Of all the smart home devices available to choose from, there are arguably few that are capable of transforming your views so completely of a categorically functional decor item as automatic window shades and blinds. Of course, this isn’t to say that every little bit of smart home tech isn’t very, very cool – it is – but think about it; how much time have you spent considering your window coverings after installing them?
While there are plenty of reasons to appreciate traditional window coverings, automated alternatives bring even more to the table in terms of benefits. Here’s a look at the top 5 reasons homeowners like you are falling in love with theirs.
Automated Smart Home Blinds are Incredibly Convenient
If you’ve ever had to control blinds the old fashioned way via a series of pull cords, you’ve likely muttered under your breath about how inconvenient this mode of control really is. Opening and closing blinds have, until recently, meant that you’d have to lean over couches or around lamps to access their controls, an act that not only lacks grace and sophistication, it can also be irritating if you have to do more than once throughout the day.
Smart shades can be controlled from a conveniently placed hub or using a smartphone, virtually eliminating the nuisance associated with physical operation. Better still, these items can be set to lower and raise at specific times of the day, allowing you to take advantage of the ever-changing position of the sun and unpredictable weather conditions. The truth is, many systems don’t even require you to be anywhere near the blinds/shades to control them, meaning you can control them from anywhere in the world, provided you have access to an Internet connection.
Not to put too fine a point on the convenience of automated window coverings, having the ability to remote control your blinds from any location, or assigning a schedule to your window shades, means you won’t ever have to rush back into the house after having left for work to open them, or get out of bed to close them.
Minimize Energy Use
For the environmentally conscious, having the ability to reduce things like heat loss in the winter and solar gain in the summer is huge. This means that your heating and cooling system won’t have to work as hard to maintain your desired temperature, which in turn reduces the energy used by your home.
Depending on which source of nonrenewable energy that is used (coal, natural gas,etc.), this energy reduction could translate into a significantly reduced carbon footprint.
To be fair, simply incorporating automated shades on their own into your home may make it difficult to achieve your green target (continuously monitoring UV levels and weather conditions around your home in order to raise/lower shades as appropriate can itself be tedious). For that reason, many homeowners choose to pair automated window coverings with Smart Hub, a sophisticated system that uses sensors to monitor external weather conditions in order to adjust the blinds/shades accordingly.
Did you know that adding automated shades can increase your home’s insulation rating? A typical, double glazed window has an R-Value (a ranking that quantifies a material’s ability to resist heat flow) of around 2.0. Honeycomb and roller blinds have an R-Value in the range of 4.3.
Conservationism aside, reducing the amount of energy used means that you can expect a commensurate reduction on your utility bills.
Smart Blinds Offer Enhanced Privacy and Security
While smart window coverings are not a replacement for traditional burglar alarms, installing them can add an additional layer of security to any space. By altering the schedule or remotely raising/lowering your blinds when you’re away, it will give potential burglars the impression that someone is home, even when no one is. While there are no guarantees, consider this – given the choice between your home and one that shows no activity whatsoever, a thief will most assuredly opt for the home that isn’t displaying any signs of occupancy.
Motorized solar shades are also often bought to increase the privacy of a home’s residents precisely because they can be controlled from another part of the home. Uncovered windows invite unwanted eyes, so it’s best to set them to lower automatically once the sun goes down.
Smart Window Blinds are Proven to be Child Safe
Some of you may recall hearing startlingly tragic news stories involving children and the cords used to control traditional blinds and shades. For those that haven’t, it may be enough to learn that it is estimated that one child under the age of ten dies from window cord strangulation each month. The fact that automated window shades and blinds have done away with such cords means that they are much safer than the alternative around children and pets.
Use Your Virtual Assistant to Control Your Blinds
Like many of your other smart home devices, automated window coverings can be integrated for use with your virtual assistant (Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri) of choice. Operation via a smartphone or tablet is convenient, there’s no doubt, but true smart devices need to provide the user with the ability to operate the device by issuing a voice command.
It’s fair to say that if even one of the benefits described above appeals to you, you really should consider making the upgrade. But even if your reason for choosing an alternative to conventional window coverings is not represented, you can still purchase them with confidence knowing that you’ll be able to enjoy all the other great benefits at no additional cost to you. The question is, what are you waiting for?
