Motorized Blinds

The usage of remote control is not confined to only operating your electrical and electronic devices like television, DVD player and air conditioner because it can also be used for operating motorized blinds at your office or home. Using a remote control you can carry upward or downward adjustments of blinds without having to leave your seat. The motor needed for movements of blinds is located in the roller tube and is not visible to the onlooker. This is another technological development that is available at reasonable prices and you should not be hesitant or have any apprehensions of using this system for your window blinds.

If the windows in your office or home are high, motorized blinds with a remote control are your best bet for privacy and security. These can also be used in windows of media rooms. You may also have motorized blinds that have remote controlled automatic timers as an added feature. Should you decide to have automatic blinds, they come with a lot of different features. For example some are meant for just raising or lowering the blinds while others have only raise and tilt or lower and tilt features only.

You can have your kind of blinds and get them custom made to work on electric or battery operated motors. The other options include light filter, sunscreen, or blackout features. Apart from remote control, you may also have a sun-sensing timer. You may use a wall switch also for operating the automatic blind. As you can see there are a lot of features and options available but each serves a specific requirement.

There is another variety of electrically operated horizontal blinds or vertical blinds that have motors fixed in the head rail. The horizontal design has two-foot slats of aluminum. Because of the electric motor, installing motorized blinds is slightly more complex than the ones operated by batteries. If you like to do it on your own, you should follow the given instructions very carefully. Yet, it’s better to hire the services of a professional in case you decide to install motorized blinds.

Depending upon the kind of motor and the blinds that you opt to have, the price starts from $200 and goes up. In case you want to economize on the cost, you would better opt for the battery operated version. However, keep in mind that the battery operated version causes recurring expense for batteries.

It’s not difficult to imagine the benefits of having installed motorized blinds at office and home. Suppose you were writing an important memo at office or going through some interesting book at home and enjoying coffee when suddenly glare of the sun enters through the window and diverts your attention. With a remote control by your side, you don’t have to get up and adjust the blinds. You can very conveniently adjust the positioning of the blinds without having to get up from your chair. Moreover, it proves to be cost effective by controlling the sunrays that enter to warm your room.
 
Motorized blinds are of great help if you have an elderly person at home, as also a disabled or handicapped person affected by arthritis or gout. Motorized blinds are certainly a big relief because of the hectic lifestyle of most people. They surely add to your convenience and make life a bit more comfortable. It will be in order to conclude that motorized blinds are no more a luxury but a necessity.

Having a remote to control the functions of a blind is an aid to comfort ant not a necessity. It allows you to raise or lower the shades or to open and close the slats of your blinds my merely pushing a button. And, how does one operate those blinds and shades placed at difficult to reach places, for example skylights.

Before going into the details of a motorized control of window blinds or shades, let’s understand the kind of motion or movement that each kind is subjected to. Window blinds allow the control of light by their opening and closing. This motion is called tilt and can be achieved thru a motor that can be remote controlled. Likewise, window shades may be motorized to facilitate their raising or lowering by making them unroll or roll up. This kind of a motion is known as lift. In short it is possible to motorize both the movements, the slit, as well the lift, and the motor in turn can be remote controlled.

The motor incorporated in blinds or shades, for being controlled remotely, would necessarily involve the purchase of a remote control for it to function. Yes, one may often operate a number of motorized blinds or shades with the same remote control.

Depending on the desired functions that a motor may have to perform, the design of a remote control could vary. There are two different principles of operation. One uses the principle of infrared or “line of sight”, whereas the other uses transmission at radio frequencies. It becomes evident from the name itself that the latter can be used without having to point it out in the direction of the object, that is a shade or a blind in the present case.

Having understood the technicalities, these are the types of window shades available with motorized lift option: cellular shades, pleated shades, solar shades, sheer shades and pleated shades plus the woven wood blinds, more popularly called as bamboo shades. Cellular or cell shades often addressed as honeycombs are good for providing better insulation thru windows. Pleated shades though look similar to cellular do not provide the same level of insulation. Their small crisp accordion like pleats fold up rather than rolling up. Solar shades while blocking incoming light preserve views. Their level of opacity varies from three to fourteen percent, the higher this level the more is the visibility. Solar shades offer maximum protection against UV rays of the sun and also help to restrict solar heat. Sheer blinds are not too well known. These are like hybrid shades comprising two sheer fabric facings over soft fabric vanes. Sheer vertical blinds, on the other hand, have light filtering material between hanging fabric or vinyl vanes.

You may have blinds with motor controlled tilt motion in these varieties: mini blinds or wood and faux wood blinds. Mini blinds are too well known and need not be described here. Wood or faux wood blinds come with real hardwood slats or vinyl slats with the appearance of real wood. These are available in different slat sizes, depending on the size of the window that needs to be covered. The thumb rule is the larger the window, the bigger the size of the slat. The slat size may vary from just1/2” for mini wood blinds to 2 ½ “ for bigger windows.

It’s not very long ago that a remote control was primarily developed to control different functions of TV or a music system. Soon thereafter it was exploited to control speed of fans and air conditioners and operation of other electronic devices like a computer or a printer. And, now you get remote controls for operation of blinds on your windows. That means you no more require a cord for opening or closing of window coverings. Because the arrangement makes use of a motor to perform different functions, these are known as motorized blinds.

Top-Notch Technology

Latest technology is incorporated for making motorized blinds that not only makes them very durable, but also offers an extended life of blinds. As far as styles are concerned, you may get them in the same verities as the cordless or manual-cordless operation. These are available in vinyl, fabric and wood too. Further, theses can be employed for operation of vertical or horizontal blind and shades also.

Safety

A very important advantage of remote controlled blinds is the safety they provide, especially if you have kids around. No more it will be cause of worry for you that the child may harm itself while fiddling with the cords. Likewise, they are much safer to use than a ladder, wherever you have high windows. So, the chances of any unpleasant accident are almost reduced to zero. Here’s a device that offers a very safe and convenient operation in a very short time, without any physical strain of any kind.

Yet, you don’t find motorized blinds being used too often. The reason is that a majority of consumers are not aware of the availability of such a product. And, we have got so used to those corded ones that we tend to believe that’s the only way to operate window dressings. Partly, the responsibility lies with the owners of the stores too. They display the traditional variety more prominently than the latest available versions.

Too Expensive!

Another reason for their not gaining popularity is the wrong notion people have about their prices. They fear it might be too expensive. But, that is not really true. Of course, they are a bit more expensive than their counterparts but not so expensive that an average householder should find these unaffordable. One doesn’t have to be too rich to enjoy the convenience and benefits of such a device.

There is no doubt that remote controlled blinds, shutters and shades have revolutionized the industry.  They have a lot to offer in terms of safety and convenience. Nevertheless, they need better marketing techniques. There are many who are not even aware of their being there. It’s really surprising that even most of the online stores do not display these motorized items as much as they could.

It would not be improper to say that in the foreseeable future the manufacturers will find ways to make the currently popular devices of pulling cords for window dressing an item of the past. Of course, we will continue to have people who would feel operation of traditional accessories to be more comfortable, but only till they have been persuaded to try and find for themselves the benefits of using modern technology as incorporated in items of daily use.