Did You Know That You Can Do Battery-Powered Shades?

You’ll have a lot of choices to make when adding motorized shades to your home in the Dunwoody or Metro Atlanta area. There are various control, model, and fabric options available. Then there’s the decision of how you want to power your shades. A lot of clients don’t realize they can pick between hard-wired shades and battery-powered ones.

The right choice, as with most technology, will come down to your family’s priorities and your home’s limitations. Are you most interested in having a lot of control options or a quick installation? Are you in new construction or looking for an upgrade to an existing home? This blog focuses primarily on the benefits of battery-powered shades and offers some recommendations from our Lutron partners.

SEE MORE: Discover the Energy-Saving Benefits of Motorized Shades

What Are the Benefits of Battery-Powered Shades?

Have an existing home you want to upgrade with motorized shades? Retrofit projects benefit from the more straightforward installation associated with battery-powered shades. Don't worry about having visible wiring or having to open up walls to get a hard-wired installation. With battery-powered shades, all you have to do is attach them at the top of the window and program them.

Often, we also recommend battery-powered shades for hard-to-reach windows where there’s no nearby outlet and wiring would be difficult or particularly intrusive. Designing a solution for these windows is especially important since they're the ones that benefit most from centralized or automated control. 

While having wired shades will yield more reliable solutions in larger, new-construction homes, battery-powered ones are often simpler to maintain and repair. Easily accessible drivers make it easy to replace batteries or motors as needed. It's also easier to troubleshoot since there are fewer components involved, instead of having to figure out if it's a driver or wiring connection causing a problem.

What Are the Best Choices for Battery-Powered Shades?

Lutron offers two battery-powered shading options: Serena and Sivoia QS Triathlon. Both let you choose between roller shades or honeycomb shades. With Battery Boost Technology that combines additional batteries and current management, the shade batteries should last at least five years in most homes.

Each shade can be mounted inside the window frame, on the frame, or the wall above the frame.  Drivers within the shades are much quieter than other battery-powered options, allowing for near-silent usage. You will also have a variety of fabric and color options available. According to how you plan on using them, choose between sheer, translucent, or blackout shades.

Serena Shades

Many people are familiar with Lutron's entry-level battery-shade option: Serena. Affordable and easy to install, they are often one of the first smart home upgrades our clients make. You can have easy control of your shades from a Pico remote, Lutron app or Siri voice commands within minutes. At sizes of up to 96 inches wide and 120 inches tall, they can cover almost any window. There are twelve standard colors to choose from, so you can find the one that best fits your interior design.

Sivoia QS Triathlon Shades

For clients with home automation or lighting control systems in place, Triathlon may be a better option. You can order custom-made blinds based on the style, fabric, size (up to 144 inches wide and tall) and mounting option you want. Incorporating the shades with the rest of your smart technology is simple for more advanced control options.

Not only can you use additional keypads and Amazon Alexa, but you can also create more elaborate smart scenes. While Serena shades are limited to timed scenes, you can integrate Triathlon shades with all of your smart technology to trigger them. For example, have shades close automatically when your thermostat reaches a specific temperature or when you turn on the projector in your home media room.

Want to learn more about the motorized shades options for your home in the Dunwoody area?

From their benefits to common installation tips, we can help! Set up a consultation by calling (770) 955-8909, contacting us here, or chatting with us on the bottom right corner of your screen. We look forward to hearing from you!