“I’ve never met a homeowner that has regretted putting in smart blinds,” says Giles Sutton, a smart home integrator and executive at the home technology industry association CEDIA. “Everyone has said it adds the most value of all the smart products they installed.” As part of our research, we consulted with Sutton and considered smart blinds ranging from fully customized professional installations to self-install products and retrofit solutions for existing blinds. Among the DIY solutions, the SmarterHome Tilt MySmartRollerShades was our favorite for its fabric and style options, solar power source, and simplicity for homeowners to install. Here are our picks for the best smart blinds and shades. Built into the shade is a battery that charges via a solar panel that faces outside your window. In most cases, you’ll get plenty of sunlight to keep the device efficiently powered without needing to plug into an outlet or recharge or replace the battery. Once you install the MySmartRollerShades, the main control method is through the Tilt app via Bluetooth. Unlike most other motorized shades, unfortunately, no remote control is provided. However, the app lets you raise and lower one or multiple shades and set automated schedules based on time or sunrise/sunset. With the Smart Roller Shades, you can choose between three light-filtering fabric styles (sheer, translucent, or blackout) and dozens of colors and textures. You can add a fabric-wrapped or metallic fascia to cover the roll and opt for a battery-operated or wired power source (plug-in adapter required unless it’s professionally hardwired). There are also Smart Honeycomb Shades and Smart Wood Blinds available. The Lutron app does plenty, like setting multi-window scenes for ideal lighting and a Natural Light Optimization feature for blinds that change the tilt as the sun moves throughout the day. However, to take advantage of any smart extras like Alexa or Google Assistant voice controls, Apple HomeKit integration, or connections with smart thermostats, you need to buy the separate Lutron Smart Bridge—unless you already have one for Lutron Caseta smart dimmer switches around your house. The blinds come with a simple remote control and a rechargeable battery as a power source that should last months before needing a charge. Not included is IKEA’s Tradfri smart gateway, a Zigbee-based wireless hub that’s required to control your blinds through the mobile app and set timers and groupings. While the app’s functions are fairly basic, Tradfri’s decently wide compatibility with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit allows for other useful automation and routines. The motor has to be plugged into an outlet to operate, so you’ll have to consider the placement and visibility of the power cord, but you can choose which side you want the motor to be on. You also choose which side the blinds start from when fully open unless your installation is wider than 102 inches, in which case they’ll come from both sides and meet in the middle. You don’t need a hub to use the app, and you can issue voice commands to Alexa and Google Assistant if you have a compatible device to talk to. You can set open/close schedules with the app, which is plenty of automation for vertical blinds. Unfortunately, the app and voice commands only let you slide the blinds open or closed—you need the remote to rotate the slats themselves. The device works by feeding the chain into its motor, which you then attach to the window frame with adhesive or screws. Powering the motor is a battery that recharges via either USB or the included solar panel. The motor operates blinds four times faster than the previous model, but it’s still a rather slow process to fully raise or lower your blinds. For that reason, pre-set schedules are all the more useful, as is the Morning Mode that intentionally opens your shades slowly and quietly. You can also automate them based on local sunrise and sunset, or the amount of sunlight sensed by the solar panel. For voice controls and further integration, the Smart Shades 2 is compatible with the biggest smart platforms, but only through the Soma Connect hub. It’s essentially Soma’s free software loaded onto a Raspberry Pi (a tiny but powerful computer), so you could save on that cost if you have your own. The specific choices depend on the type of shades, but each offers a wealth of customizability, from colors and fabric type (including sheer and blackout shades) to mounting and control hardware. For powering the motor, you can select from a battery case for traditional replaceable batteries (or two for larger windows), a rechargeable battery, or a plug-in power cord. The motor utilizes Z-Wave wireless technology, with single- or multi-channel remotes as the default control option for one or more Bali shades. You can purchase it with a gateway for app control, but the motor will work with essentially any Z-Wave hub for other platforms you may already have or prefer to use, such as Samsung SmartThings, Wink, or Hubitat Elevation. This compatibility is excellent for integrating your window treatments with the devices or systems you want, as long as you’re comfortable figuring out your custom setup. The company’s focus on motorization means it doesn’t produce the blinds; you seek out a local Somfy-authorized dealer who can consult with you on the ideal designs and mechanisms for your home and then create your custom Somfy-powered blinds. If you prefer the do-it-yourself route, you might find dealers selling Somfy blinds for self-installation, but you’d risk issues with the fit or setup of your premium blinds. The motors are noticeably fast and quiet, especially compared to retrofit smart-blind conversion products. The smart features all require the TaHoma hub, which has good third-party compatibility, though there is no Apple HomeKit support. But Alexa and Google voice commands are in play, as are detailed controls, schedules, and scenes through the TaHoma app. Somfy also offers sunlight or temperature sensors if you don’t have devices with those features to integrate. Compared to other motorized blinds, a noticeable result is that the TruePoE shades can fully open and close at a significantly faster speed. A hub is also unnecessary since you have an established internet connection through the Ethernet cable. The shades themselves are available in a modest selection of colors and three styles of fabric: solar, light-filtering, and light-blocking, with the latter allowing the least amount of sunlight through. PowerShades are only available through specific dealers, so they can assist with customizing and installing your order. Even with the simpler power/data solution, it can help to have installers familiar with the new technology. If you prefer to do it yourself, there are plenty of smart blinds that you can order online and install on your own. Self-installation options are usually relatively simple to mount and don’t require hardwiring or electrical work. Many have a wireless power source, like a rechargeable or solar-powered battery. “This is one of those areas where the earlier you plan, the better,” Sutton advises. “To have the broadest range of options, you’d need the right power source.” “Typically, the heavier the fabric or material, or if there’s wooden slats, the more likely you’ll need something that’s been pre-wired, or at least have a power source near the window,” Sutton says. “So if you’re remodeling or building a new home, the cost of putting in another cable at that point is very small, and will give you the most options later.”
Control options
In addition to built-in controls on the motor, you can use a remote control to operate most motorized blinds and shades. The “smart” blinds we considered also connect to a mobile app so you can control them through your smartphone and set up schedules for when they should automatically raise or lower.
Smart home integration
“You can integrate smart blinds with lighting systems to wake you up more naturally when your alarm goes off in the morning, or for security, to make it look like you’re at home,” Sutton says. “This is one of those technologies where automation is very helpful because blinds can be completely touchless and operate almost independently if you want.”
Why Trust The Spruce?
This article’s author, Anton Galang, has been researching and writing about consumer technology since 2007 as a contributor to PC Magazine. He covers smart home and other tech-focused topics for The Spruce, as well as a broad range of hardware, software, gadgets, and games for Lifewire. Sutton says many homeowners consider smart blinds a luxury they never realized they needed until they have them: “In the morning, you have to go around to every window and open every single blind, particularly if you have a lot of different windows. The convenience of just pushing one button or saying ‘open the blinds’ is game-changing.” “There are certainly a lot of retrofit options available, but you don’t necessarily have the same range of options when it comes to the type of shading solution,” Sutton warns. “There are often limitations around fabric choices, the size of the windows, and the amount of blackout. But retrofit solutions can be great if you’re in rented properties, for example, or properties where the windows are a bit smaller, and you’re okay being limited by some of the choices of fabrics.” For this roundup, Anton researched the smart blinds and shades offered by over 20 different brands, factoring in third-party/user reviews and focusing on installation considerations, customization options, power sources, smart features, and compatibility. He also spoke with Giles Sutton, smart home integrator and Senior Vice President of Member Success and Sales at CEDIA, the global industry association for home technology, for insights on smart blind selection, installation, and position within the modern smart home landscape.
