Apr 10, 2020
Lutron blinds in an overseas project in S.E. Asia.
Window treatments in smart homes have made a resurgence and with more people preferring to integrate their window treatments into smart home systems. Read on below to find out how we integrate blinds into a smart home system.
Shades in homes have other advantages than blocking out light and adding to the aesthetic of a room. During the summer homes experience solar gain. This is where the sun shines into a room and the temperature increases.
This happens because windows are bad insulators that easily transfer heat. Blinds or curtains are a good way of reducing solar gain as they create an air pocket between indoors and outdoors.
By integrating shades, the smart home system can automatically react to direct sunlight or high temperatures and can lower shades.
The opposite is true in the winter, heat escapes through windows. This can be stopped when shades are lowered as they will retain the heat generated from the heating system within a room.
Within a smart home automation systems like ours, shades are connected to the intelligent lighting system. Unlike traditional lighting systems, lights are wired to a central location.
The system is then programmed for control which allows us to set 'scenes'; for example evening, relaxing, or focus. For bedtime, pressing a button on a keypad will turn lights off, and close the blackout blinds.
For a morning scene, shades can slowly rise at the time you've set your phone's alarm for, bringing in natural blue light from the sun and releasing the chemicals in your body which make you wake up.
There is no limit for programming scenes and being able to set scenes effortlessly sets the right mood for any occasion.
Amazon Echo and Google Home have excelled in their smart home devices. Whilst their speakers aren't going to win any hi-fi reference awards (click here to learn more about voice control Integration) their voice control features cannot be matched.
We integrate voice control into our smart home systems so that lights and shades can be controlled this way. For example, you can say "Alexa turn on the lights in the bedroom" for just that to happen.
You can also say "Alexa play a movie in the cinema" where a scene will activate and the lights will dim, blackout blinds will lower to block out light, and a film will play.
Using voice commands makes interacting with a home even simpler, this the ease of use our clients are always looking for.
The most infuriating aspect of shades is the misalignment of hembars. The hembar is the bottom of a blind that gives it a uniform look. When they are out of alignment with each other it becomes instantly noticeable and will distract from the exacting details required within high-end interior design.
Misalignment occurs when a motor is not self-correcting. With a regular electrical blind, mechanical parts wear over time this results in corresponding blinds moving at different speeds, and hembar misalignment. However, there is a solution...
IHA - Intelligent Hembar Alignment ensures blinds will never be misaligned due to a self-correcting motor. The motor's speed is measured 500 times per second and any errors in speed are then corrected. This ensures that the blind moves in a smooth consistent motion.
IHA goes one step further as it can be programmed to different sizes of shades in a room with vaulted ceilings and create smooth transitional movement between the shades. Utilising IHA lets shades blend into the background and not be a distracting feature in a room.
In modern new builds or refurbishments, the strive for clean lines can be critical. Rather than seeing the blind in the up position sat above the window, we can design a dedicated ceiling pocket so that the hembar falls from a thin channelled slot in the ceiling. With perfect placement, you won't even notice it's there.
Sheer and lined curtains are also popular, for total blackout or as dressing for the room. If you have tall windows it can be quite un-elegant tugging at curtain fabrics to get them all the way open or closed.
An electric curtain track eliminates this fuss and allows you to create just the right mood for the room. If a curtain track isn't the right application there's even motorised curtain poles now too, the motor is conveniently hidden behind the curtain stack meaning it's always hidden.
Window treatments come in different sizes and a variety of different options. If you are interested in fitting shades, blinds, or curtains for your new project don’t hesitate to get into contact with us here.
Book a visit to our showroom and view how these systems function first hand by clicking here.