Automated Blinds...

[kevshed]

Hi all,

Did have a post in the chat forum, but realise that was a mistake and i should have been here...

So -

I am currently building a new kitchen/diner - and have a glazed/bi-fold elevation, approx 7.5m long.

I want to fit this with 3 or 4, fully automated roller blinds, but need some advice.

Doing some research tonight, the Somfy range of motors etc looks pretty good... sadly, no dealer close to where i live (sods law)...

Whats not clear at all though, is whether i can simply fit these to 'any' roller blind that i may install - or if they 'need' to be custom designed... thinking of motor locations etc etc. Also notice ebay sellers selling kits etc that just require fabric adding... not sure about that.

Really, im looking for someone to supply/fit, but am struggling and getting blank faces from the local blind community.

Anyone self installed Somfy, any advice or guidance ? Can i use them with Rako switches ?

Thanks,
Kev

 

[Orson]

Hi Kevshed.

What I was going to say, was depending on the type of blind you want, but you can get them built inside the double glazing - between the 2 panes of glass. They are the micro type blinds, and do look quite nice (imho) and quite modern, and being sealed in, never get dusty & never need cleaning .

They can be electrically operated, but I'm not sure about linking with other equipment.

 

[kevshed]

Hi Kevshed.

What I was going to say, was depending on the type of blind you want, but you can get them built inside the double glazing - between the 2 panes of glass. They are the micro type blinds, and do look quite nice (imho) and quite modern, and being sealed in, never get dusty & never need cleaning .

They can be electrically operated, but I'm not sure about linking with other equipment.

Yes thanks... had looked at this originally, agree they are a good solution.

Problem 1) - Is that I've triple glazed - this means there are fewer systems to choose from.

Problem 2) - was wanting automated. The manual controls for these are less than ideal, especially the ones controlled via magnets.... if just a window, or one door it would be ok, but i effectively have 8 x floor to ceiling units, would be a mare in the long term. Didn't like the corded options. And the electric domestic products i looked at didn't work that well.

I did find a very good commercial solution - by far the best, but it was very expensive (looking at windows+5k for blinds...ouch).

Also considered verticals, and Venetians -but verticals are not good when the area is so big (especially given bi-folds), with wind etc, and kids love the chains at the bottom. Venetians... just a cleaning pain.

so... back to rollers.... Looks like there are options here, just need to find a decent supplier - although reading, seems a relatively simple DIY job.

 

[codex70]

Be interested to see what you come up with. We're looking at putting in an automated bottom up (rising from the floor) blind in our bathroom. Would be great if you could program it to go to half way up. The idea of the blind inside the window would be great, at least until something went wrong!

 

[illingworth22]

Be interested to see what you come up with. We're looking at putting in an automated bottom up (rising from the floor) blind in our bathroom. Would be great if you could program it to go to half way up. The idea of the blind inside the window would be great, at least until something went wrong!

I would be interested too! Also what kind of blind goes from bottom to top?

 

[benmc]

kevshed - Been looking at the same thing. Here were my thoughts I posted onto a separate mailing list


Thinking about putting some electric roller blinds into the kitchen. I have looked around and found a couple of things.

Appears Somfy are the motors to go for. Found these guys doing the blinds without fabric on ebay - Electric Roller Blind on eBay (end time 10-Jul-10 21:17:28 BST)

So about £180 per blind.

Looking into the control side, it looks like you need to be very careful to ensure you dont send 'up' and 'down' voltages at the same time. So I think I could control each of them with the following Cbus Blind and Shutter Control - CBus Shop


So the 3 of the L5501RBCP would sit up in node zero and have 240v feeds, each would then have 1mm cable running down to the blind.

Anyone fitted these in their house and are there any gotchas to watch out for?

 

[kevshed]

thanks - i had spotted those, and its a path im considering... as you say, price is fairly attractive.

What put me off, was not understanding the control wiring.

The Somfy kit i've looked at is 24vDC - and the blinds are addressed/limits set locally. Control is then done via a simple RF remote (Like Rako lighting kit). So wiring, is just a case of a BellWire, connected to a 24v transformer- no relays etc.

I found a dealer in Salisbury, who i'm waiting to hear back from - fingers crossed the cost is in the same ballpark and they can make them up with material etc.

If you go this route, i'd be interested to see how you do your implementation. Ideally, i'd like to integrate with my Rako lighting, so i think if i went with the product you mention, i can use a Rako relay. (those these painfully are nearly as much as the damn blinds!).. and jobs a good'n so to speak.

Kev

 

[benmc]

Think the ebay blinds are 240v

What make of Motor do you use?

We use Somfy for quietness and reliablility. The Lyra LS40 (hard wired) and the Altus 40RTS (wireless)

Let me know how you get on with the Salisbury supplier.

You need to be careful with the controllers as you can break the motors if you supply up and down voltage at the same time. Don't fully understand but you need interlocking controller

Ben

 

[kevshed]

agree - the ebay blinds are the 240v ones, so require the relay.

Though you have provoked thought on how i control my projector screen. Currently i use an IR relay.... but just thinking, that Rako Relay i mention should easily do the same thing - so i could use one of those, ditch my IR sensor, and intergrate it with a Rako panel....

hmmm

Sounds like another few quid spend, damn it. Cheers

 

[benmc]

Quick update

I have just spoken to someone who has fitted a number of these electric blinds and reccommended the following motor

Somfy Sonesse 30 DCT motor

It is 24v and less noisy.

Ben

 

[kevshed]

Quick update

I have just spoken to someone who has fitted a number of these electric blinds and reccommended the following motor

Somfy Sonesse 30 DCT motor

It is 24v and less noisy.

Ben

thx - thats what ive been looking at cheers.

 

[rhinoman]

I have the 240v ebay ones in my lounge (3 in total). I bought them and then added the material from ready made blinds stripped off the original mount. You need to get the electric blinds first as the plastic mounts take up slightly more room that the normal ones.

I used 3 core 1mm cable run back to node zero. Each is controlled by its own small relay (about £5 on ebay). Mine are triggered via my lutron lighting but can easyily be linked to ant controllable 12v trigger or even a normal light switch.

The cables on the motor are supply, up and down. They have adjustable stops to fine tune drop etc.

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