Motorized/Remote Control Blinds.

[KeithTalent]

Has anyone installed these things in their house? I took a brief look at them when I was at Home Depot last night since they were having a sale, but all of the ones they had were pretty ugly and cheap looking.

I want some blackout blinds to keep out all of the light when I'm watching movies or even when going to bed, without having to manually put them up/down every time, and I've seen some online but it's hard to get a feel for how well they work and what they actually look like. Just wanted to know if anyone has done this and:

1. How well do they work? Are you satisfied?
2. What was the cost?
3. Did you install yourself? Is that even possible?
4. Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks in advance!

KT

 

[MixMasterTang]

I know a few people who've had them in their house, but mainly because they were really big into home automation stuff. You may look for a home automation shop in your local area and see what they stock.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Get whatever blinds you want and do this:

http://homeawesomation.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/automated-window-blinds-with-arduino/

 

[KeithTalent]

I know a few people who've had them in their house, but mainly because they were really big into home automation stuff. You may look for a home automation shop in your local area and see what they stock.

Not sure any of those exist around here, will take a lok though, thanks.

Get whatever blinds you want and do this:

http://homeawesomation.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/automated-window-blinds-with-arduino/

That's cool, but way too much freaking work. D:

KT

 

[KeithTalent]

Sooo, nobody has this type of thing going in their place? :hmm:

KT

 

[purbeast0]

nothing like that, but i plan on getting dimmer switches that i can control from my iphone (soon to be ipad) so that i can also control the lights in my theater.

kinda related heh.

 

[KeithTalent]

That's a good idea too, but my larger issue is sunlight, so I need to focus on minimizing/eliminating that first.

KT

 

[purbeast0]

the blackout blinds i had in my last apartment were pretty ugly in general as well.

 

[KeithTalent]

Yeah I'm a bit concerned about that. All of the ones at Home Depot were fugly, but the online stuff is a bit harder to judge. I'll have to find somewhere else that I can check them out in person.

KT

 

[Hugh Jass]

Look for what are called Roman Shades.

For example:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sea...hades/?sstr=roman+shades&grid=20&dim=1&nty=1&

 

[KeithTalent]

Look for what are called Roman Shades.

For example:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sea...hades/?sstr=roman+shades&grid=20&dim=1&nty=1&

Look decent for the price, thanks. I'll need to measure the windows to see how they size up.

I kind of like the idea of remote control ones though. :hmm:

KT

 

[Hugh Jass]

Look decent for the price, thanks. I'll need to measure the windows to see how they size up.

I kind of like the idea of remote control ones though. :hmm:

KT

No problem...and again you can always rig them up with what I posted earlier...the work would be worth it if you really want automated blinds/shades.

 

[CPA]

I have them in two rooms. The first set of 3 is in an upstairs room. Had them installed about 10 years ago. Work great. Never need to change the batteries. Remote works great. Don't remember the cost.

Second set of 3 I tried doing it myself by using Blinds.com. Their brand. Not good. Cost about $170/blind. First, they cut the wrong size, not taking off a quarter inch on each side like they're supposed to do. They sent new ones out at no cost. Two were still too wide, so I manually corrected them. This took some time and a good metal blade on my compound saw. So, now they fit good, but the remote just plain SUCKS. It was a pain the ass to get the remote set to the blinds' receiving unit, but even after that was done, the remote would "lose" the setting. At this point, one of the blinds won't even move. They're on the second story window set (I have a 25' open concept in the family room). Fortunately for me they are down (expanded) which is my preference. Sometime in the future, I'll replace them and have experts put them in.

 

[KeithTalent]

Cool, thanks for the info CPA. Looks like I am better off going with a pro installer; I'm a moron when it comes to this kind of stuff, so would definitely cock it up if it was not very paint by numbers.

KT

 

[RossMAN]

If you're a member of CostCo they offer discounts on blinds:

http://www.costco.ca/window-fashions.html

 

[TridenT]

Parents have had two separate kinds. First ones were glitchy and sucked. Second ones are less glitchy. Suck less.

If you can, get ones that don't use infra-red.

 

[GasX]

Sooo, nobody has this type of thing going in their place? :hmm:

KT

I have several. They were pretty expensive (Hunter Douglass) but they work well. They are on timers and go up in the morning and down at night. We went with the battery powered ones. Something like 10 AAs and they are good for a year or so.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It crossed my mind but never really saw the need for it. Come to think of it the only real home automation I have is my custom hvac control system and basic environmental monitoring (not much hooked to that yet). I can set complex schedule for the furnace (and AC in future) and I can also set/override using my phone, computer or any other mobile device. It's a simple web page. Been meaning to make the interface more touch friendly though. Having to manually type numbers kinda sucks. I accidentally set my furnace to over 1000 degrees the other day, it was starting to get hot in here. It had hit around 24 till I realized my mistake. Default override time is 90 minutes though and there's a hard coded max of 30, so I was safe either way. Just burned lot of gas...

 

[KeithTalent]

I have several. They were pretty expensive (Hunter Douglass) but they work well. They are on timers and go up in the morning and down at night. We went with the battery powered ones. Something like 10 AAs and they are good for a year or so.

I don't mind spending a little extra to get them right. So no remote for yours? timer only?

It crossed my mind but never really saw the need for it. Come to think of it the only real home automation I have is my custom hvac control system and basic environmental monitoring (not much hooked to that yet). I can set complex schedule for the furnace (and AC in future) and I can also set/override using my phone, computer or any other mobile device. It's a simple web page. Been meaning to make the interface more touch friendly though. Having to manually type numbers kinda sucks. I accidentally set my furnace to over 1000 degrees the other day, it was starting to get hot in here. It had hit around 24 till I realized my mistake. Default override time is 90 minutes though and there's a hard coded max of 30, so I was safe either way. Just burned lot of gas...

Sounds expensive. What kind of other automation stuff can you do? I know of those fancy thermostats, but can't think of what else. :hmm:

KT

 

[Kelvrick]

Subscribed to thread as I'm interested in getting them for some high windows in the house.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I don't mind spending a little extra to get them right. So no remote for yours? timer only?



Sounds expensive. What kind of other automation stuff can you do? I know of those fancy thermostats, but can't think of what else. :hmm:

KT

Actually pretty cheap with Arduino. Though for the hvac I actually used a different board, it has 6 temp sensors and 4 relays, then I have a C++ app that polls it and turns relays on/off as needed. The logic is all done at the server within the C++ app. Think the board costed like 60 bucks. Though I could have gotten an Arduino mega for that and done way more with it. That's what I'd do if I was to do it over again.

The premade thermostats that do this stuff are really expensive though. There's the nest, which I think is like 200 bucks, and I'm not even sure if it can do the advanced scheduling that mine does. I do need to add a bit more logic to mine though, like if the temp outside is close to the indoor temp, then it should not run the hvac. Eventually I'll want to put an outside intake as well with a damper, so it can draw outside air if it's more efficient.

Old thread but talks about it: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2229438

 

[kevman]

the biggest drawback to these are the amount of batteries required to motorize them.

 

[Red Squirrel]

the biggest drawback to these are the amount of batteries required to motorize them.

Yeah would be something cool to think about while the house is being built so you could have it all wired, including the controls, then have a central control system that can be accessed via wifi. Could also have a central battery backup for it. At least you're not running around changing small batteries all the time, you may have to change one big battery maybe once every 5-10 years.

if I was building a house I'd probably run some thermostat wire and a couple cat6 to each window, that way they could be used for various controls like blinds, alarm system etc. Nothing beats wired for reliability.

 

[kevman]

Yeah would be something cool to think about while the house is being built so you could have it all wired, including the controls, then have a central control system that can be accessed via wifi. Could also have a central battery backup for it. At least you're not running around changing small batteries all the time, you may have to change one big battery maybe once every 5-10 years.

I just had my house built last year and I thought of all the cool stuff I wanted to do after the fact! Sux, but I was able to do some Insteon stuff afterward, but this would have been a great idea.

 

[Vdubchaos]

High cost for VERY little convenience.

It's more of a "show boat" factor than anything else. It simply doesn't make sense (to me anyways)