Automate Your Window Blinds: EASY!

[@SmartHomeSolver]

What are you using for smart blinds?

[@TAKV_gaming]

I would love some smart blinds, but I’m not sure if my blinds are compatible and I’m not sure if my budget would like me if I bought new ones

[@baitykris1]

We just got a pair of smartbots for our bedroom curtains. I will probably expand using that method. We have blackout curtains in pretty much every room. It sure helps us stay away from that Arizona sun. By the way, I always love you outros.

[@clickrick]

I got a Tuya Smart Roller Blind Driver Sprocket Motor from eBay. Cost was around £45, though there are cheaper. Again it's a retrofit solution, and took 15 minutes from receiving it in the post to having it installed and working with an Alexa routine.

[@jmchez]

I have the E-wands. They work exactly like the Sunsa but without the WiFi app and smart assistant connectivity. They promised those features years ago but never delivered. Now, Sunsa shows up as something new and it's the same thing but with the WiFi radio and Alexa skill. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same developers and engineers. I mean, physically, IT"S THE EXACT SAME WAND! I feel cheated, as the E-Wand folk promised me a free upgrade to the WiFi version. EDIT: E-Wand has finally released their Zigbee (Alexa compatible) version. Two years ago, they promised to upgrade my regular E-wands at no cost when the new version was released; they said it would take them 9 months Now, I have to remind them of their promise.

[@DannerBanks]

Ikea - I have four, one have out within a year and I got it replaced for free. Save your receipts!

[@bagrubmeister4973]

Love your videos! I just installed my SmartWings blinds and they are amazing they are custom fit and made to order and the price is perfect. A lot of fabric choices. It only took 2 weeks to get them too. I highly recommend you taking a look at them. I got 2 32x46 and 1 65x64 for $850 delivered. They work with all the assistants. I am very pleased with them. I think it is worth you checking them out!

[@davidkennedy7848]

I've had the blinds on my DIY list forever. Glad to see good options are coming out, maybe by the time I actually get to it, I can just do off the shelf.

[@williampennjr.4448]

I dont think its really worth $50 dollars for something that takes less than 10 seconds to do yourself. I have the switchbot tilt but I wouldnt be surprised if it breaks within a few months.

[@davidkennedy7848]

@@williampennjr.4448 Then don't buy one. Oh wait, you already did. So apparently you do think it's worth it. I now have 3 Soma Tilt 2s in our living room and a Switchbot Tilt in my office. All running with no issues since I set them up (the newest one being probably 6 months ago). Well worth the investment to me.

[@burprobrox9134]

Now every room in your house has a different brand of smart blind. Thanks for making the sacrifice! Most of my house has horizontal blinds, so that first wand thing is perfect. edit: OMG it’s so damn expensive!

[@SpaceStrike]

Haha yep

[@mattfiedler278]

Another option I found was the Soma Tilt, a good retro fit option. You do have a motor to stick to the wall but personally it doesn’t look terrible. The can be a little glitchy but I think it is a hub issue. Controlling over Bluetooth is easy and routines are pretty reliable. Nice video!

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Thanks Matt. I actually tried out Soma Tilt but it didn’t work on my blinds. Soma was going to 3D print a better attachment for the blinds I am using. I didn’t include them just because I’ve seen others have to do work arounds for Soma Tilt and I only wanted things that work well out of the box for this video. It seemed like high quality though and I liked that it comes with a solar panel.

[@mattfiedler278]

@@SmartHomeSolver makes sense! I wish I would have waited for the Sunsa wand as those look to be a cheaper model than the Soma Tilt (about half the price) plus no hub. Great content as always!

[@darrenpryke6112]

I have Lutron blinds, they are amazing, nearly silent. I went for battery so as not to have ugly cables running to power sockets. I'm amazed, with multiple automations a day, the batteries last over a year. Great choice.

[@johnwhite2576]

$$$$$$$

[@LetTheTruthBeTold8324]

lutron is expensive

[@donavonlewis1039]

What did 1 automated blind cost?

[@DanielHolt17]

@@donavonlewis1039 Everything

[@phantomdevil6834]

Does it work with HomeKit?

[@jameelkhalfan7262]

Lutron uses standard D batteries, and you can buy rechargeable ones from anywhere. This is better, in my opinion, than the proprietary IKEA batteries since who knows if IKEA will still be making those batteries a couple years from now.

[@HTC-1337]

Ikea sells everything 10 till 15 years .....so you're good for 15 years

[@shatoxhd]

STARTING AT 600$?!?!?!?

[@nicholas9534]

Also lutron shades typically last for about 4 years with those D batteries

[@popjibbletz]

Lutron are insanely priced

[@theNADlaunch]

You shouldn’t use rechargeable batteries with Lutron shades as rechargeable batteries decrease in reliability when charged. Use D-cell and Lutron will last 5 years 2 up 2 down everyday

[@reidb18]

Never thought about motorizing my blinds til I saw that retrofit wand. Now I'm inspired.

[@AlexTeo]

Just covered the somfy and soma smart shades solution, absolutely good options as well!

[@Shadow__X]

We already have an Ikea hub and I have a smart ceiling light, so an Ikea shade is probably the best choice, although I like the wand because light level can be adjusted over the whole area of the window

[@cghrios783]

So glad I found your video. The down side I’m looking for levolor, Bali, select blinds. But so far u have had the best review of any video I have found. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@besnikmaloku]

A cool thing with the IKEA Fyrtyr is that you can cut them to a custom widht, so for instance if your window is 110cm wide, you can purchase the 140cm Fyrtyr and cut it to your specific widht, that way you dont have a gap and no light comes in. Furthermore they are very good at blocking the sun out, i have had mines for over a year totally satisfied.

[@wendyjones1422]

I have just brought same blinds not put on windows yet colour grey so u saying they are nice blinds then mines just standard blinds where u pull them down and up yourself

[@besnikmaloku]

@@wendyjones1422 If you bought "fyrtyr" they are mechanised they have a battery that comes along with them. If you (have) the remote you can pair them and then you just press the corresponding Button on the remote and it goes up or down by itself. You just need to set the max on the unfolding so it stops

[@KairosGaming]

I'm currently in the process of building a new house & I've been watching your channel a LOT for info & inspiration on how to make my home "smart". I wanted to say thanks for all your help! I just followed you on Twitter. You can DM me there if you ever want to talk about KZbin 👍

[@ajmalhussain3574]

Are you a builder mate or architect

[@ronm6585]

Nice! Thanks Reed. Better find that magic wand if you want the shades to go back up. 😃

[@CamoPajamies]

Just god bless everything you care about, you mean for it -to be able to care for you back and forever. As it should, good homie helping others best ya can.

[@nairreDDerrian]

They didn't wanna make it too easy...to stay on brand! 🤣🤣🤣

[@nhatruclepalacios2462]

Thank you! I’m so glad you made this video and I happen to came across it. This is what I have been looking for and glad to know that that it exist and affordable.

[@djsylvester2011]

Thank you for saving me a poop load of money on my hub. I’m going with Aeotec instead of SmartThings hub. Same hardware..lol. I wanted to pull out my Raspberry PI (I’m OG tech), but my wife vetoed the idea with a passion. I need more direction with the E-Wand for the blinds. Now I have to buy a pack of them and don’t want to spend that type of money.

[@happytime4130]

You provided great info. But the little one at the end won the show.

[@ThatBeardedVeteran]

You can always add some trim around the windows to help block the last bit of light that IKEA blinds still let through.

[@PrydeWater901]

The thumbnail at the end matched the outer beautifully and seamlessly.

[@anggeeadlof9043]

like the features, setup was difficult for some of my devices (August Door lock, kzbin.infoUgkxhB5YOMNj04GuoAosExygP4cH-dKeb4aB Bose speaker)... but all switches and outlets (5), thermostat, tankless water heater. Unfortunately all I can do is turn on/off Bose. It doesn't support volume or changing channels, but I believe that is due to the particular speaker I have.... Worth getting if you already have other devices to use it with... I don't sit around and ask Alexa questions much so that doesn't really matter to me....

[@bellekwx]

Got to say… was laughing on ikea staying on brand with 6 manuals 😂😂😂😂 SUBSCRIBED!

[@koreypaul6698]

Gonna be a must as I'm going to be working the night shift and be a daysleeper 😴

[@phddudlexxx]

I love that finishing part

[@Musicislife4ever22]

Love the little bits of Dad humor you throw into your videos. Thanks for the great information.

[@samus4799]

I’m going Lutron for my lighting, which will be switches instead of individual smart lights. In all of my research they seem to be much more reliable than any other brand and cheaper than Hue lights. I’ll stick with their ecosystem, HomeKit compatibility is a big plus, I think that will be great for resale value.

[@edwinkowalinski4337]

I have blinds that are controlled with cords. Any automatic controls for those?

[@cc_snipergirl]

Any ideas for your basic string pull shades? The kind that you pull the string in one direction to lock after you open them and the other direction to unlock and close them. They're roughly 5ft wide but kinda heavy blackout shades.

[@underdog576967]

Looking into Smartwings cellular blinds or roller shades…they seem to be quality and a decent price point . Go up to 110” wide

[@paul9387]

I was able to connect "mysmartblinds" with lutron caseta picos. It's mostly reliable with a slight delay, just because of the way it has to go through from the moment pico is pressed until it reaches the shade. Pretty complex but hey, we don't give up so easily right? Lol

[@Silverwing_99]

Love you reviews!. Please review the new SwitchBot roller blinds

[@HTC-1337]

The first 1 is very slick

[@vladaniko]

I'm using somfy motor with Qubino Flush Shutter module attached to control it. Since I've installed the modules, thanks to scenes/schedule (blinds goes up every morning at 7am and down at 10pm). I've choosen qubino (cuz it's on Z-Wave techology) and I already had SmartThings gateway in my home...

[@mr.llamanator3651]

1. Singapore’s Bukit Pajang Light Rail Transit 2. M132 armored flamethrower, which is banned from war, but cannot still be used to clear foliage. 3. The biggest nuclear bomb ever dropped was the Tsar Bomba (King bomb) 4. When hit, molten iron separates into smaller droplets, allowing for oxygen to oxidize it easier, which is why it looks so sparkly 5. Chinese anti sleep laser display, kinda looks like rainbow road

[@juliamcdonald4049]

Hi! We have levolor shades with a battery pack & remote control. Just wonder if there is a Wi-Fi power unit that I can retro fit and connect to my phone for scheduling? Thanks in advance!

[@isaaclegouine755]

was looking for a solution so really happy to see this video

[@WalknTasteEarth]

Any suggestion on smart blind for sliding door in patio . I have normal vertical blinds and would just like open and then move the blinds to the left and viceversa.

[@WalknTasteEarth]

I have SmartThings v2 hub

[@thesidburgess]

Anything for the corded variety out there?

[@andrewcbartlett]

As an absolute last resort, read the manual! Great vid Reed.

[@hussainrosin9212]

Hello thank you for your videos. I'm try to set up my Somfy roller blind to my smartthings. Do you have any idea how to set up please

[@darkwoodmovies]

Any tips for automating existing blinds in an apartment? The ones with the little chain thingie.

[@GreeniusGenius]

Aqara’s E1. You’ll want their hub too, unless you’re using Home Assistant.

[@kenteastwood1]

Is there any option for venetian blinds without the wand? My blinds have ropes to pull and so far I can only find smart options for the wand or roller blinds

[@Reverence12389]

Any retrofit? solutions for pull cord blinds?

[@RealKevGotEm]

Ive been looking for something to motorize my curtains. Thanks

[@userbosco]

Thanks for the vid! Time for some wall art on all those bare walls brother! 😉

[@AllanAquinoVieira]

If I could subscribe again I would just because of the end bit. It truly made me laugh out loud.

[@nolongerconfuzed]

Do any of the retrofits work for the kind that doesn't have pull strings?

[@axmax519]

I enjoy your videos. Wanted to ask you if you know if it's possible to change your lights whenever someone rings a video camera doorbell. I have a nest doorbell camera. If you can help with this please let me know. Thanks

[@Rayja3]

I’m interested in that bay Signal lamp 👀 where can I get one

[@fsfreelancer]

These look great, but any solutions for California shutters?

[@eliotopian]

is there a retrofit for two separate string pull type blinds?

[@kurts3779]

Do you know if there is anything that could automate existing California/plantation shutters?

[@ItzzSwaggy]

Can you use the Lutron pico and caseta remotes with the ikea roller shades?

[@FrankJAlejo]

My Lutron shade batteries have been going strong for 2 years now!

[@brentkleinman6926]

I wished you made this video before we bought our blinds!!

[@3zadam]

does IKEA blinds transmit the battery life to smartthings home hub? I want to know when the battery is getting low. my current thirdreality blinds I am testing do not show battery status in smartthings which is annoying. I know the batteries will die when i need it most.

[@bmanh2355]

Somfy has some of the most robust motors for window shade automation. Battery life is awesome, motors lift even larger shades with good (consistent) sound quality. Which is key, they don’t sound like cheap toys….

[@melissataylor3621]

hi! I’ve been searching your KZbin and trying to find a solution, do you have suggestions to automate existing honeycomb bottom up shades?

[@fredsalfa]

Thanks for that I was thinking of having automated blinds to block out the light in the morning but I don’t want them to wake me up if there really loud. I’m guessing they will wake you? Sounds like the Lutron is quiet though

[@3zadam]

does this work the same with smartthings for IKEA praktlysing shades?

[@deviladv]

Do any of these options other than the switchbot have solar panel options? I know switchbot does, but I could see why you wouldn't use them there since it's on a door and not a window. It would be interesting to see if this affects performance at all of the shades, and would solve both the problem of them being unsightly and of having to replace or charge batteries.

[@tomjones2860]

The IKEA blinds and their buttons have a battery drain problem if they are used with any other Hub than the IKEA one... and the IKEA one does not let you use the buttons for anything other than the blinds. IKEA has no plans to fix this. Buyer beware...

[@tomjones2860]

@420 Gaming The problem is very real... Smartthings, Hubitat and Home Assistant forums are full of frustrated customers. There was a Zigbee update about 8 months ago and since then battery operated IKEA devices have issues... I have 7 IKEA blinds in my house. 5 are fine but two last about 4 weeks and they are dead. Buttons are worse.. and in most cases will be dead in about 48hrs. No one is sure why and IKEA does not seem to be working on this problem, or if they are they are taking their time. It looks like the devices bind to a zigbee repeater and a "path" back to the hub and if that path changes then they just ping the original path over and over until they are dead. My 5 good blinds are in the room with the Hub and the other 2 have a repeater jump.

[@Netblock.systems]

Anyone know what song is in the outro? And video is wonderful, appreciate it greatly

[@charlesdaniel3512]

I have project am working on and I really need the complete smart home automation

[@maciejfassa4394]

I only use manual blinds for Dako, maybe I should switch, any brands You personally like?

[@EliasVisualProductions]

Do you know of any smart tools like this for old jalousie windows? A very common window type in Hawaii.

[@adamjay4862]

Do you need to buy the IKEA hub for there blinds or can you connect it straight to a Google hub

[@GiAnNiS--zx10r--Tracer900--]

how can i adjust the length at the ikea product in base at my window, this product has a max height of 1.95m

[@peircingblueeyes]

Any retrofit options for roller blinds?

[@pandraus]

I'm getting the IKEA one for my office and maybe the Lutron for my bedroom. But that is a big maybe because Lutron is expensive. Have you ever heard from realtors if they add value to the house?

[@zeroibis]

At ~$600 each you better be getting over 100% return on investment for your home value which I highly doubt.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

I haven’t heard from realtors if they add value to the house but I would imagine they would. I know I would be more interested in a house that already had them.

[@pandraus]

@@SmartHomeSolver yeah, me too. I think the new generation of buyers will be in 10 years time more acostumed to smart homes. Great video by the way!

[@TokyoLibra]

Hi what is my best option to automate my vertical blinds that have a chain for the tilt and a cord to open?

[@1979zeesh]

hi, awesome comparison. does all of these work with amazon alexa?

[@slandshark]

Those Lutron blinds are absolutely insanely priced. $540 USD without the app hub for a single 4'x5' blind. It increases to over $900 USD if you choose a different color. For a single window? Insane. I was able to outfit my entire 2,100sqft house with regular blinds for $350. Or I could use Lutron and spend about $4,500 for the Lutron blinds. That is insanely overpriced for what you get.

[@seanoreilly9950]

even the curtain bots are way overpriced for what they do

[@delinquense]

Thanks for letting me know how ridiculous the price is. It would have been nice to have had price info available in the video, based on a specific number of windows and sizes. And also retrofit vs replace. That being said, they still may be a fair bit cheaper than having someone install Hunter Douglas for me.

[@aquamonkee]

Any recommendations for verticle blinds?

[@rehanhaque1230]

For Ikea blind to work with motion sensor which motion sensor and what App was that? The App looked different than SmartThing from samsung.

[@bmanh2355]

Can the switchbot be used with an adjustable drapery rod? The kind that has 2pieces and allows one to adjust the width.

[@samm9017]

If you want to pull the blinds up, how would you do it with the wand?

[@PaddyP538]

Cost comparison?

[@K0NY718]

Where did you get that bat signal lamp? It would be perfect for my 3 year old son’s room.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

I actually made that. It's an IKEA lamp that may be discontinued, and I added the bat symbol with black construction paper.

[@DonRoberts1]

Nice review. Are you aware of a solution currently for sale that automates opening & closing existing plantation shutters (no rotating wand, just a vertical wand connected to each blade that goes up & down)? That is to say, a retrofit...not buying new, motorized shutters.

[@ericanderson3962]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing this.

[@delinquense]

Would have been nice to have a comparison showing type (retrofit/replace), cost per window, quality, noise, connection options (wifi/BT) ease of install, power options, type of window shade, etc.

[@wendyjones1422]

Can you make normal blinds automated or smart cos the prices are expensive to buy

[@rexhua4833]

Great recommendation!

[@golduk2]

I have a number of smart plugs and lights in the house, but they aren't 100% reliable. For some reason, a plug may stop being available, therefore what happens if say the Blinds Wand loses connectivity? I presume you can operate by hand, but does this throw the configuration out when it reconnects? e.g. it thinks the blinds are shut after you have manually opened them?

[@dearontufankjian9823]

How did you buy the Lurton blinds and customize the design?

[@joukenienhuis6888]

I like the rod version. It is only not the kind of blind automation for me, because I have a chain

[@Jcarlier50]

i 'am using Ikea Fyrtur but can you give some explanations about Home assistant automation (at sunrise ,open the blind ...) ....

[@PatHiggins-Mayo]

Thanks for the review

[@hayleyharrison5127]

Ugh so my parents just got some from Hunter Douglas, very pricey. They arrived, look super basic, and I just found out that in order to actually automate it you need to purchase a separate $285 hub! You can’t even use it like an alarm clock out of the box, it’s ridiculous. Wish they had gotten the lutron like I recommended 😫

[@Eliustrates]

Anyone know of alternatives to the smart wand? Considering it’s not for sale right now

[@huh28]

Great content as always! Subscribed as soon as I watched your video a few weeks ago 👍 Would you please make a tutorial for hooking up the Ikea blinds to smartthings? I have a v2 hub and using the new app...tries a couple of time but all I did was factory reset and make the original remote not work 😭

[@mrlondon049]

Does any of these work with cordless blinds? Thank you!

[@kirmistube]

Great reviews 👌 Keep going 👍

[@Ben-kk3fp]

Nice video and I've been starting my automation addiction recently due to your videos. I'm having a hard time though finding a solution for my window automation. Currently I have a Echo 4th Gen and my blinds all have a dual cord pull string to close and open the shade level and a long cord for raising and lowering the blinds. I only want to open the open and closed part not raising and lowering. Same operation as the wand you demoed here. However, since the strings are independent and not a continuous loop I haven't been able to find a viable option and don't want to replace 5 custom fit blinds that I want to automate. Do you know of any solutions? Hopefully I explained this enough to understand my situation......just imagine 2 strings on the left side of the blind where a rod would normally be, you pull one to open and the other to close, they move together but are not connected in a loop.

[@danielbrown7815]

Find anything?

[@theyamigos]

@@danielbrown7815 Not yet

[@sorenweisshartmann]

Really good video. Thanks

[@TheBigGiant_SpaceChiken]

Good video. It would have been nice if you had put links in the description.

[@tristanedwards1340]

What do you think about a Knx system for a small domestic home worth the hassle ?

[@ryanhakalmazian]

are your ikea shades still working because i’ve heard complaints after a year or so