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Thread: Motorized Blinds

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    2,758

    Motorized Blinds

    We are considering motorized blinds for a window 88" wide x 60" high. Lowe's and others cary Bali brand and I think they use Somfy motors. We have a few questions;

    Are the battery powered ones ok or should we bite the bullet and hardwire them?

    How loud are they?

    Are they reliable?

    Would you buy them again?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Cedar Park, TX (NW Austin)
    Posts
    578
    I have never used battery operated but they would seem to be a pain to recharge. For the price you pay for motorized blinds the cost for hardwiring is a marginal. Also look online. I bought many blinds at star decorating for about 2/3 the price of the big boxes.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
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    I bought some 72" wide x48" high "cellular shades" from HD, Lutron brand I believe. They operate on "D" cells in the upper cross piece. I installed them five years ago, use them once a day and still on the original batteries. Very quiet, you almost cannot hear them. They come with a wireless remote fob, same batteries there too. Love them, never a hiccup. Hard wiring seems like it would be a pain and somewhat unsightly if there is a transformer involved. Unnecessary.
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 11-18-2018 at 7:02 PM.
    NOW you tell me...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Hot Springs, VA
    Posts
    763
    We installed motorized blinds on 72" wide kitchen window. Battery operated (AA size), very quiet, still on first set of batteries after one year. We not using it every day, probably 4-5 times wind/unwind per week. It is not from big store, like HD - some small local company.
    Ed.

  5. #5
    Wire them. Changing the batteries is a pain and eventually you'll have batteries leak in the unit (which sometimes destroys the unit).

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  6. #6
    Hi, A friend of mine has been in the motorized window covering business for about 20 years, back when it was a niche reserved for the rich and famous.
    According to him, the clear answer to your question would have been to hardwire, that is until 2-3 years ago when the motors running on battery became considerably more powerful and efficient.
    Now his recommendation to customers is to go with battery units unless it is a new construction situation where hard wiring is easy. Expect the batteries to last 3-5 years. Maybe quite a bit longer if you get the super long life batteries, the type they make for smoke detectors.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Highland MI
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    Three people with first hand experience say use batteries, two with no first hand experience say hard wire. How often do we see this when someone asks for advise?
    NOW you tell me...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    2,203
    Check blindsgalore.com. Delivery from them is sorta slow but they've got the lowest prices I've found on the web.

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