Motorized Shades

[Cindy M]

I’m looking for options for companies that manufacture motorized shades that connect with Control 4 other than Lutron.  My Lutron bid came in at $42K for 28 shades and I need a more economical solution. 

[Crustyloafer]

We use QMotion on most C4 jobs, they offer wireless battery operated models with native ZigBee control from Control4 and low voltage hard wired models that are controlled and power via a single CAT5/6 cable to each blind.

We also use Silent Gliss a fair bit for any 240V mains power blinds and control them via Rako twin relay units which integrate nicely with Control4.

 

However, I cannot guarantee any of these options are going to be significantly less expensive than your current Lutron quotation. My experience has shown that most blind options that integrate with C4 and are genuinely reliable too are all about the same price point.

[Home Theater Advisors]

You may find less expensive options with Somfy RTS shades.  However you will lose 2-way feedback.  That means Control4 will not know if the shade is opened or closed.  It can just send signals to the shade to open, close or stop.  In your navigators you will just see three buttons for those functions, not a slider. You will also not be able to set a percentage open in programming.  But for basic control they work well.  From what I have heard, go with the Somfy MyLink adapters and put one in each room with shades.

[wnpublic]

Cindy, You can get what you want, with Control4 integration, much more cheaply than the Lutron stuff, by going with Bali Autoview Zwave motorized shades.  There is a helpful thread here:

 

In short, we went through the same thing with an absurd Lutron quote.  The Balis, which you have to measure for yourself, were like 1/8th of the price.  They use Somfy motors with a built in zwave radio.  You can order from Costco or Lowes, it just depends on who is having a better sale ATM.  They're called Autoview, can be ordered with a battery pack or plug.  You then pair them with a Vera zwave hub ($90).  There is a C4 driver for Vera and these will be recognized as blinds in Control 4, two way, blind position, blah blah blah.  You can see pictures of mine in the linked thread.