Twist rod blinds

Devices & Integrations
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1

I searched the forum and have not seen anything on this topic since about 2016. Ideally, I would like to control just one existing window blind that is currently operated by a twist rod.

Having it auto open and close with time of day, or the sun would be a bonus, but not needed. Looking for recommendations

EDIT:

EZ Wand looks to be the most affordable around $85 dollars, but I do not see anyone who has this working with Smartthings. Ezwand uses RF 433. I suppose if I wanted to pair this with a harmony hub, I could achieve some kind of ST integration right? Then I could also use the harmony hub and ST to control the TV and such?

Flipflic also looks interesting, considering it uses Zigbee, but I do not see any real updates on that project

2

Are you talking about horizontal blinds? Try searching for that. This is the one that I did:

There’s also:

But those work well for multiple blinds.

4

Ryan,

Thanks for your reply. I did some digging in one of the threads you sent and saw this for vertical blinds. I have never 3D printed anything, but apparently I can order this motor right from the page? What was the total cost on the project? Thanks

5

I ordered mine from Amazon. And I didn’t do the whole battery operated ones, just the ESP 8266 ones. Total cost for me was probably around $40.

6

Are you saying that you ordered the motor from amazon, or the wifi receiver?

I was under the impression that I would have to have the motor and housing printed, and then order the ESP8266 wifi receiver from amazon. Sorry for all of the questions, this is all pretty foreign to me

7

I ordered both. You can’t print the motor. It’s a standard servo. This isn’t the type of project you should undertake unless you have some knowledge of the Arduino IDE and ESP8266 programming. It’s a little complicated. Also, I looked at the EZ wand. Watch the video on the site about how the remote control works. I don’t think it would work well with Harmony. You have to push the button to open them and hold it until they are in the right position. There are no presets to pick from or anything like that. Plus, I didn’t get a good feeling that the Harmony would even be able to pick the signal up.

8

Your prayers have been answered (5 years later)

I installed it today. Paired super easy with SmartThings hub.
Will also open close based on sunlight and heat sensor, or with automation

Gen. 2 Hybrid (FM and Zigbee) Single E-Wand - Motorize and Automate Slatted Blinds - Retrofit. Released June 2021 https://a.co/d/d9dM5Ml