Motorized shades
that follow the sun

What do motorized shades do that blinds do not?

They move on their own, on a schedule tied to the sun, and they take part in the scenes that run the rest of the house. A roller shade with a quiet motor closes to 40 percent when the afternoon sun hits the family room glass. The view stays and the glare and heat gain go.

It opens at sunrise in the primary suite so you wake with light instead of an alarm. The "Movie Night" scene closes the blackout shades while the lights dim. The "Goodnight" scene closes everything with the doors locking behind it. The "Away" scene runs a realistic pattern so the house looks occupied. One press on a keypad moves one window, one room or the whole house. Shades are half of light control, with smart lighting as the other half, and both sit on the Control4 controller that also runs security and audio. The full picture is on the residential hub.

Which shades do we install?

Lutron, Clara Shades and PowerShades, chosen for the window and the power available. Lutron has the deepest fabric library, hundreds of choices, on Serena battery motors or hardwired motors, indoors. Clara covers indoor and outdoor openings on hardwire or battery with a curated fabric range.

PowerShades runs on Power over Ethernet: one low-voltage cable carries power and control, so there is nothing to charge and no electrician at each window. All three connect to Control4 natively and appear on the same keypads, touch screens and app as the lights. On the walk-through we measure every opening, look at fabrics in your light, and recommend one platform for the house rather than mixing three.

Do shades need wiring?

Usually not in a finished home. Rechargeable motors run 6 to 12 months per charge1, so a retrofit means mounting the shade and pairing the motor, with no opened walls. Charging is a USB cable once or twice a year.

In new construction and remodels we pre-wire during framing, either a low-voltage power run for hardwired motors or a Cat6 drop for PoE. The finished window has no battery and no visible cable. Wide openings and heavy blackout fabrics favor hardwire because the motor draws more. A radio signal test on the walk-through confirms every motor can hear the controller, which matters in long ramblers and homes with a lot of metal.

Outdoor shades?

Yes, on covered patios and exterior openings that face the wind. Clara and PowerShades outdoor models are wind-rated, cut low-angle sun in the evening and keep a covered patio usable when the breeze comes off the water. They close on schedule or with the Goodnight scene. They pair with the outdoor audio, heaters and lighting on outdoor living, so one "Patio" button opens the space and one "Goodnight" closes it.

What drives the cost?

Window count, window size, fabric and how the motor is powered. A blackout shade on a large primary-suite slider costs more than a light-filtering roller on a bathroom window. A PoE shade adds cable during framing that a battery shade does not need. For a market reference, Seattle Blinds publishes $700 to $2,500 per window for motorized shades in the Seattle area1.

Our proposals include the shade, the motor, mounting, pairing and Control4 programming as one fixed price before work begins. Adding shades to a home that already has a Control4 controller costs less, because the control layer is paid for. Whole-home ranges are on smart home installation cost, and the instant quote gives you a number in a few minutes.

How does installation go?

Measure, order, mount, pair, program, then a walkthrough at the keypad. On the walk-through we measure each opening twice, note which direction it faces and how the room is used, and show fabric samples in your light. Shades are made to size and arrive in three to six weeks.

Installation takes a day for most homes: our own team mounts each shade, pairs the motors, sets limits, and programs schedules and scenes. You get a 90-day workmanship warranty on our work, the manufacturer's warranty on the shade, support at published rates, and the optional CURATOR plan, where schedule changes are done remotely.

Where do we install motorized shades?

Pierce County and south King County, from 415 Railroad Ave S in Kent, about 25 to 30 minutes from Tacoma. That includes Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, University Place, Bonney Lake, Tehaleh, Sumner, Kent, Renton, Tukwila, Federal Way, Auburn and Covington and Maple Valley. Olympic Peninsula by appointment. We are a Control4 Authorized Dealer, listed on Control4's integrator map, hold WA electrical contractor license RIVASGL799DR2, and are rated 5.0 from 49 Google reviews. Shades are one part of smart home automation; the security hub covers the alarm your Away scene arms.