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Started By
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The Wevolor
Posted on 9/21/22 at 9:46 am
Posted on 9/21/22 at 9:46 am
About a year ago we started a remodel and part of it was blowing out a wall and putting in 4 large windows that look into our back yard. Back in May, we were looking for window coverings. When we started the process, one of the things I REALLY wanted with them was smart home integration. One of the things my wife REALLY wanted was "top down/Bottom up cellular shades. We have a couple of salespeople out to the house and much to my dismay off the shelf smart home integration was $500-$600. Additionally there were only a couple of vendors that could do it, and their products were significantly more expensive overall. So I sacrificed and we ended up getting Levolor blinds with a RF remote. (FWIW, we ordered the blinds on Memorial day and they weren't delivered until after Labor day... 
)
Well, I figured that IF it was an RF remote there had to be someway to integrate it with the blinds. Turns out, somebody had already "hacked" the remote and done all the heavy lifting for me. The Wevolor
It uses a $10 ESP-32 board with wifi and bluetooth to connect Amazon Alexa via IFTTT. The code was very simple to install via Arduino IDE. It connects to your home network via wifi and to the remote via bluetooth. The remote then forwards the commands to the blinds. It's pretty slick. We have smart curtains in the upstairs bedrooms and I didn't realize how much I'd miss the voice activated control of the blinds until I had them in a few weeks. With an 11 y/o who likes to hide things in the couch, we are always hunting the remote control. Now, I just have to say, "Alexa, set the blinds to favorite" or "set the blinds to open" and off they go.
If you're in the market for motorized blinds shades, I'd highly recommend this solution. FWIW, the creator provides the code for free.
) Well, I figured that IF it was an RF remote there had to be someway to integrate it with the blinds. Turns out, somebody had already "hacked" the remote and done all the heavy lifting for me. The Wevolor
It uses a $10 ESP-32 board with wifi and bluetooth to connect Amazon Alexa via IFTTT. The code was very simple to install via Arduino IDE. It connects to your home network via wifi and to the remote via bluetooth. The remote then forwards the commands to the blinds. It's pretty slick. We have smart curtains in the upstairs bedrooms and I didn't realize how much I'd miss the voice activated control of the blinds until I had them in a few weeks. With an 11 y/o who likes to hide things in the couch, we are always hunting the remote control. Now, I just have to say, "Alexa, set the blinds to favorite" or "set the blinds to open" and off they go.
If you're in the market for motorized blinds shades, I'd highly recommend this solution. FWIW, the creator provides the code for free.
1
Posted on 9/21/22 at 10:02 am to Lonnie Utah
yeah automated blinds are ridiculously priced. even the ones on amazon which I have put in my cart more times than i'd like to admit.
i finally settled on some IKEA tredansen for both upstairs and down (6 windows total) at $160/each. they will pair with a gen4 alexa but you'll lose the remote control feature. so far we're happy with the remote on the wall.
one failed already though. when one of the lines snapped causing the shade to flip open like a peacock tail. i am going to return it to IKEA next time we are near one but it makes me worry about the quality in general over time. the shades are simple enough; just celluar black-out blinds, a battery, motor and metal axle with 2 small spools for the lines which are really thin but seem to be consistent with other cellular blinds we already have around the house.
i'm just hoping this was a fluke but if another one fails, they're all going back to IKEA and i'll look for another solution.
do you have any pics of your setup? i am honestly sick of looking for a good value on motorized blinds but levolor is a good brand. i have been eyeing the serena ($$$) because i know lutron makes an 'install and forget' product but damn they're expensive for 'value' shades.
tl;dr i'm intrigued by the idea of turning RF blinds into true smart blinds. thanks for the post
i finally settled on some IKEA tredansen for both upstairs and down (6 windows total) at $160/each. they will pair with a gen4 alexa but you'll lose the remote control feature. so far we're happy with the remote on the wall.
one failed already though.
when one of the lines snapped causing the shade to flip open like a peacock tail. i am going to return it to IKEA next time we are near one but it makes me worry about the quality in general over time. the shades are simple enough; just celluar black-out blinds, a battery, motor and metal axle with 2 small spools for the lines which are really thin but seem to be consistent with other cellular blinds we already have around the house. i'm just hoping this was a fluke but if another one fails, they're all going back to IKEA and i'll look for another solution.
do you have any pics of your setup? i am honestly sick of looking for a good value on motorized blinds but levolor is a good brand. i have been eyeing the serena ($$$) because i know lutron makes an 'install and forget' product but damn they're expensive for 'value' shades.
tl;dr i'm intrigued by the idea of turning RF blinds into true smart blinds. thanks for the post
Posted on 9/21/22 at 10:15 am to CAD703X
quote:
do you have any pics of your setup?
I could take some, but honestly it would be pretty boring. The shades are just shades, and the micro controller is the raw board in my av cabinet.
One thing I forgot to add, is if you have more than 1 remote, you have to name it. If you don't get that name EXACTLY right, it won't work. Ask me how I found out.
Oh, and you only get 3 free commands with IFTTT. So far, "Open", "close" and "Favorite" seem to be enough. For $5 a month, you get unlimited applets in IFTTT.
This post was edited on 9/21/22 at 10:17 am
Posted on 9/21/22 at 10:17 am to Lonnie Utah
quote:
One thing I forgot to add, is if you have more than 1 remote, you have to name it. If you don't get that name EXACTLY right, it won't work. Ask me how I found out
so i'm understanding; i tried to price out a 35x70 shade on levolor's site with a remote and it came in at around $500 per shade. it seems this is a the 'smart' version though because it talked about the levolor app.
where did you find a straight RF-remote version? how big and how much did you pay?
sorry for all the questions; this is a long-suffering topic for me.
Posted on 9/22/22 at 5:49 am to CAD703X
The wife did the ordering on everything, so my info is a little cloudy. I think we ultimately paid around $400-500 per shade but bought them on their 1/2 off Memorial day sale . I think ours are roughly 48"x75"? We also bought a couple of non smart shades and two motorized ones for the patio doors. I do have control of them via the 6 button remote and the app. We rarely use the app. I think the app works in a similar way to the Wevolor. I think it sends a Bluetooth signal to the remote, which sends an RF signal to the shades.
FWIW, we talked to the folks at Blinds.com and they walked us thru the process.
Edit: I couldn't find anywhere where the 6 channel remote is an option, on the 15 channel one. It might be worth an e-mail to the guy to is if it works with the 15 channel remote....
FWIW, we talked to the folks at Blinds.com and they walked us thru the process.
Edit: I couldn't find anywhere where the 6 channel remote is an option, on the 15 channel one. It might be worth an e-mail to the guy to is if it works with the 15 channel remote....
This post was edited on 9/22/22 at 6:00 am
Posted on 9/22/22 at 6:05 am to Lonnie Utah
Well, this appears to be an interesting development...
Legacy Motorization App (for motorized window treatments purchased prior to 8/1/2022)
Figures.
Legacy Motorization App (for motorized window treatments purchased prior to 8/1/2022)
Figures.
Posted on 9/22/22 at 8:08 am to Lonnie Utah
The motorized blinds industry is such a damn scam right now.
I had EIGHT large windows at my old house that had no window treatments and routinely got quotes $1k+ per window to add a decent motorized shade. These windows faced west so it was stifling in the heat of the afternoon sun to be in that room.
As a baseline; I got a quote (all inclusive) of $600 per window to REPLACE THEM.
How the hell is it cheaper to rip the entire window out and replace with a state-of-the-art low-e window than it is installing a couple of screws and a blind?
I had EIGHT large windows at my old house that had no window treatments and routinely got quotes $1k+ per window to add a decent motorized shade. These windows faced west so it was stifling in the heat of the afternoon sun to be in that room.
As a baseline; I got a quote (all inclusive) of $600 per window to REPLACE THEM.
How the hell is it cheaper to rip the entire window out and replace with a state-of-the-art low-e window than it is installing a couple of screws and a blind?
This post was edited on 9/22/22 at 8:10 am
Posted on 9/22/22 at 8:55 am to CAD703X
I bit the bullet and got motorized shades in the bedroom when we bought blinds and shutters for our new house. Easily my favorite thing in the house. Down at 7pm, up at 730am
They were expensive though
They were expensive though
Posted on 9/22/22 at 9:06 am to LordSnow
quote:if i wasnt such a cheap-arse
I bit the bullet and got motorized shades in the bedroom when we bought blinds and shutters for our new house. Easily my favorite thing in the house. Down at 7pm, up at 730am
They were expensive though
i'd have lutron smart shades in every window of my house. thats a true 'install and never think about it again' product.
Posted on 9/22/22 at 9:31 am to CAD703X
quote:
if i wasnt such a cheap-@$$
On the flip side of this, about 2 years ago, I ordered and installed Zemismart motorized curtains in the two occupied upstairs bedrooms. They've been flawless and are WAY less expensive than the blinds. They are remarkably quiet. They do require 120v power.
Zemismart motorized curtains and track.
I can control them by voice via amazon alexa, the Tuya smart app or one of the two remote controls that were included. I have an amazon routine for both bedrooms controlled by an amazon button (one for each) that dims and turns off the room lights, closes the curtains (if they're not already closed) locks the doors to the back porch and starts a white noise generator when it's time to go to bed.
This post was edited on 9/22/22 at 9:33 am
Posted on 9/22/22 at 11:00 am to Lonnie Utah
i am officially relinquishing my 'king of cheap smart home doodads' to lonnie utah
sounds like you've done a better job than i ever did with my 300+ smart items that never really worked as well as i wanted.
sounds like you've done a better job than i ever did with my 300+ smart items that never really worked as well as i wanted.
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