Lighting and shades
What do motorized shades do for a Bonney Lake or Tehaleh home?
Tehaleh's big windows and Bonney Lake's newer builds get a lot of sun and a lot of view. PowerShades motorized shades manage both from a phone, a keypad or a schedule. Here is what we install and how to choose the power method.
Motorized shades manage the sun and the view in a Bonney Lake or Tehaleh home from a phone, a keypad or a schedule. True PoE motors suit new construction, wired low-voltage suits retrofits with access, and rechargeable wireless motors suit finished homes. Rivas Technology Group installs PowerShades and ties them to Control4 scenes.
By Ivan Rivas, Owner and Sales Engineer · 2025-10-23 · Updated 2026-09-17
What do motorized shades do?
Four things you notice within a week. Comfort: every window in the house moves from one app, remote or keypad, with no cords. Energy: shades close on hot afternoons and open on cool mornings on their own, which lowers the HVAC load. Protection: floors and furniture stop fading while the room keeps its daylight. Routine: morning, movie-night and vacation schedules run without anyone thinking about them.
What are indoor PowerShades like?
Quiet, precise and made to disappear. PowerShades indoor rollers come in hundreds of fabrics, light-filtering, blackout and patterned, with custom valance and fascia options so the hardware is hidden (PowerShades). Motors are True PoE, wired or wireless, and every shade integrates with Control4 and with voice, so a lighting scene can include the windows. The daily manual adjustment goes away, and the room's light changes on schedule.
What about outdoor shades?
They make a covered patio usable in more months. PowerShades exterior systems are wind-resistant and weather-rated, block sun and insects, run on wireless or PoE power, and integrate with patio lighting and heaters. On the covered decks common to Tehaleh's Northwest-style homes, an outdoor shade lowering as the afternoon sun comes around is the difference between using the deck and retreating inside.
True PoE, wired or wireless: which power method?
It depends on whether the walls are open.
| Power method | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| True PoE | New construction or remodel | One Ethernet cable delivers power and control; no battery, no line-voltage electrician |
| Wired low-voltage | Retrofit with access | Reliable, maintenance-free, powered from a central supply |
| Wireless rechargeable | Existing homes | Installs with minimal disruption; recharge on a schedule |
On a new build in Tehaleh we work with the builder to prewire shade pockets, power and network before drywall, so the finish is clean and no cable is visible. In a finished Bonney Lake home, wireless motors do the job with no wall opened.
How do the schedules work?
By the sun and by the household. Shades can follow sunrise and sunset from the calendar, so the timing shifts through the year without reprogramming. A west-facing wall can close at a set sun angle in the afternoon and open again in the evening. Bedrooms can go dark at bedtime and open with a morning scene. A vacation mode moves the shades on a varied pattern so the house looks occupied. All of it is set once, with us in the room, and adjusted from the app whenever the routine changes.
Why do Tehaleh homes suit motorized shades?
Open plans and panoramic windows. The views that sell the house also load it with heat and glare through a wall of glass. The windows are too large and too many to manage by hand. Motorized shading with a sun-based schedule handles the west exposure in the afternoon and gives the view back in the evening. We plan shade pre-wire layouts, power and network, and integration with lighting and automation scenes with homeowners and builders during construction.
What drives the cost?
Window count, shade size, fabric and power method. Wide windows need larger motors, and blackout and outdoor fabrics cost more than light-filtering. PoE and wired motors cost more to install than wireless in a finished house but nothing to maintain. Integration with an existing Control4 system is a small addition. The instant quote gives a range; a measure visit gives a written proposal.
Need it installed?
Rivas Technology Group is a full-system integrator, not a shade installer alone, so the shades, lighting, audio and automation are designed together. We install from Kent across south King County and Pierce County, including Bonney Lake, Tehaleh, Puyallup and Tacoma, and are a Control4 Authorized Dealer, listed on Control4's integrator map. Start on the motorized shades page, the Bonney Lake page or the Tehaleh page, or book a measure visit below.
