Hunter Douglas has expanded its PowerView Automation portfolio with the introduction of PowerView Motorized Drapery Hardware. The new drapery motor offers seamless, hands-free drapery control alongside PowerView shades, blinds, and shutters.

System Integrators and homeowners can now manage all window treatments through one unified system using the PowerView app or via smart home platforms such as Control4, Crestron, Savant, Josh.ai, Brilliant, URC, and RTI. Whether operating on a preset schedule or controlled on-demand via voice assistants or the Pebble remote, this advanced hardware has been designed to deliver custom control with both sophistication and ease.

“Drapery has long been a cornerstone of window treatment design. Amid growing demand for smarter, more customized smart home and design solutions, incorporating drapery into our automation ecosystem was a no-brainer,” said Scott Stephenson, Senior Director of Product, Global Motorization at Hunter Douglas. “Our PowerView Motorized Drapery Hardware makes it simple to control drapery — independently or alongside other PowerView window treatments — and expands the opportunity to enhance aesthetics, privacy, energy efficiency, and security within our trusted PowerView platform.”

The PowerView Motorized Drapery Hardware collection is available in four finishes — Matte White, Satin Nickel, Dark Brass, and Matte Black — paired with four distinct finial styles: the sculptural Round Finial, the subtle Flute Finial, the clean-lined Square Finial, and the jewelry-inspired Globe Finial.

Curated by renowned designer Lori Weitzner, the hardware designs pair perfectly with the wide range of fabrics and textures offered through Carole Fabrics Drapery, ranging from clean neutrals and refined patterns to rich textures and vibrant colors.

For More Information: www.hunterdouglas.com.

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Architects and Interior designers often find themselves in a situation, where their clients ask them, why they should opt for Smart Automated Shades and Blinds. We have the answers to all of your questions right here.

Smart automated Shades and Blinds are no longer a fancy option. Gone are the days when their use was restricted to high-end homes and commercial projects because they were expensive! Today, many national and international brands in the market offer various options that are competitively priced. Plus, they can be integrated with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings ecosystems, etc. The most popular brands in this segment are Somfy, Lutron, Hogar Controls, Hunter Douglas, Crestron, Buildwell Motors, A-OK Motors and Funk Motors to name a few.  

Market Drivers

The major reason for the increasing popularity of smart shades and blinds is the latest advancements and the convenience it offers to users. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global blinds and shades market is projected to grow from $6.12 billion in 2022 to $8.76 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 5.27% in the forecast period, 2022-2029.

There are many reasons for the rising demand, and according to Future Market Insights, innovative energy-saving features in blinds and shades are drawing in more customers. Moreover, this is expected to significantly support the concept of smart buildings coupled with distributed energy systems. Growing consumer awareness of customizing product solutions offered by various manufacturers in the blind and shades market is also one of the reasons fueling the growth of the global blinds and shades market.

Smart Shade Controls

There are various types of smart shade controls offered by different manufacturers. The most popular way to operate smart shades will be via Apps. There are dedicated Apps from the maker designed specifically for a given smart shade. In other instances, the smart shade may function with one or more of the popular smart home ecosystems, including Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, and Amazon Alexa.

Smart Displays like the Google Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max can provide touch control for smart shades, though the controls might only be able to open and close the shades in the most basic of ways. Smart shades frequently use Works with Google integrations to connect to Google smart displays. Integrations with Amazon Echo Show displays might also be feasible. Smart speakers are built into smart displays, allowing voice commands to be used with them as well.

The feature of Voice Control with Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, or Google Assistant may indeed be an option for a given smart shade, but enabling that functionality may require an add-on smart speaker or smart home hub.

Many smart shade makers offer a companion Wireless Remote Control option. These can be convenient when you want to operate an individual shade without having to locate your smartphone or try to recall a specific voice command. They can be snapped to the wall or sit on a coffee table for easy access. These may communicate with the smart shade via radio frequency (RF), Z-Wave, Bluetooth, or other wireless communication protocols.

Another option for some brands of smart shades is In-Wall Lighting and Control Systems. These smart lighting controls can be equipped with optional colour LCD touch-screen displays to control smart shades and other devices in addition to replacing standard lighting wall switches. 

Whole-Home Automation Systems are another option that are expensive systems, which system integrators can install, and can integrate motorized and smart shades. They have dedicated on-wall touch panels, remote controls, and mobile device controls.

Smart Home Scenes can also be used to control groups of smart shades. In this case, scenes have been set up to operate all the shades in the house with a single tap, or even just one room at a time. A lockdown scene has been set up to lock all of the doors and secure the smart door locks in addition to simultaneously closing all of the shades.

Smart Home Scenes By tapping a button in an app, scenes allow multiple smart shades to be controlled simultaneously. These scenes can be combined to control other smart home accessories connected to the same network, like smart door locks or smart lighting, and they are simple to set up. Typically, voice control can also be used to run scenes.

Smart Home Ecosystem Integration

The new Matter Standard may change everything over time, but today the compatibility of smart shades between the Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings ecosystems is very mixed.

Smart shades that include onboard Z-Wave or Zigbee radios can offer the best integration across the ecosystems, particularly when used with the Samsung SmartThings platform. They are also a good bet for the long term since they will ultimately work with Matter and are also among the favorites of professional integrators.

The Samsung SmartThings ecosystem offers a broad range of integration options for smart shades. The latest SmartThings hub offers both Z-Wave and Zigbee radios, and can manage an entire home fitted with smart shades and other smart accessories.

Somfy one of the prominent brands in this segment offers curtains and tubular shades that operate flawlessly, are the fastest and quietest shades available, and are compatible with all popular smart-home platforms. They help save energy and improve home security.  Sonesse 50 Ultra are the ultra-quiet motors from Somfy for interior blinds. The newly patented and improved spring brake eliminates stopping and tilting noise. Glydea Ultra is packed with innovations that provide an acoustic performance of less than 38dBA, one of the quietest motorization solutions in the market. Adding Taral Trivedi, Managing Director, Somfy India says, “Somfy offers both motorization and control solutions for various window covering and access applications such as Interior blinds and curtains, Shutters and sun protection, connected home, access management, security. Somfy offers control solutions on open protocol platform of digital and wireless technologies available in the market, reference Dry Contact, RS485, Zigbee, KNX, IFTTT which allows third-party systems to be able to integrate seamlessly with Somfy motors. These controls allow for interoperable options of read and write commands which in turn allows the end user to establish two-way communications where you get reports on status checks and error feedback. Further extending the flexibility of control strategies, Somfy offers API-based services for customized integration with third-party automation systems in the market. Somfy has partnered with leading technology providers and system integrators in the market to offer end-to-end customized solutions.”

Adding insight on the Smart Shades and controls, Jubin Thomas, Territory Sales Manager, Lutron says, “Lutron designs and manufactures smart shades and lighting controls. We don’t just care about the performance of our smart shades such as silent operation and perfect alignment, but also the aesthetics including the shades themselves and the controllers to control the shades. We have various styles of controllers like Palladiom Keypads, Alisse Wall Controls, and a wireless controller named Pico, offering our customers different designs, finishes, and applications to meet their needs. Lutron offers seamless integration between our smart shades and lighting controls and various control option like wired, wireless, timeclock, voice, and mobile app control. On top of this, users can add in sensors like occupancy sensors or daylight sensors. With occupancy sensors, it will allow the shades to open or lights to turn on automatically when a room is occupied, or vice versa. With daylight sensors, the shades will move according to the sun positioning and incoming daylight. This is what Lutron calls total light control with utmost intelligence.”

One of the major components of Smart Shades and Blinds is smart motorization.  It is one of the most important components, while many smart home accessories may operate invisibly in the background, it’s the built-in shade motors whirring in sync with onboard wireless radio chips and software that make smart shades the most convenient choice for users.

One of the most trusted and popular brand that offers a wholesome solution is Hogar Controls. The Brand offers Smart Curtains & Blinds with varying degrees of intelligence based on usage. They have the widest and unique range of products which includes Curtain Motors that support 40-130 KG of load and blind motors which can take 15-150 KG of load. Being a leader in Home Automation they provide multi-protocol compatibility for their motors be it Z-wave, Zigbee, Wi-Fi or KNX. Hogar Controls’ VL40 & VL60 motors are one of the smartest available in this segment. Not only can you connect them with any 3rd party automation, one can use them seamlessly via App and Voice Control without even using any Automation system all together. The motors have an automation chip in built which allows them to operate via Hogar App and Alexa by just connecting to available Wi-Fi Network. And the smart curtain module allows any brand motor be it curtain or blind operate seamlessly on Hogar App.

“Apart from a wide range of Smart Motors we offers smart accessories which includes flexible tracks, Multi-Channel Remotes, Smart receiver, Smart Touch Panels etc. Their USP includes integration with any Smart Home Automation, Super silent motors, compatibility with voice assistants, compatibility with roller, roman, venetian, skyline and zebra blinds, says Jaspreet Singh Bhatia, Vice President Hogar Controls

While Buildwell Motors manufactures tubular and curtain motors that can be used to automate venetian blinds, wooden blinds, roller blinds, and curtains. Their motors can be controlled using their beautiful glass facia RF remotes, Smartphones using Wi- fi or any wired/wireless home automation. Their motors are compatible with all home automation systems. They are the only curtain motor company in India, manufacturing all plastic components, aluminium tracks and metal hardware in-house, which gives them the advantage to control quality in comparison to other companies who import from other countries.

Smart motorization undergoes regular technical updates. The most recent is the AM75 Curtain Motor by A-OK, a new generation Helical Gearbox design Curtain Motor with Superior Performance, good load bearing capacity, being one of the highest in its segment, and can work on multiple platforms such as Home Automation via dry contact, Home Automation via high voltage AC power supply, with a remote control device, as well as voice commands over leading platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, etc. and loaded with all the leading features.  

Advantages of Shades and Blinds

Light Control, and Comfort.

Whether your goal is to maximize or minimize daylighting, reduce glare, or simply stay comfortable, smart shades can make it easy to automatically control the amount of light coming into your windows to meet the needs of the moment. This modulation can happen many times throughout the day and can be tailored on an individual window or group of windows basis. You may want all of your shades to open at sunrise and close at sunset, or have them open or close at different times during the day based on their orientation to the sun, time of day, and depth of overhangs. Most shades are made from llight-filtering fabrics and can be adjusted by voice control to bring in softened daylight. They are each powered by 8 AA batteries, housed in wands hidden behind the shade housings.

Solar Heat Gain and Loss + Energy Savings.

Automations on a schedule can help minimize solar heat gain through your windows on hot days by closing the shades (to reduce cooling loads), or maximizing solar heat gain on cold days by opening them (to reduce heating loads). These hands-off automations can help save on energy costs throughout the year.

Now that we have understood the technical part we give you the option to select the right type of shades

Types of Smart Shade Designs.

Smart shade types and designs can be as varied as the windows they are intended to cover.

Roller Shades. Roller shades are the most universal of all smart shades, and nearly every manufacturer will offer them in their product line-ups. Mechanically, these are the simplest of all motorized shades and generally require the least amount of lift force from the motor—meaning the batteries tend to last longer. Their cost tends to be at the lower end of the smart shade range.

Layered Shades. Among the newest designs are smart layered shades (often called banded shades or zebra shades), where the shade consists of two layers or fabric with alternating bands of sheer and opaque material. They tend to be at the higher end of the cost range, and can be the most dramatic to watch as they raise, lower, or adjust.

Sheer Shades. Also among the newer designs are smart sheer shades (often called soft blinds), all-fabric shades that have two layers of fabric connected by fabric vanes. They function more like Venetian blinds, and also tend to be at the higher end of the cost range.

Cellular Shades. Cellular shades (also known as honeycomb shades) are also offered by many smart shade manufacturers, and these are generally in the middle of the cost range. They typically offer more energy savings than other designs due to the air trapped inside the cellular vanes.

Venetian Blinds. There are many smart Venetian blinds on the market to choose from. Due to the nature of their design, they tend to be heavier and require more lift force than other designs—so typically the lift operation is not motorized. Instead, the motorization and automation are restricted to tilting the vanes for light control. These shades can be made of aluminum, vinyl, wood, or other materials. Cost tends to be at the lower to middle segments of the range.

Types of Smart Shade Power Options.

Smart shade motorization requires continual access to electrical power. While many smart shades will be powered via batteries, shades operate via wireless connections. Plug-in Power Adapters is also a viable option, particularly where you plan on installing a large number of shades throughout the home. Hard Wiring can be installed on dedicated in-wall control boxes and power supplies in strategic locations. This will enable you to invisibly hide all wires in the walls. Solar Panels are offered by Some manufacturers. In this case, a small solar panel positioned near the shade is used to keep the batteries recharged. This may be a good option where the window location receives sufficient sunlight to fully recharge the batteries each day.

Now that we have cleared all your doubts and provided our readers with the latest updates we are sure you are confident to make the right choice.

The post Latest Innovations In Smart Shades And Blinds appeared first on Smart Home World Magazine.

Hunter Douglas has unveiled PowerView Gen 3 Automation, which features a completely new communications protocol, new hardware, and a faster, more intuitive setup process. PowerView Gen 3 was designed to make quoting, specifying, and installing Hunter Douglas smart shading easier and more appealing for professional installers.

Leveraging dealer feedback and industry-favorite features from previous PowerView iterations, the Gen 3 system is built on a solid and tested infrastructure, newly devised to help dealers take on more shading projects, streamline installation, reduce truck rolls, maximize profitability, and ultimately increase homeowner satisfaction.

“We’ve listened closely to integrator feedback over the past several years, and our focus in creating the next generation of PowerView products remained clear from the start: Provide the design-forward approach Hunter Douglas is known for, with reliable technology that can be executed and integrated with ease,” said Scott Stephenson, director of product, motorization at Hunter Douglas. “PowerView Gen 3 Automation is precisely engineered to break down the barriers and reduce the learning curve associated with specifying smart shades.”

The result, Stephenson noted, is a system that is as simple to use as it is to install; scalable for any size project or budget; and reliable for any application or shading type whether that is custom draperies, oversized verticals, or ever-popular cellular shades.

Setup Simplified

The PowerView Gen 3 platform expedites the installation process for integrators and delivers personalized, sophisticated control of Hunter Douglas shades for homeowners. The PowerView App’s intuitive dashboard enables fast, easy configuration with proximity detection, which displays the shades that are nearest to the user first on the list and offers quick tap naming and scheduling options. Once setup is complete, ownership of the project can be transferred to the homeowner. At first glance, homeowners can access and modify shades, scenes, automations, and settings in the App.

Reliable, Scalable Automation

PowerView Gen 3 Automation trades the old proprietary PowerView RF communication for a standards-based Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol that provides greater operating range and reliability. The protocol enables smart, real-time, two-way communication of commands between the shades and the PowerView Gen 3 system to ensure that the shades are exactly where the homeowner wants them to be.

With the adoption of BLE and the upgraded line of accessories, scaling automated shades is simple regardless of the project size. For small jobs, the new communication protocol ensures that Hubs and Repeaters are no longer required to use the App, create scenes, or trigger automations by communicating directly with personal devices. For larger projects, the PowerView Gen 3 Gateway serves as a range extender to synchronize window treatments throughout a home for consistent performance throughout the home.

The Gateway enables powerful control capabilities, whether a home has one shade or hundreds. With the addition of a Gateway to a project, integrators can incorporate the functionality of PowerView Gen 3 into popular third-party control systems including Control4, Crestron Home, and Elan — all with full two-way shade control. Now with enhanced natural language processing for more speaker-specific commands, consumer-favorite voice integrations with Google Home and Amazon Alexa allows homeowners to control shades with a simple voice command. Users can also control or schedule their shades to move individually or in a group right in the App or using a sleekly redesigned PowerView Pebble Remote.

PowerView Gen 3 Offers More Ways to Shade

PowerView Gen 3 enables homeowners to enjoy the benefits of an automated home lifestyle without compromising style, pairing the familiar, high-quality designs they expect from Hunter Douglas with the technology they did not know they need. With the expansive Hunter Douglas portfolio, integrators can offer more customization and near-infinite design possibilities.

Clients can choose from dozens of styles and hundreds of fabrics in a wide range of shading sizes on the market. From colorful pops of expertly designed drapery to uniquely woven wood blinds, and from AERC-certified honeycomb styles to classic roman shades, integrators can satisfy the design requirements of any project while elevating their clients’ lifestyle with confidence.

 For more information, visit https://www.hunterdouglas.asia/india/

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The curtains and blinds industry enormously contributed to the “smart revolution”, by integrating technology with the regular window coverings.

Curtains and blinds have always been one of the primary and crucial design elements for interiors of all kinds, be it residential, commercial, hospitality or even educational. The reason behind their significance is not just the aesthetics, but also the whole range of conveniences these offer the users. In the generation of rapidly evolving technology, changing work culture and priorities, people look for convenience in almost all aspects of life. From wearables like watches, sunglasses, to appliances and electronic items like televisions, air conditioners, fans, refrigerators, ovens, coffee makers and water purifiers, everything is getting backed with smart technology to precisely define the word “luxury” and “accessibility” to the consumers. 

“Smart blinds, shades and curtains are window coverings that can be opened and closed not just by a remote control, but also by a smartphone app or with voice commands. They can also typically be configured with various levels of automation. Weather sensors can detect temperature and determine whether smart shades should be opened to let in the sun and the heat, or closed to help keep a room cooler, and automatically execute those commands. Smart window treatments can also be grouped (usually per room) and configured to open and close on automated schedules (such as sunrise or sunset) for added convenience”, says David Parrett, Product Marketing Director, Somfy, North America. “Also, there can be a degree of energy savings when using smart window treatments. For example, keeping them closed during the summer can help reduce heat gain (limiting use of HVAC systems), and keeping them open during sunny winter days can assist in keeping a room more comfortable”, adds David Parrett.

Smart Blinds or Curtains: You Choose!

Where curtains can perfectly create an ambient atmosphere at homes, blinds have always been a part of rooms that require a complete obstruction of sunlight for certain reasons. Many offices with most people working on computers, modern-day classrooms with projectors and today, home cinema rooms prefer complete blackout blinds. Speaking about the disparity between curtains and blinds,Jaspreet Singh Bhatia, Vice President, Hogar Controls, explains, “Curtains are mainly found in homes whereas blinds’ applications are mainly in commercial or office spaces. Curtains are automated horizontally (left and right) whereas blinds operate vertically (up and down motion). The motor and setup changes in these applications. There are various kinds of different applications of curtain and blinds to choose from according to your space requirements – Curtains (Regular pleated curtain, ripple) and Blinds (Roller Blinds, Venetian Blinds, Zebra Blinds, Honeycomb blinds etc)”.

“This is mostly a case of style, home decor and personal preference! Smart curtains and smart blinds/shades have similar functionality but different looks. Smart curtains open from side-to-side while smart shades move up and down and smart blinds tilt open or closed. Sometimes homeowners actually layer smart curtains over smart blinds or shades for a multi-faceted look. The choice between smart curtains and blinds/shades is all about the homeowner’s preference”, conveyed David Parrett.

Further differentiating smart blinds and curtains, Venkatesh V, Executive Director, WCP Business – India, Hunter Douglas India Pvt. Ltd says, “curtains are traditional Window Covering Products due to lack of full functionality. Smart blinds have the functionality of light control and privacy control both at the same time. Today customers expect to have all the home gadgets connected to the internet for ultimate comfort, customized as per the needs. All these qualities can be sufficed by a smart window covering blind compared to a curtain”.

Attributes & Flaws

Like all smart devices, smart curtains and blinds are, fundamentally, energy-efficient and convenient. “Any kind of smart control of electronic devices is friendly in terms of energy savings as it helps control (switch on/off) your devices from anywhere in the world. Suppose you have left any normal switch ON and left home for office only to come back home in the evening (an entire day’s energy wasted on the switch) vs switching off the smart switch remotely which helps saving time and energy”, concedes Jaspreet Singh Bhatia.

“Smart blinds can be programmed in a way that they get the perfect light and heat to maintain the temperatures resulting in proper utilisation of artificial lights and cooling devices. Hunter Douglas Window Covering Blinds with the above-mentioned functionality helps the consumers to conserve sufficient energy”, explains Venkatesh V.

These can be locally or remotely controlled via smartphones, tablets or voice-bots, like Alexa and Google Assistant, with voice commands or scheduled to open or close during specific times like after sunrise/sunset or as per the user’s wish. Also, smart curtains can be set up to be in motion at the user’s absence, to deceive the trespassers by indicating the presence of someone at home. With heat and light-sensing capacity, these can move automatically as temperature and daylight change, leading to a sufficient amount of energy conservation. Smart curtains and blinds seamlessly blend with one’s lifestyle and offer a harmonious life by waking him/her up with the soft morning rays of the sun and retaining his/her privacy at night. Numerous apps are available for both Android and iOS users that enable the users to create scenes and set timers to their smart curtains and blinds. Automation has become a common terminology for home décor these days. However, specialised automation protocol for window covering products is still a unique concept in the industry. “Imagine your window shades automatically open with the rising sun and make you wake up naturally instead of the blaring alarm which rattles you out of sleep grumpily. In the evening as it gets darker, the shades close magically letting you enjoy complete privacy. The craving for a perfect ambience throughout the day is the idea that led to the creation of PowerView Automation. You only need to program PowerView once and set preferred scene settings which will allow you to enjoy the desired morning, afternoon, evening or night positioning of your window shades. With the integrated PowerView Automation mobile App you can remotely operate the window shades and create customized scenes by setting the positions for your window shades. Once the settings are saved, the system can automatically repeat them every day. It offers an option of operating the blinds through voice commands as well.   Hunter Douglas window covering blinds with PowerView Automation is an epitome of modern technology. It creates a magical experience for your home through the advanced automation features and is the perfect hands-free way to control the flow of natural light into your house”, adds Venkatesh V. 

“The initial cost of ownership for smart window coverings is higher than manual versions due to the motors and smart components that provide increased functionality and convenience. However, for those homeowners wanting to create a smarter, more convenient home, the benefits are more than worth the investment”, adds David Parrett.

Technology Used and the Latest innovations

“The typical architecture consists of a connection (either wired or wireless) between the motorized shades and a gateway device. The gateway device connects the control system for the shades with third party smart home automation systems to enable “smart” controls such as voice commands and automated schedules”, explains Parrett.

“The industry is creating an increased number of connection points between motorized window coverings and smart home automation systems to create smarter, more comfortable homes. Tying motorized shades to third party systems enables motorized blinds and shades to become a true component of the automated smart home.In addition, more products are now available with battery options, including lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. This enables more consumers to implement motorized window coverings with minor retrofitting rather than going through the hassle of major renovations”, adds David Parrett.

Summary

Essentially, these comprise built-in motors that allow one to add remote lifting or lowering capabilities, as per the schedules set. “Smart Curtains are not exactly mean curtains that have a mind of their own, but it means curtains that are automated and controlled by smart motors either with Wi-Fi or Z-Wave technology protocol”, affirms Jaspreet Singh Bhatia.  “In today’s COVID world, where most people are working from home, stay indoors for the maximum time, and hence want to upgrade their homes to feel luxurious and good about themselves. Hence “smartifying” homes is the new trend”, adds Jaspreet Singh Bhatia.

Today, any kind of application of curtains or blinds can now be automated, whether it is regular curtains, ripple fold, Roller Blinds, Venetian Blinds, Zebra Blinds, Honeycomb blinds etc. With the advancement of technology, even sunroof shades can be turned smart these days. “There is no better way than to completely indulge in the technological boons for smart homes. The new smart home concept is the latest buzz in the home decor world. With all the hype around smart homes, why not utilize technology in every aspect of your house decor, including window blinds. Automated Window Covering Blind is one such smart invention that can make your life easier and more relaxed. In addition to functionality smart window covering blinds can enhance the aesthetic appeal of the home décor”, says Venkatesh V.

Speaking about the integrity of smart window coverings, David Parrett says, “the initial cost of ownership for smart window coverings is higher than manual versions due to the motors and smart components that provide increased functionality and convenience. For those homeowners wanting to create a smarter, more convenient home, the benefits are more than worth the investment”.

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