Do the perfect motorized roller shades exist?

Devices & Integrations Connected Things
1

Hi,
I’m in the market for some roller shards and want to see if anyone has run across something that needs my needs.

  1. Roller shades (not cellular shades or pleated shades)
  2. D cell battery wand so I don’t have to replace them constantly.
  3. batteries integrated into the head rail so they aren’t visible
  4. true zwave integration rather than RF with a hub that fires off a signal and hopes the blinds get it

I haven’t found anything but wanted to check.

So far I’ve found:
Bali/somfy: AA batteries, exposed wand, RF controls.
Zebra: AA batteries, hidden wand, true zwave shades
Lutron: D Batteries, hidden wand, RF controls, $$$
Powershades: AA batteries, hidden wand, RF controls.
Leviosa: D batteries, hidden wand, RF controls.

Do the perfect motorized roller shades exist? I’m leaning towards the leviosa and hoping the hub works well. I’m surprised there aren’t more true zwave shades other than the zebra.

Thanks for any advice

2

You said Z wave, but…

Ikea has a new line Of motorized Zigbee shades which are very likely to work with smartthings as the other devices in the same model line do.

You didn’t say what country you are in, but since you said Lutron was a candidate, I’m going to guess US.

The IKEA shades are coming out at different times in different countries. Right now the US ones are expected April 2, 2019.

The expected prices are very low relative to the competition, and it looks like it has most of the other features you were looking for

So you might want to at least research those as well. :sunglasses:

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BTW, “RF“ just means “radio frequency.“ Z wave is an RF technology. One of many, including Bluetooth, Zigbee, WiFi, Lutron Clear Connect, etc So I wasn’t 100% sure what distinctions you were trying to draw there.

But if you meant “zwave can connect directly to the smartthings hub,“ then the IKEA should fit into that category as well. :sunglasses:

4

I believe the Leviosa now have a cloud to cloud integration via a WiFi bridge.they were recently added as an integration in smartthings (new app)

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Thank you.

Yes, I’m in the US. By RF, I meant “dumb RF”. :slight_smile:

I’m looking for something that knows that it’s open, knows it’s closed, can report to the hub, etc. My understanding is that the non-zebra systems have limited reporting, don’t guaranteed command receipt, and have limited ability to open to specific positions. Happy to hear from lutron and leviosa users that this isn’t the case.

I haven’t considered the Ikea system just because it’s Ikea, ya know? I can’t imagine they’re going to be high quality but maybe I’ll wait to be proven wrong.

6

Ikea’s other zigbee devices have been quite good. The bulbs work well with smartthings, have been better repeaters than many of the competitors, and are both less expensive and brighter than much of the competition.

The blinds are too new to have any review history yet.

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tagging @LeviosaShades

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There is also Axis Gear
Zigbee, AA/solar/plugin power, can be exposed or hidden, custom DTM or default Zigbee dimmer or switch DTH, can handle any shade/curtain with a cord or bead chain.

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I have had Leviosa for over 2 years now and am pretty happy with them. Only changed 1 set of batteries (of many shades) so far but that shade is 108" wide and used many times a week. The D-cell batteries definitely are worth it. I have friends with rechargeable systems that paid much more money and tell me they have to charge some shades every 4 months.
I ordered 2 Leviosa "Zone"s (wifi bridges) when they launched last year and while RF (wifi) based, my shades operate consistently. I was frustrated early with some App bugs and some timelines were missed (such as ST), but these have worked out with updates and they are now official partners with Samsung (and Alexa, GH). The ST integration reports status and controls the shade position (up/down) and is consistent now with the App position. It does not control or report % opening - in case that is important to you. I just have too many shades to need that function. What is really cool is the ability to name every individual shade whatever I want, then control by voice or as a group, or all Zones at once, even away from home.
You can research the prices - they all have increased since 2017. Glad Ikea is entering the market, but am leary about rechargeables (and that is a small battery in the video!), and I didn’t see any ability to order custom sizes and fabrics I need. Net, I plan to purchase 4 more Leviosa for my upstairs office shortly. But I am hardwiring those since I have power nearby, and Leviosa has smaller bracket and valance options for those (and up to 16 feet wide).
Good luck in your search!

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Thanks for the honest feedback on the Leviosa. Just want to make sure I’m hearing you right: Do the Leviosa allow you to open the shades 50%, for example?

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Leviosa allows me to open and close my shades fully, or to preset midpoints (up to 5). I don’t know how - or they don’t have the capability - to open to a specific percent since I don’t need that function. Most of my shades do not have midpoints, so they fully open and close on each command. My patio shades have mid-points set, so Leviosa will stop at the midpoint or I easily bypass that midpoint with a long press in App, vs short press, or say “open”/“close” instead of “lower”/“raise”. That state is reported by ST (display), or by voice (i have both GH and Alexa in the house). Hope this helps.

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Got it. That’s awesome. I can see why some people would want 100 midpoints, but I think 5 would be fine for me. I appreciate the feedback. I’m leaning even more in the Leviosa direction now.

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I agree the Ikea bulbs are good. I bought 10 at the only store around, which is 30 miles away, . One of them did not light, and Ikea sent me a replacement without my having to go back to the store. These are 1000 lumen, brighter than most. The only caveat is they don’t work with SmartThings without going into the IDE and changing it to ZLL Dimmer bulb. That is minor. and I am happy with the bulbs.

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Hi i have blaupunkt roller shutter scm-s1 zigbee pro ha 1.2… how can i add to my smartthings hub?
I need a custom handler or i can use Zigbee Window Shade type
Thanks a lot