The No. 1 reason people buy motorized window coverings, according to research from supplier Somfy, is to be able to adjust window coverings in hard-to-reach places. “Say you have window treatments above the bathtub,” says Tracy Christmann, product marketing manager at Somfy. “You don’t have to step into the bathtub to close the shade. You just press a button on a remote control.” The kitchen sink is another prime spot for motorized shades, as well as treatments in rooms with high ceilings where shades are too high to reach. “If you can’t reach shades, or don’t operate them because it’s not convenient to control them,” she says, “then you’re losing out on the benefits of having window treatments at all.”
Somfy, like other controllable shade suppliers, offers timers that open and close shades at preset times throughout the day. “If you have a window with a southern exposure where light could come in and damage the carpet or the hardwood floor, you can set the timer so that at 3 p.m. when the sun is coming in, the shades will close to protect your furnishings,” Christmann says. Timers are not only useful in protecting against the sun’s ultraviolet rays, but they can help lower heating and cooling costs by keeping sun out during the hottest times of the day in summer and letting sun in during the brightest time of day in winter.
Like most custom electronics systems, controllable shades are best designed before the electrical network has been laid out. “It’s very important to plan ahead because of the power and backing requirements,” says Froerer of Solar Shading. “Motorized shades are heavier than manual shades, which can be installed after the fact. And if you’re dropping a blackout shade just to watch TV, you don’t want to see that shade when you’re not watching TV. If you get involved pre-construction, you can build pockets, or soffits or fascia into the house so that the shades disappear.”
AC power can be run to every location for systems like the Somfy and Solar Shading System products that run on motors. Lutron’s Sivoia system runs via low-voltage wiring. Wireless solutions are available for retrofit projects, where controllers and motors run on batteries. Somfy’s wireless wall switches communicate over radio frequency (RF) with the receiver that’s located in the shade’s motor. Batteries eliminate the need for electrical wiring to the keypad. That solution might come in handy near a bathtub where you’d want control over window coverings but not want an electrical outlet.
Solar Shading Systems uses Somfy motors in its line of motorized shades. According to Froerer, motorization adds $500 to $2,000 to the cost of shades, depending on the type of motor, whether the system is integrated into home automation systems, and other factors.
“If you can afford motorized shades you should do it because you’ll use your shades more often,” says Froerer. “If the shades are being worked by a control system like AMX, Litetouch, and local remotes, the motor is just going to do what you tell it to do, whether it’s part of a home automation mode or a switch on the wall.”
Rebecca Day specializes in writing about home electronics. She can be reached at customhomerd@aol.com.
