Hi all,
What is the consensus on the best smart blind solution (which integrates with ST) currently available in the UK? There seem to be two types of products; those that are designed with all the smarts built into the design, like Ikea and then devices which you insert the chain into for them to control the blinds.
I need blinds for a couple of windows so would really appreciate some insight to help guide my purchase.
TIA!
Anyone able to offer any insight?
The simplest and least expensive will be the IKEA. There are some other Z wave options, but nothing with an easy set up.
Also, since this has come up in conversations in the past, there is a difference in terminology between the US and the UK. In the US, āblindsā most commonly refers to horizontal slats. A window covering that is a single piece of fabric is more commonly called a āshadeā in the US.
In the UK, however, almost any window covering other than curtains can be called a āblind.ā
Just noting that for US members wondering why IKEA would be a āblindsā recommendation. 
Lol, thanks for pointing out 
When you say nothing with an easy setup, how convuluted is it? Just curious to know the optionsā¦
Tagging @Alwas
I use Luxaflex Powerview Duette shades in the UK. They work well and integrate with ST, IFTTT and Alexa. Not cheap, but solid.
John Lewis also sells them, so peace of mind with a JL guaranteeā¦
Thanks! Iāll have a look at thoseā¦they donāt actually list Smartthings on their website so is it through IFTTT or direct but just not listed?
Custom Device Handler, found here, works well: [RELEASE] Hunter Douglas PowerView Hub integration
Anyone know how well this works and if it integrates with Smartthings?
Tuya/smartlife used to work via globe suite but they pulled support. Theyāve also pulled iftt support, so I wouldnāt rely on them working easily with smartthings
I just ordered an IKEA blind, its arriving next week. Iāll report back;)
Ah I didnāt realise the Ajax products were based on the Smart Life platform. Never mind.
Yes would be great if you could report back on the Ikea blinds. My window is about 149cm so the closest IKEA size for me would be the 140cm one but Iām not sure how well that would fit over my window as I gather the sizing they give isnāt the full width, itās just the blind itself. So would be useful to hear some details on that if you canā¦
I just read what it said in the link in your previous post:)
Blinds arrived and fitted today (Excuse the filler holes which Iām waiting to dry)
I ordered 120cm KADRILJ and didnāt realise it was the width of the material, not the entire unit so I ended up fitting outside the window recess (I find drilling inside the recess a pain anyway)
As you can see in the closed photo (itās quite bright here today) they definitely arenāt blackout but werenāt advertised as such, more to offer privacy and sun shade.
Pairing with the new app was dead easy. Just press the 2 buttons on the unit and they were discovered straight away. Iāve set a preset for them to come to the window sill, itās 46%. As a result ST thinks they are āpartially openā when Iād consider them closed. I need to figure out how to set the āclosedā length.
I didnāt play with the remote but from what Iāve read you canāt pair with ST and the remote, which kinda defeats the object to me. These are in my office, so only I use them but for other rooms I think Iād want to figure out manual control. Google assistant found them after re-scanning Smartthings but Iāve not tested out voice control yet.
My initial impression is that Iām pleased and will consider getting some more if I can figure out the dual control
Replying to myself (I know, I knowā¦)
You set the max drop length by double pressing one of the buttons on the blind unit when itās at the desired length. ST then considers this 100%
I then paired the remote as follows :
You need to reset the remote (press the button 4 times within 5s)
You can then pair it with ST, I choose to āaddā an Ikea dimmer.
Once itās seen in ST, you can add automations : Up button - open the blinds. Down button - Close the blinds
When you get a chance, could you measure the end to end width of the blinds? Would be useful to see the difference between advertised (material) width and full width.
Glad to hear the pairing was quick and easy - Iāve seen a lot of reviews of these blinds and the one common complaint seemed to be the pairing process so maybe theyāve addressed that.
Iād love them to come out with more sizes or custom sizes but the latter will go completely against the IKEA business model so highly unlikely to happen I know.
I measured mine as 125cm. If you expand the āProduct Sizeā on Ikea website, it shows it as 124.3cm. Seems the are all +4.3cm width. Itās annoying it was hidden away and I didnāt notice it but the next size down wouldnāt have covered my window properly anyway, even though it could have been in the window recess
Samsung recently introduced native support for the blinds, so maybe that improved the pairing experience ?
Ahh thanks for that. My window is in a recess too and Iād like to put the blinds inside, but the width is 149cm. So the 140cm blinds would be 145cm which would leave 2cm either side so just need to think through how that would look. I might order them to visually check and return if it doesnāt look right.
