Z-Wave + integrated blinds/shades: Custom Graber Virtual Cord Shades

Neal,

We’re just about ready to do our low voltage wiring for our new home build, and I was wanting to obtain a bit more information on the home-run motor before we buy a few (we have 14 or so windows we’d like to run power to initially). For example, I’ve seen mentioned 2 conductor 12-18 AWG wire depending on the run length, but would in-wall speaker cable work for that since it comes in those gauges and # of wires in the cable? I’ve got more questions regarding the cable runs as well, but let’s start with that. Sorry also of this is the wrong place for questions like this.

Thanks!

Pmed (10 char)

Are the dual battery cases different than the single or are they ‘daisy chained’? i.e. Could you purchase a single battery case and then buy another one in the future to make it a dual?

Also I saw on the Graber site they have a solar power option? Does this work with the virtual cord blinds?

Daisy Chained. Solar is only for the RTS motors, won’t work with z-wave/virtual cord.

If they are Daisy chained then you can buy the single battery case and then buy an additional battery case later if you want longer between recharge periods?

Yep, you can add an additional battery case later on. For some sizes, we do force you to choose dual battery cases.

Got our first pair of blinds today. Installation was a snap and the sizing was perfect. They look really nice. Pairing with ST and changing from switch to dimmer wasn’t bad after watching one of the videos in the original post. Will likely be looking do do a lot more windows soon. It would be nice to save a few bucks and not get the remote included. I don’t see ever using them and most of the windows will be operated in sets of 2 or 4 so I will end up with dozens of those little remotes hah.

The batteries are still bothering me a bit. 30ish windows in the house so that’s like 500 AA batteries to keep up with, seems insane. I really wish our builder had put in hard wiring for motorized blinds.

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Which shades did you purchase? The batteries are an issue when you have that many windows (especially since Somfy only supports AA’s on these), do you have any outlets close to some of your windows? If you do you can change them to a plugin transformer. It comes with a 72" lead and a 96" extension so it can go quite far.

For the remote, there really isn’t an option to get it without the remote currently since these are also meant for users without a HA system; so Graber doesn’t give us the option to not include the remote. On the plus side using the DH by @whoismoses on the original post you can repurpose them to control lights etc.

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I got the cellular blackout shades for the bedroom. I’m sure we have some outlets but I don’t like the idea of an exposed cord either. I was going to look into re-purposing some of the remotes. I got eric’s shady device handler working, and was trying to get the shady smart app to control multiple blinds as one device. I installed the smart app via the API but not sure how to select it or find it in the app.

If you have the SmartApp already installed in your IDE and published then do the following:

  1. In the ST app, go to Automations, then SmartApps tab
  2. Scroll down to Add a SmartApp, then scroll down to My Apps
  3. You can find Shady in there, select it
  4. Select New Shade Automation
  5. Select the shades, give it a group name, assign a name (I gave it the same as the group name) and hit Done.
  6. Now you have a Thing in your Thing’s list with the name you just gave it. Controlling it controls the entire group.

I can’t get “my Apps” section to show up in the app even tho it shows up in my IDE. have tried logging out and back in to the app, need to do some trouble shooting on it.

I am pretty sure you are affected by the current outage then:

I currently am not… but trying not to jinx it :sweat_smile:

OK i had to go to the code in the IDE and then click “publish” and “for me” and now it shows up in the app.

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These blinds and shades look really COOL to add to a Smarthome! I just received my order of 3 roller shades Graber Z-Wave.I’m doing inside-the-frame-mounting and I’ll take a little video of the installation and final operation of the rollers when I install them in a couple of days. Everything looks like it was packaged right with all components included. But the one thing that makes me comfortable is the VIDEO instructions that NEAL posted on this forum, so that while I’m trying to get them connected and operational with my z-wave network and Smartthings Hub, I have those VIDEOS to go-to for instructions. Because there is one thing I noticed on the ZebraBlinds website . . .while in the ordering process…there isn’t really any detailed instruction of how to order what you need or want, to use these with a smarthome integration. No illustrations of the mechanisms you get to choose from or how they integrate, and even when you go to FAQ section of the website, there is no instructions for the Smarthome buyer. Like how to troubleshoot, or programming instructions for z-wave, etc. I don’t know why they don’t have NEAL’s, VIDEO FAQ section on the website… they would probably gain more sales, if they did. Because when I plunk down over thousands of dollars for a product, that’s what I want to see, to reassure me that I have the support and easy to follow information to ease my anxiety when spending that kind of money! Thank you NEAL! We’ll see how these go, and I have many more windows in my home :wink: Todd

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Hey Todd,

Thanks for the feedback, we are actually having a major sitewide update coming in a few weeks time. Everything is changing, and part of the change is an all new knowledgebase with a dedicated section for SmartThings as well as other hubs.

Right now all hands are on deck to get all the changes completed.

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Hey Neal,

That’s good news for your company. The Smarthome evolution is starting to explode and from what I can see from your products,…you guy’s have the most simple-to-install- and get operational product than anyone else on the market at this time…so ZebraBlinds better take advantage of that fact, alone! I would also take it to the next level, and explain how they are operational through a smarthome assistance device like Amazon Echo and Google Home. Good luck and hope you get a promotion soon!! Todd

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I am looking at ordering six 24x70 shades from zebrablinds also. So please feel free to share any tips. Looking forward to seeing that video!

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@jimimoore In the meantime, if you have any questions or something I can help with feel free to message.

@toddsworld btw, which shades did you buy?

Hey Neal,

I bought 3 of these. . . .

Virtual Cord Z-Wave LightWeaves® Graber® Roller Shades
Mount
Inside Mount
Width
72
Width Fraction
1/4
Height
70
Height Fraction
1/4
Cambridge LF 76 / Cambridge LF 92 / Harmony / Sheffield
Harmony Cityscape 02601
Power Package
Plug-In Transformer with Virtual Cord™ Control
Virtual Cord Remote
Included

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Please keep me updated on the install, also if you run into any problems.