Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Smart Blinds

Smart home technology is always all over the news. It’s easy to see why. Smart home technology is making our lives easier and easier every single day.

Smart home technology can help you see who’s at the door, even if you aren’t at home, and you can regulate the thermostat when you’re away on vacation. You don’t even have to open and close the window blinds, as long as you purchase the right ones!

photo courtesy of justblinds.com

Decide Between Motorized and Retrofit Blinds

The idea of automatic blinds is fairly straight forward. Instead of walking over and manually raising or lowering the blinds, you can do it with the touch of a button, which means you don’t even have to get up off the couch!

However, it is important to understand the differences between the two main types of smart blinds—motorized blinds and retrofit blinds.

• Motorized blinds are purchased with the mechanism already included in its design. They have a lower profile, because they are self-contained, and they are very reliable.

• Retrofit blinds are regular blinds that have a motor added to make them compatible with smart home technology. They can be difficult to operate at first, but they are more affordable than motorized blinds.

1. Make Sure the Solution You Purchase Integrates With Your Existing System

Figuring out if you want to purchase brand-new blinds or you’re fine installing a smart home motor to your existing blinds is important, but it isn’t the only thing you have to think about. You also have to think about whether the system you’re interested in will integrate with your existing smart home system.

Some systems don’t play nicely with others. For example, some motorized shades will only work with the system that’s provided by the manufacturer. That can be really annoying because it would mean replacing all of the blinds in your home in order for them all to work properly, and it might mean using a separate app for your blinds than the rest of your smart home technology.

Will Your Blinds Integrate in the Future?

Not only do you have to think about whether or not your blinds will integrate with your system now, but you have to think about the future too! Smart home intelligence is continuing to evolve at a rapid pace. The last thing you want is for your blinds to become inactive because they won’t integrate with a new smart home system you install in the future.

Look for smart home technology that strives to make many partnerships with other companies. Although their technology might be a little shaky at first, you can feel relatively confident that they will integrate with more systems in the future.

Someday, blinds won’t even require you to push a button. All you’ll have to do is tell them to raise or lower! If you think carefully about what kind of smart blinds to get before you bring them home, you can enjoy the convenience and beauty of your blinds for many years to come, no matter how the technology evolves.

Author: Carmelo Hannity

photo/ Michael Jarmoluk via pixabay.com