SmartThings Community

**djnightlife** · August 20, 2014, 1:45pm

This is sick!! How much money is involved in all those blinds?

**Tyler** · August 20, 2014, 1:46pm

No clue Not sure if they were here when we moved into the place or not.

**Mbhforum** · August 20, 2014, 1:58pm

I am pricing out Somfy with a local dealer for my Home Depot Silhouttes on my bay window which has 5 shades. It’s a pain to manually do 5 all of the time. Does anyone know if you can schedule these to go up and down at certain times (like sunset when it’s sunny, etc). Other than opening or closing them which you can do from the remote, trying to see if there has been any cool use cases in SmartThings for these?

**Tyler** · August 20, 2014, 2:05pm

Yes, you can schedule them to close or open at a certain time. We’ve even experimented with using the lux values from an Aeon Multi to open or close it automatically depending on the brightness in the room. That didn’t work too well as it’s a very bright room even when the shades are closed.

**Mbhforum** · August 20, 2014, 2:09pm

That’s good to know. I will see the pricing and decide if it’s worth it. So does the Somfy Z-Wave to RTS Interface ZRTSI replace anything from a base Somfy install? Or do you purchase it on top of what is needed to be installed?

**Tyler** · August 20, 2014, 2:10pm

I didn’t set this up but my understanding is that the bridge is needed in addition to a base installation.

**Mbhforum** · August 20, 2014, 2:11pm

Ok, the reason I asked is I am having a local dealer price out a base Somfy install as I told her I will be taking care of the home automation piece. I wanted to know if the Somfy Z-Wave to RTS Interface ZRTSI needs to replace something that would normally be in the base install or it’s just an add-on.

**Dlee** · August 21, 2014, 2:45am

We are looking at blinds as well so great to see we can probably integrate the RTS interface with ST. Makes it easier to narrow down from selection.

In the research I did I came to the conclusion that you still need to buy one of the somfy remotes with your motorized shades/blinds/curtains so that you can program the start/stop/preset points of the given motors. One remote or other controller can control all your motors. Then you need the Z-wave to RTS bridge to control the motors. The Z-wave RTS device cannot be used to program and I think it will also not communicate open/closed status back to ST. All it does is move the blinds/shades one way or the other, assuming I understand correctly.

**mbial** · August 21, 2014, 4:36pm

For any of you out there looking to purchase the Somfy Z-Wave to RTS bridge (ZRTSI II) I am able to get them at a very reduced price. Just message me.

Best,
Matt

**ThatAdamGuy** · August 24, 2014, 8:28pm

I just bought my first-ever townhome (!) and am contemplating jumping into the whole Home Automation / SmartThings universe :).

My new place has blinds in the living room, study, and bedroom. Some questions…

I looked on the Somfy site, but didn’t get any indication of pricing. I imagine that this stuff isn’t cheap, but… can anyone give me an even rough estimate of what I’d be spending here? Seems like about $200 and up for the controller, plus potentially upgraded blinds or shades… and…?
Does installation of this stuff typically require much handiness / a contractor, or is it pretty easy to diy?
Any significant caveats with this stuff and SmartThings?

Thanks!

**Jeremy13** · September 1, 2014, 2:13pm

Matt - thank you for posting this. Equally important to many of us on this board is not the issue of getting them, but getting them to work with SmartThings. Have you been able to successfully pair and operate the ZRTSI II with ST?

**mbial** · October 6, 2014, 5:45pm

Good news everybody!

I have received my first shipment of Somfy ZRTSI II z-wave bridges. The device initially pairs to SmartThings as a generic “Z-Wave controller”. You then have to also pair each channel (it supports up to 16) to SmartThings. Each channel (set of shades) is identified as a “Z-Wave Dimmer” and works perfectly out of the box for fully opening or closing the shades. I have not yet tried to modify the device type to permit “dimming” to have shades partially open (40% open, etc.). I have attached some screen grabs to reinforce usage with ST.

Please let me know if you are interested in one of these devices at a massively discounted price.

Best,
Matt

**thom** · October 6, 2014, 6:00pm

Do you have a link to where you bought this?

**solerunner** · October 6, 2014, 6:01pm

I would be interested, Matt.

**mbial** · October 6, 2014, 6:07pm

The best price you’ll find anywhere online is $334 (+$14.05 for shipping) at Automated Shade Store. The part number is 1811265 and you can see more information at the link.

I am offering the same item, new in box, for $229 each - a savings of over 33%.

Please PM me if you’re interested, don’t post here. Thanks for your interest!

Best,
Matt

**thom** · October 6, 2014, 6:21pm

How much are the window controllers? $229 isn’t too bad, but if each window is $100, then it’s going to be too expensive a solution.

**mbial** · October 6, 2014, 6:27pm

@thom - Unfortunately I only have access to the ZRTSI device itself, not the motors, etc. I have used Somfy at my former business (home automation integration) and in 2 of my residences and can say that they are excellent and reliable motors…along with the ZRTSI, this is looking to be a very promising solution at any price.

**thom** · October 6, 2014, 7:47pm

@mbial oh, ok. Do you at least have a model number or link to the motors? I’m really interested in automating some blinds, but I can’t make a move w/o knowing how deep I’m about to dive in

**mbial** · October 6, 2014, 8:17pm

@thom There are many Somfy motors (some are curtains, shutters, shades, etc.) and I believe they come in multiple sizes/power ratings (depending on the weight of the load). Some of their lighter-weight motors even come in battery-power (which is really convenient if you dont have power near your window). Take a look on eBay - there appear to be some really good deals on some Somfy parts there. Hopefully the Somfy website can also help provide some guidance.

**chacho_morales** · October 7, 2014, 3:31am

yes finally y can finish my house, Mbial can you share with the the device code for the Somfy ZRTSI II Z-wave, I didn’t find it… :), I can imagine each channel is a motor, right? and other question what is the distance between ZRTSI II and the somfy controller ?

Somfy Motorized Blinds (Z-Wave)