We went with Hunter Douglass Powerview, if only because Lutron doesn't make a top-down variant. Otherwise I'd have gone with Lutron for the overall integration with my lighting.
Top-down allows for dropping the top of the shade to provide privacy for people inside while allowing daylight/view. Bottom/up is the way most folks think of window blinds, where the bottom pulls up.
CHECK YOUR WINDOW WIDTHS! Most blind units require a certain minimum width for dual-action shades. My architect was not aware of this and some of my windows are too narrow to allow for both top/down and bottom/up. So a few windows are top/down only. This isn't an issue as I don't really ever need the bottom to raise, but it would be problem if you need that. Had I known this ahead of time I'd have had him simply spec the windows just a little wider. It would have had no impact on the project costs or install. If only... ah well.
We're into our second year with them and their AA batteries have not yet needed replacement, this with daily three scheduled position changes (morning privacy, daytime open and night closed). Some have another evening privacy setting. It's almost never that I adjust them. I do use a favorite setting on the master bedroom set to allow for selecting a privacy setting for use outside of the usual schedule.
We went battery operated because there was no decent plan-ahead documentation from any of the blind vendors.
That and the framing is such that there's literally NO free space around most of the window openings to hide anything to be pulled later. Window warranties are also a factor to consider, some don't allow for drilling their frames (which is stupid, but hey).
Wireless control over individual shades is convenient. No two mechanisms will operate at the same speed well enough to get away with trying to control them together.
The hard part of doing this during construction is you don't know how the space is going to get used and how daylight and seasonal changes are going to affect window treatment needs/desires.
We have some windows that are not automated. Guest room, kids room, guest bath and master bath are all manually operated. With the kind that use a handle on the shade itself, not cords (as those present a potential strangulation hazard to kids). This saved money and avoids problems with guests not knowing how to use automated shades (or kids breaking them). This has proved to be a good plan, as the master bath ones never get moved from the privacy position.
As my child gets older I'll probably automate his blinds, if just to allow for manually forcing a 'rise and shine' mode on this east-facing windows!
I may replace the manual ones in the rec room. The black windows at night are annoying enough to overcome my concerns about durability. Which has been assuaged somewhat as the kids are well-behaved enough to not be wrecking things.
Batteries are working out well enough that I don't regret not having hard-wired ahead of time.
But widths... man, that still ticks me off to think about it...
