they occupy different parts of the system and are independent upgrades. Somfy® wind and sun sensors and the smart automation package are also compatible, since all of it runs through the same Somfy® ecosystem.

How long does a Zeus with the Night Series take to arrive in Florida?
Standard lead time is 2–3 weeks from the date of purchase, with larger or fully assembled custom items sometimes requiring additional time. Every system is built at the Tampa, Florida facility and shipped directly to your address. Larger awnings ship crated via freight with curbside delivery, and liftgate service is available on request.

The Bottom Line

The Zeus Night Series™ answers a limitation that most retractable awning buyers don't anticipate until they've lived with the awning for a season: the shade structure they invested in stops being useful at sunset, exactly when a Florida patio becomes pleasant. By building warm, dimmable LED lighting into the arms and optionally the front bar — with wiring fully concealed and control handled by remote, app, or synced awning operation — it converts a daytime-only product into an all-day one without adding a single piece of visible hardware.

That invisibility is the whole argument. Aftermarket light kits are cheaper and can be retrofitted, and for many homeowners that's the right call. But the Zeus exists specifically for buyers who chose it over the sleeker Apollo™ and the heavy-duty Hercules™ because of how it looks — fully concealed components, refined proportions, and a clean appearance whether open or closed. Clipping a strip of LEDs and a power cord onto that system undoes what you paid for. If you're specifying a new Zeus for a Tampa Bay patio, lanai, or poolside space and expect to use it in the evening, the Night Series is worth pricing out before you finalize the order — it is far simpler to build in than to add later.

Ready to light up your outdoor space?

Configure your Zeus Shademaker Retractable Awning at 1800awnings.com/products/zeus-shademaker-retractable-awning, or call 1-800-AWNINGS (296-4647) for a Zeus Night Series™ quote on your exact size. Free shipping nationwide, financing from 0% APR, and every system built to order in Tampa, Florida.

Written by Corey Courtright | 1800Awnings.com | Tampa, FL