Motorized shades have always been a great convenience for many of our customers. Besides assisting with lighting controls in a room, they help support thermal management, reduce utility bills, and most are easily controlled by automation systems.
Interest in motorized shades has always been high but the need to run power and automation lines to each motor has always been a major cost factor and it usually meant cutting a lot of holes in the drywall. Most people would not even consider motorized shades once they learned of the wiring requirements unless the cables were already run during the construction of the home.
Fortunately, Lutron recently released a wireless solution which operates on batteries available at the local hardware store. At first we were speculative of the battery powered shades. To be honest, we laughed at the idea of replacing batteries for shades, but Lutron claims that the shades will operate for about three years with six D cell batteries. Though the motors are audible, they are still very quiet and far from annoying.
The standard shades are limited to a single cell and room darkening designs with limited color selections. The possibilities don’t end there as many custom options are available as well. Custom options would include a larger color selection and double cell shade designs. Lutron also offers a larger variety of fabric materials when selecting custom shades. We liked how there aren’t any typically visible cords or strings making for a very clean look.
For an integration company, the most important feature is that it plays well with automation systems. It works great when combined with Lutron whole home systems which, in turn, integrate well into other automation systems. An automation system is not required to operate these binds and can be controlled by a remote like the one shown on the right.
At Sight and Sound Systems, we highly recommend this product and we welcome visitors to come see a demo at our showroom.
