tdougray Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 5 hours ago, ILoveC4 said: Yep - the MOTOR is what needs to integrate. Somfy motors do. Costco may sell them with different motors in them. This is exactly the point I believe you were trying to make about the noise earlier in this thread. Its all about the motor. Fabrics are a matter of choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 I wasn’t talking about motors and noise. I’m just saying, Graber sells them with numerous motors (or no motors). What Costco has may or may not integrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnpublic Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 On 1/10/2020 at 5:48 AM, ILoveC4 said: The shades I ordered are from Graber. Graber is Bali. Both lines ship with a Zwave radio "autoview" inside the automated blind. Then a zwave hub like Wink, Vera, or SmartThings is used as an intermediary between the blind and C4. c44me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 2 hours ago, wnpublic said: Graber is Bali. Both lines ship with a Zwave radio "autoview" inside the automated blind. Then a zwave hub like Wink, Vera, or SmartThings is used as an intermediary between the blind and C4. Mine didn’t ship with a Zwave radio “auto view”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnpublic Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 4 hours ago, ILoveC4 said: Mine didn’t ship with a Zwave radio “auto view”. Graber “virtual cord” blinds are the same as Bali. Identical zwave radio in the blind. Sounds like you ordered something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Just wanted to re-post here - my shades got installed yesterday. They’re awesome! They are super quiet. They’re Graber shades, with Somfy wireless, battery powered motors. They have rechargable lithium ion batteries. I’ll post a video/pics for those that asked, but I wouldn’t be worried about the noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 9 minutes ago, ILoveC4 said: Just wanted to re-post here - my shades got installed yesterday. They’re awesome! They are super quiet. They’re Graber shades, with Somfy wireless, battery powered motors. They have rechargable lithium ion batteries. I’ll post a video/pics for those that asked, but I wouldn’t be worried about the noise. Cool! Been watching this thread. How does it integrate again? Hub needed or straight integration with Somfy wireless? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 4 minutes ago, Jeffrey said: Cool! Been watching this thread. How does it integrate again? Hub needed or straight integration with Somfy wireless? There is a Control4 driver written for Somfy MyLink, which as I understand is basically a little box that communicates with the shades over their RF protocol and everything else via WiFi - so a gateway of sorts. I bought 2 of the MyLink units, but when they came and installed them they realized the MyLink units weren’t there. So for now I have a Somfy remote, but he will bring over the MyLink units soon - hopefully today or tomorrow. For now, they’re not integrated with C4 yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LollerAgent Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 40 minutes ago, ILoveC4 said: Just wanted to re-post here - my shades got installed yesterday. They’re awesome! They are super quiet. They’re Graber shades, with Somfy wireless, battery powered motors. They have rechargable lithium ion batteries. I’ll post a video/pics for those that asked, but I wouldn’t be worried about the noise. Would love to see a video! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 It’s super quiet here - all the family is asleep except for one son. Absolutely no noise. In this video, they sound loud. They sound much louder in the video than they really are. Even with such little background noise as they TV you can’t really hear them. I will get a better video later, but this is what you’ve got for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Also - part of the noise you here is the charger cord end dragging across the polyester. When the guy brings the MyLink units over he’s also going to bring these little “hooks” that he ties the cords up with so that doesn’t happen anymore. I also noticed in this video one of the shades started going down SLIGHTLY after all the others. That doesn’t bother me, but it is the first time I’ve noticed that. Every other time they’ve essentially been perfectly in sync. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KWD Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 10 minutes ago, ILoveC4 said: Also - part of the noise you here is the charger cord end dragging across the polyester. When the guy brings the MyLink units over he’s also going to bring these little “hooks” that he ties the cords up with so that doesn’t happen anymore. I also noticed in this video one of the shades started going down SLIGHTLY after all the others. That doesn’t bother me, but it is the first time I’ve noticed that. Every other time they’ve essentially been perfectly in sync. I have 11 large Somfy motor shades at the front of my business. They all seem to start at slightly different times, almost like the master remote sends the commands to each one in sequence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LollerAgent Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 Actually - they don't sound loud at all. I'm curious if they still work in unison once integrated with C4. I also use the Somfy myLink with driver, but I have blinds, not shades. I simply recall MyLink scenes from C4 programming. Did you have a local shop install these? Mind sharing approx how much you paid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 from previous conversations - seems like Lutron has a patent and they are the only ones that have all blinds start/stop in unison I have Somfy RTS 30 wired motors and for the cost the features/noise are great. I'll take it being semi out of unison to save 2-3x on the price https://www.avoutlet.com/ you can buy Somfy Motors + power supplies + MyLink plus fabrics all from this guy and install yourself. Get your dealer to add the Somfy driver and off you go. Support at AVOutlet is great - they helped me out with CAD drawings, etc once I had my windows framed, material selected, etc. I had the choice of 1-2 brackets for mounting, hence the CAD drawings. He will send you samples of the fabrics, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 1 hour ago, LollerAgent said: Actually - they don't sound loud at all. I'm curious if they still work in unison once integrated with C4. I also use the Somfy myLink with driver, but I have blinds, not shades. I simply recall MyLink scenes from C4 programming. Did you have a local shop install these? Mind sharing approx how much you paid? I did have a local shop install them. I got the 9 that you see in the video, along with 3 others. 2 of the 3 others are roughly twice as wide as each the ones you see here. The 3rd is about the same. I got the 12 shades, 2 Somfy MyLink units, the somfy remote and installation for about $5.4k. LollerAgent 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulromi Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 I own the Lutron serena blinds and warranty & quality is great. I believe it was seven years we had an issue with one and it was replaced no hassles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 How easy (or not) is it to retrofit the motors in blinds. I have three HD blinds in my MBR that were installed about 13 years ago. On one of them the motor died so the firm I bought it from took it and put in a new motor. The new motor is WAY faster than the old one and much quieter. These are only automated with IR and I only seem able to send move or stop commands, which means that you have to open all the way to close. Any options on making changes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elodesigns Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 In terms of quality and cost of ownership, I would do Lutron all day long. Most Lutron dealers go beyond the standard warranty and offer a lifetime warranty on the motors for all wired shades. Super quiet, hem bar alignment and overbuilt. Easy to set up, especially when you're using Millson brackets. Full integration with Control4, Josh ai etc. When you decide to add lighting, you simply expand the system and add Lutron wireless devices. Very wide roller tubes for large windows and very small foot print for inside mount. If you do Lutron Triathlon battery shades, same build quality plus long battery life. Buy once and forget about it. No brainer if you ask me. Darkimedes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crustyloafer Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 8 hours ago, ILoveC4 said: It’s super quiet here - all the family is asleep except for one son. Absolutely no noise. In this video, they sound loud. They sound much louder in the video than they really are. Even with such little background noise as they TV you can’t really hear them. I will get a better video later, but this is what you’ve got for now. No offence meant, but video or not they are noisy. Not any more than most other brands but definitely far noisier than the best. A pair of shades I installed recently, video recorded on iPhone and unedited so any background noise will be very apparent. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ikz26wr9xbpg5iy/Lutron RA2 Triathlon Demo.mov?dl=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LollerAgent Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 14 minutes ago, Crustyloafer said: No offence meant, but video or not they are noisy. Not any more than most other brands but definitely far noisier than the best. A pair of shades I installed recently, video recorded on iPhone and unedited so any background noise will be very apparent. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ikz26wr9xbpg5iy/Lutron RA2 Triathlon Demo.mov?dl=0 What brand/model? I honestly didn't think ILoveC4's were loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crustyloafer Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 ILoveC4s were like the usual whining Somfy motor based system. My video was a pair of Lutron RA2 Triathlon (battery powered) shades. Does that put things in perspective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 3 hours ago, Crustyloafer said: ILoveC4s were like the usual whining Somfy motor based system. My video was a pair of Lutron RA2 Triathlon (battery powered) shades. Does that put things in perspective? I don’t give a rip if you think they’re loud. You telling me there are quieter shades in existence is not a surprise. My self worth isn’t based on how quiet you think my blinds are. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggzlot Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Or just use science so it can be objective. It depends on weight of material and other factors too I spent a lot of time taking directly to th r manufactures and I posted this maybe 18 months ago For me I went DIY somfy as it was 3x less than Lutron or qmotion quotes and based on data the decibel difference is negligible from my past post: The Bali Somfy blinds are about 52-53 decibels. The somfy 30RTS I think were 42-43 decibels. Lutron Serena is 38. Qmotion would not disclose. I could be +\- 1 or two decibels off but that’s the general spread - low/mid 50s down to upper 30s. So between Bali and lutron huge difference. Between RTS and lutron a bit less. Somfy has even more expensive motors I think that get down to 39-40 decibels. I was told wired v wireless, weight of fabric, etc all vary with sound levels too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rf9000 Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 Has anyone here tried Powershades? I’m curious as to their quality, noise, and reliability? Also, in a previous post someone mentioned Lutron has a patent on all blinds coming down at same time? Is this true and other blinds can’t do this? That doesn’t make sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 2 hours ago, rf9000 said: Has anyone here tried Powershades? I’m curious as to their quality, noise, and reliability? Also, in a previous post someone mentioned Lutron has a patent on all blinds coming down at same time? Is this true and other blinds can’t do this? That doesn’t make sense Lutron does have some patents there, but these are pretty much exact. Half the time one may be 1/4” further than the others around it, but really - who cares? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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