Automated window coverings have been discussed here now-and-then, but the conversations seem to be focused on how to communicate with the controller for those with the blinds installed already. There is not lots of info on the actual purchase process. I myself have never had these before, but wanted to in my new home. I should say the home is new to me but 18 years old, so NOT a new build, so it had to be wireless. If you want to know how to prewire for blinds, I cant help you.
So the first question I had is should I buy these from Home Depot/Lowes and install them myself? Should I get them from a blinds company? Or should get them from a home automation company? We did the home improvement stores first, and they DO sell Somfy type blinds from Bali and they do have a wide selection. I believe that Hunter Douglas used to use Somfy, but I don't think they still do although they have automated blinds. In any case, we decided not to go this route, because savings seem slight at best, and the sales people there weren't much help. Since I had no knowledge of how to even measure for these, and my wife needed some design assistance, and the salespeople were pretty clueless, these stores wouldn't work for us.
I also should add that we needed about 10 blinds for the house not including drapes for the master. Drapes are pricey but they do look better in a bedroom than blinds and they block the light better. I knew the home automation places carried automated drape motors so I thought I would buy that on-line. I used Automated Shade in Cranberry PA. A few clicks on their web site, and $1000 and two and a half weeks later, the Glydea 35e drapery rod was at my front door.
So now for some blinds and drapes. We didn't know what exactly we wanted, but we DIDN'T want wood blinds. Had those in our last house and they are dust collectors. Besides, they never really open fully unless you pull them up which is hard for big windows, and they never really close fully. And they can only automate the tilt.
So we made appointments with three blind companies for in-home estimates. I told each I wanted Somfy RTS controlled blinds, and I would do the control with my HAI Omni Pro II. I already have purchased the Somfy RTS RS-232 box which I showed them.
The choice in blinds was either cellular or roller blinds, both of which can be automated. Each company was at our house at least 90+ minutes each measuring and going over the options. They worked with me on the automation part and my wife on the design part. One of the companies seemed to be an expert on the Somfy technology, and the other two knew enough to get by. Although my house is not large, many homes around here are, with giant windows in the multimillion dollar range, so I'm sure the automated blinds are something they all must sell.
Blind motors they sell can use Zigbee, Z-Wave, RTS (the Somfy wireless standard) or they can be wired. We do have Zigbee here but I went with RTS because I know the HAI works with it. (They are a partner.) Zigbee might work too, but nobody knew for sure and it would be a big gamble and a large amount to spend not knowing fully if it will work.
There is also a choice on power. A battery stick, 120V power or solar. None of the blind people recommended the solar, and two pushed the battery pack and one the 120V option. I went with the 120V which added some cost to each.
So how much? We'll if you want cheap, you can stop reading now. Overall, automated added about $300 to each blind. There are many fabric and options with blinds, and price varies with size, but for us, $300 of the $500 average price per blind was for automation. For the drapery, around $1000 of the total $3000 - $4000 price was for automation. This price does not include the part that connects to the panel, but the blind companies typically DO include one Somfy remote per room. So count on automation roughly doubling the cost.
And prices varied from one blind company to the next. One charged $300 for a battery motor and $500 for a motor with AC adapter. Another charged $250 per battery motor, and $50 to upgrade to 120V. We went with the 120V upgrade, because the batteries would be hard to reach to change. And each uses 8 batteries, so replacing them is a pain. Also we couldn't automate one of our blinds because it was just too long and narrow, but that is O.K.
They should be installed in a few weeks if all goes well.
So the first question I had is should I buy these from Home Depot/Lowes and install them myself? Should I get them from a blinds company? Or should get them from a home automation company? We did the home improvement stores first, and they DO sell Somfy type blinds from Bali and they do have a wide selection. I believe that Hunter Douglas used to use Somfy, but I don't think they still do although they have automated blinds. In any case, we decided not to go this route, because savings seem slight at best, and the sales people there weren't much help. Since I had no knowledge of how to even measure for these, and my wife needed some design assistance, and the salespeople were pretty clueless, these stores wouldn't work for us.
I also should add that we needed about 10 blinds for the house not including drapes for the master. Drapes are pricey but they do look better in a bedroom than blinds and they block the light better. I knew the home automation places carried automated drape motors so I thought I would buy that on-line. I used Automated Shade in Cranberry PA. A few clicks on their web site, and $1000 and two and a half weeks later, the Glydea 35e drapery rod was at my front door.
So now for some blinds and drapes. We didn't know what exactly we wanted, but we DIDN'T want wood blinds. Had those in our last house and they are dust collectors. Besides, they never really open fully unless you pull them up which is hard for big windows, and they never really close fully. And they can only automate the tilt.
So we made appointments with three blind companies for in-home estimates. I told each I wanted Somfy RTS controlled blinds, and I would do the control with my HAI Omni Pro II. I already have purchased the Somfy RTS RS-232 box which I showed them.
The choice in blinds was either cellular or roller blinds, both of which can be automated. Each company was at our house at least 90+ minutes each measuring and going over the options. They worked with me on the automation part and my wife on the design part. One of the companies seemed to be an expert on the Somfy technology, and the other two knew enough to get by. Although my house is not large, many homes around here are, with giant windows in the multimillion dollar range, so I'm sure the automated blinds are something they all must sell.
Blind motors they sell can use Zigbee, Z-Wave, RTS (the Somfy wireless standard) or they can be wired. We do have Zigbee here but I went with RTS because I know the HAI works with it. (They are a partner.) Zigbee might work too, but nobody knew for sure and it would be a big gamble and a large amount to spend not knowing fully if it will work.
There is also a choice on power. A battery stick, 120V power or solar. None of the blind people recommended the solar, and two pushed the battery pack and one the 120V option. I went with the 120V which added some cost to each.
So how much? We'll if you want cheap, you can stop reading now. Overall, automated added about $300 to each blind. There are many fabric and options with blinds, and price varies with size, but for us, $300 of the $500 average price per blind was for automation. For the drapery, around $1000 of the total $3000 - $4000 price was for automation. This price does not include the part that connects to the panel, but the blind companies typically DO include one Somfy remote per room. So count on automation roughly doubling the cost.
And prices varied from one blind company to the next. One charged $300 for a battery motor and $500 for a motor with AC adapter. Another charged $250 per battery motor, and $50 to upgrade to 120V. We went with the 120V upgrade, because the batteries would be hard to reach to change. And each uses 8 batteries, so replacing them is a pain. Also we couldn't automate one of our blinds because it was just too long and narrow, but that is O.K.
They should be installed in a few weeks if all goes well.