Which Motorized Blinds Work With a Smart Home?

Today, we are going to go over the different types of motorized window coverings that smart home devices can operate, including motorized shades, motorized blinds, Roman shades, cellular shades, plantation shutters, and sheer horizontal shades. Before moving forward, we would just like to point out that, in addition to being smart shades and smart blinds, you can also operate all of these motorized window treatments with remote control, wall mount switch, or manually.

A smart home is a house that uses smart technology to create an environment that can be controlled remotely. For example, smart home automation allows people to control the lights in their homes along with other features like smart appliances and smart security systems using smartphones, tablets, laptops, watches, smart speakers (like Amazon Alexa or Google Home), and smart TVs.

What are Motorized Blinds?

Motorized smart blinds are remote control blinds that move up or down vertically using electrical power generated by motors mounted on the wall behind the blinds. Because the motors are located behind the blinds, the smart home devices that you use to control your smart home may need to directly communicate with these motors in order for them to be working when you press the “up” or “down” button on your smartphone.

Treaty Oak Shade Co., out of Austin, TX, offers beautiful motorized blinds that are customizable for the interior of any home. They also offer all of the remaining options in this article as well. If you’re in need of new blinds and want an integrated smart home experience, contact Treaty Oak Shade Co. today! They have been in the business of serving Austin residents for over 17 years. Their knowledgeable and experienced team will do an amazing job in transforming your home and making your life easy as pie with brand-new, beautiful shades and blinds.

What are Motorized Shades?

Motorized shades also move up or down vertically, but most of the time they do not have a motor mounted on the wall behind them because their motors are inside of them. The smart home device that you use to control your smart home will communicate directly with the motor that is inside of these window coverings and then send remote control signals from there to raise or lower your window covering. For this reason, a smart home hub like an Alexa may be required because it can work as a repeater to help smart home devices communicate with motorized shades.

Generally, motorized shades and motorized blinds tend to be interchangeable in conversations. However, since we have made the distinction here, we just want to point out that, technically, motorized blinds have horizontal slats, while motorized shades are usually a singular piece of material. That is the major difference between the two types of motorized window treatments.

What are Roman Shades?

Roman shades are pieces of window covering that move up or down vertically using cords, similar to how Venetian blinds work. You can control Roman shades by pressing a button on a panel near the shade in order to raise or lower your window covering or operate them from your smart mobile device. This operation will typically also allow you to tilt your window covering in order to adjust how much light comes through your window. Smart home hubs do not typically need to be involved in this type of smart home automation because smart home devices should already have direct access to your blinds’ motor and cord-operating mechanism. They are nice to have for voice control though, and many people opt for this option.

What are Cellular Shades?

Cellular shades work similarly to Roman shades, with the exception that they have an internal honeycomb design that makes them thicker and more insulating. In addition to being able to raise and lower them by pressing wall-mounted buttons near where they’re located, smart home devices can send remote control signals directly to smart motorized blinds inside of cellular shades in order to adjust how much light is coming through a window. As with Roman shades, a voice control smart home hub may not be needed for smart home devices because smart home devices already have direct access to your smart blinds’ motor.

What are Plantation Shutters?

Plantation shutters work similarly to traditional blinds except that they do not roll up when you lower them down. They also typically open from the side instead of from above. Plantation shutters can be smart home-operated by smart home devices that have direct access to your smart blinds’ motor and mechanism for opening the blinds. As with smart window coverings that are operated by pressing their cords, a smart home hub is not typically needed for smart home devices to control your plantation shutters because smart home devices already have direct access to your smart blinds’ motor.

What Are Sheer Horizontal Shades?

Sheer horizontal shades are made of lightweight materials so they can be raised or lowered by being pulled up via strings attached to the bottom of the shade. Smart home devices communicate directly with the motors inside of these types of shades in order to raise and lower them, which means smart home hubs may not be needed for smart home automation.

Why Smart Home Window Treatments Over Regular?

There are a number of great reasons to smart home-automate your window coverings:

1. They are extremely convenient because they’re hands-free.
2. You can raise and lower all of your smart window coverings at once, which means you save time and energy. You cannot do that with your existing blinds.
3. They are safer for children, pets, elderly folks, and others with limited mobility.
4. Smart home automation allows you to integrate your smart window coverings into a larger smart home system, so you can save energy and money by programming them to open and shut according to light infiltration and temperature. Especially if you’re in Austin, motorized blinds programmed to open and close might be the way to go, given you often have extreme sun and heat. Now that’s called smart lighting. Solar-powered smart blinds and smart shades can increase your savings even more!
5. Their custom fit and remote operation provide an added sense of security and privacy because they cover the entire window and can be closed with the touch of a button, even when you aren’t home.

Summary

Smart blinds and smart shades can typically be controlled by smart home devices that have direct access to the smart window covering’s motor and cord-operating mechanism through remote control signals and voice commands. To access these abilities, you simply integrate your smart shades and smart blinds with your smart home hubs and smart devices.

Motorized window treatments offer convenience, time savings, energy cost and consumption savings, privacy, and security. Smart home control integration and remote operation are the way of the future, and blinds are just another small step towards making life a lot easier and more enjoyable for homeowner

To inquire about swapping your existing blinds and shades with smart blinds and smart shades that will fit your needs and budget and work best with your home automation system, contact Treaty Oak Shade Co. today to get a quote! Their professional and experienced staff can customize the best option for your home!