Raising your window blinds every day and ensuring that they are lowered in the evening can be daunting. Smart blinds are built in such a way to ease these time-consuming errands, thereby sparing you extra precious time each day, along with convenience, utility, and comfort.
What Are Smart Blinds?
Smart blinds are automated window treatments that possess a built-in motor that lets you add motorized raising or lowering capacities depending on the scheduled time. These window treatments adjust depending on the lighting outside. At sunrise, they open up to display the exceptional outside view, and at night they will roll down to block the outside view. While some of them include integrations supported with virtual assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant for voice input, others are coupled with smart home systems such as Nest and Apple Home Kit. There are a wide array of available choices if you are looking for or workplace that can be controlled remotely or with your voice. Beyond purchasing customized smart blinds, which is a pricey choice, we can also consider old but automated blinds and transform them into smart blinds with motors for automating the process.
Features of Smart Blinds
Smart blinds are available in various sizes, types, colors, and different technologies. So, you will have to explore and research more before deciding on an appropriate choice. When it comes to features, there doesn’t exist any standard set, however, some of the common features that are found in most of the smart blinds are:
- Built-In Motor: This is activated with your voice, remote control, or an app that raises or lowers the smart blinds.
- Mobile App Functionality/Remote Control: This lets you raise or lower the blinds without any manual efforts. Certain smart blinds also allow you to schedule timers to control their operation.
- Support Integrations with Devices and Apps: Certain smart blinds can be paired with smart home systems and virtual assistants so that they can be controlled with your voice.
Retrofit Your Existing Blinds
Automated retrofit solutions possess an exceptional value as they let you use your existing blinds. This saves you both money and time! If you already have the right blinds that can be retrofitted easily, then you need not purchase new ones. It is an absolutely good technique for making a budget-friendly upgrade you have been always wishing for. That said, retrofit options tend to be narrow and compatible with only certain types of blinds, so do your research before purchasing.
Smart blinds offer an unparalleled level of comfort, automation, and privacy. You can pick various control options including hand-held remotes, wireless wall switches, voice control, and smartphone apps. An interesting feature is being able to automate your motorized blinds to lower when the sun is shining bright to avoid fading of furniture, flooring, cabinets, and so on. Additionally, programming the window treatments according to set schedules can save on energy bills.
How To Create Smart Blinds At Home
In this blog, we’ll be looking at one popular solution for retrofitting your blinds with motorized control: the E-wand.
- E-wands offer an exceptional solution for the automation of vertical blinds, mini-blinds, or Venetian blinds. An e-wand is a six AA battery-operated device that simply replaces the wand operating the blinds.
- The present model consists of automation features supported by integrated temperature and light sensors. When activated, light sensors raise the blinds in the daytime to allow natural sunlight and lower them in the night for privacy control. This functionality is coupled with a temperature sensor. The E-Wand automatically raises the blinds during the daytime if the temperature within the room falls below 69 degrees and lowers the blinds when the temperature rises above 82 degrees. Using small switches present on the E-Wand, the automation features can be activated or de-activated.
- No scheduling based on time exists. For instance, blinds cannot be set to raise at 8 am. But, their ability to raise depending on the sunlight can be disabled so that the blinds in your room don’t open early in the morning.
- Blinds can also be manually operated through a little wand twisting or with an RF remote control which can be kept in a docking station that is wall-mounted or can be hand-held.
- E-wand can be installed easily. For instance, when E-wand is used with mini blinds or horizontal Venetian blinds, the E-wand replaces the already present control wand. The mounting bracket is then attached to the blind’s header with self-adhesive strips and then snapped onto the E-Wand. Lastly, a straightforward method exists to adjust the E-Wand for it to know the blind’s close and open positions.
- Also, the grouping of blinds can be considered. For instance, the blinds in a particular room function at the same time when a single-blind present in the group is operated manually or in-built light sensors cause E-wand to close or open. E-Wands offer an easy, yet robust solution for automating vertical blinds, mini blinds, or Venetian blinds.
Bottom Line
Most older window coverings feature manual cords to let you lower and raise them. And, these typical cords can be risky for both pets and kids. Retrofitting existing window treatments eliminates and avoids the risk of accidents. Retrofitting the window blinds lets you retain the existing window blinds while upgrading them to offer a brand new look. Also, your window blinds can be programmed to close/open at various times of the day. This is one of the advantages of transforming your existing window blinds with motorized retrofit solutions. Once your existing blinds are retrofitted, then the blinds can be opened and closed at just the touch of a button.