Beautifully sleek with contemporary design features, roller shades have established themselves as one of the most popular window coverings. They fit easily, offer simple operation and roll up and out of the way. What’s better than that? How about the innovation of motorized roller shades? Within the Hunter Douglas collection, there are 7 types of roller shades to choose from. It’s time to discover the life-changing magic of automation.
Your Control, Your Way
When it comes to controlling motorized roller shades, you choose the operation the way it suits you.
Remote Control: You’ve got options with a beautiful hand-held remote, or a surface-mount remote that attaches to the wall. You can instantly adjust multiple shades, or put them into your favorite setting with one tap.
App Control: Use your device or smartphone to adjust the motorized roller shades in an instant, with your saved favorites, or with a “scene” that you’ve created. This allows individual windows to adjust for an ideal atmosphere–depending on the circumstance or time of day. Set up schedules so your automatic shades adjust around you.
Smart Home Integration: Smart blinds can work within the smart home system you already use. Set schedules, use voice command adjustments, or allow triggered opening and closing based on other smart devices.
See Automatic Shades Move
Once you see what’s possible, you’ll start to visualize what’s possible in your own home. Close one set of windows as the sun rises, while others remain open. Allow motorized roller shades to respond to the changing light over the course of the day, always delivering exactly what you need.
The Benefits of Motorized Roller Shades
It’s easy to see that light control and privacy are effortless with motorized roller shades. But, what do the benefits *really* look like?
Energy Efficiency
This is a big deal here in Florida. The sunshine we see so much of the year is intense. If you’ve heard about the insulating power of cellular shades, but love the idea of motorized roller shades, it’s time to check out the Sonnette collection. These cellular roller shades create a barrier of protection to help maintain interior temperatures.
Home Safety
We are sure you’re aware of the dangers of blind cords. They tangle and pose a risk of injury to children and pets–so much so that Hunter Douglas offers child-safe solutions to prevent accidents. Motorized roller shades are cordless. But, that’s not all. The options they offer also improve the privacy of your home, which effects the feeling of security. Even when you’re away from home, the shades will still adjust. Continual movement of your window shades over the course of the day provides the appearance that someone is home.
Light Control
While it’s true that roller shades are a simple, effective way to add light control to your home, you have to see some of the options! You can enjoy blackout roller shades, or light filtering roller shades–and it all depends on which direction your windows face, whether you need to block direct light or just reduce the glare. But what about both? Dual roller shades are an amazing upgrade that gives you an incredibly wide range of control. Two shades operate independently so you can create the ideal environment at any time of day.
What about the Drawbacks?
If you find yourself wondering what the cons are (of motorized roller shades), we’ll just say that knowledge is power. Many times, the questions we get about automatic shades are the topics most people consider “drawbacks,” but with the information we provide, hesitation is often relieved. What are some top questions? Installation, Powering the Shades, and Cost of the Product.
Let’s Talk Power
It’s always mentioned that powering automated shades is a concern, but when it comes down to it, it doesn’t have to be. The most common way to power shades has always been with disposable batteries. The hesitation there is the waste and cost of disposable batteries, as well as the time commitment. As for time, it only take a few minutes every 1-2 years to change out the batteries. When it comes to cost, if you have a house full of shades to change, the cost could feel significant. Just a few shades, and it could seem an irrelevant concern. But, waste is a real concern, and that’s why Hunter Douglas created the rechargeable battery wand. These wands can be retrofit to previously purchased motorized shades. This one time purchase can save you money in the long run and reduce waste.
Another option that is new to the market is solar-powered shades. This incredible feature is a great way to power your smart blinds while reducing waste. The final way to power remote control blinds is with hard-wiring. This often done when building a new home or renovating, due to the low-voltage wiring that needs to be in place.
The Details of Installing Motorized Shades
When homeowners think about the installation of window shades, there are a number of things to keep in mind. To begin with, if you’re considering a “do it yourself” approach, we want you to prioritize safety. Our window treatments are installed by professionally trained window treatment installers–for good reason. Safety measures are in place, they are certified to do the job properly, and the window covering products are installed correctly. Imagine putting yourself at risk, damaging your investment, and then having to replace them because they aren’t working the right way.
Oftentimes, when clients want motorized roller shades, they’re having them placed on windows that are well out-of-reach, maybe even at the top of a second story wall of windows. It’s just not a risk that we would advise. Then, if you are successful, who sets everything up for you, or helps you troubleshoot issues that might arise with technology? Our team is there for you–setting you up from the day of installation, ensuring that you understand how everything works, and troubleshooting issues that might arise down the road.
What’s the Cost?
Probably the most asked question of all time, clients want to know the cost of motorized roller shades, and for good reason! Window treatments are an investment–with the innovations of today, it costs more to product high quality, beautiful and safe window treatments than ever before. But, they also increase the value of your home, especially with a top brand like Hunter Douglas. Adding motorization to blinds, shades, shutters or drapes will cost more than traditional operation. However, you’d be surprised how affordable smart home technology has become now that it’s part of our everyday lives. It’s just another feature that can be added or removed from the quote you receive. Why not ask?
Where Do You Need Smart Shades?
We’d love to chat with you about creating the right environment throughout your home over the course of the day. With motorized roller shades, it’s effortless–and very satisfying! Get in touch with our team for your free in-home design consult.
