You might assume that smart blinds are all battery-powered, but there are more ways to power your motorised blinds. In this blog, I’m going to explain three different types of power sources utilised in window shadings; mains, battery and solar – as each has benefits and downsides.

1A. MAINS POWERED – LINE VOLTAGE

Old-school automated blinds and some modern smart blinds, use line voltage—the same voltage found at the outlets in your home. If you’ve ever been in a home with old-school automated blinds—long before smart home tech was common and even holiday lights were automated and cloud-connected, some high-end homes had semi-automated systems controlled by switches or remotes—there is one thing that stood out: the noise. Even to this day, line voltage mains motors are regarded as very noisy which is not always the case as over the years much quieter AC motors have been developed. Now,

 the noise produced by the latest generation of line voltage motors in many cases is comparable with battery motors. If the noise level of your blinds is an important factor it’s vital to ask your retailer to provide the technical specifications of the motors before you make your purchase decision. One area where line voltage-powered blinds shine is strength. They may be a little bit louder, but if you’re moving large blinds or heavy curtains, they’ll do so consistently and without worrying about straining the motor or swapping the batteries frequently. Line voltage motors are ideal for large windows in residential or commercial spaces.

Example of a mains powered roller blind motor with technical specification and wiring digrams.

1B. MAINS POWERED – LOW VOLTAGE

Low voltage systems use direct current (DC) at 12 or 24 volts. Rarely–and like line-voltage setups usually only on higher-end custom homes where a home is wired for low-voltage wiring to each window to drive the window blind motors. In that case, the smart blinds run off low-voltage DC provided by a low-voltage adaptor plugged in nearby. On the upside, you never have to swap the batteries. On the downside—just like with wired line-voltage options—there is a wire dangling down your wall and a bunch of outlets taken up by your smart blind adaptors. It works, but it’s less than ideal.

2. BATTERY POWERED

If you’ve done any smart blind shopping, perhaps in a bid to round out your smart bedroom, you’ve surely noticed that the vast majority of the direct-to-consumer options on the market are battery-powered. They require no speciality wiring or connection to line voltages but instead use external or internal batteries. There are three types of batteries that are utilised in smart window shadings. Plain old alkaline batteries that last up to 5 years of usage. External batteries that are charged once or twice a year. And, permanent internal batteries that are charged in place to get around 6 to 12

months of run time. The motors with external and internal batteries are usually supplied with a charger and most modern smart blinds can be charged via the micro USB or USB-C cable.  Whatever the battery type, the battery-powered options offer the convenience of not tying up your outlets or requiring any special wiring, eliminating the hassle of installing your blinds. With the battery option, all you need to do is just make sure the motor gets charged every 6-12 months.

Popular battery-powered window shadings: DreamRange , Eve MotionBlinds

2. SOLAR POWER

There are a few options on the market with a power source that is a rather useful and obvious solution when you stop to think about it. Solar power might be useful for powering your outdoor security cameras, but it is useless for most technology in your home for want of consistent access to the sun. But your window treatments are right there at the window, making solar-powered smart blind motors a natural fit. At the moment, the most popular solution to harness the sun’s power to operate your blinds are solar panels which you can stick to the window or place on the window sill. Naturally, small solar

panels are only well-suited for windows that get full or partial sun throughout the day. When used in north-facing windows, you should expect a modest benefit but not the never-needs-charging effect you’d get from southern window placement. On the other hand, in many cases, solar panels are not used as a main power source but as an alternative to keeping the battery charge level up.