Chowmain - Soma Smart Shades Driver

[alanchow]

Overview

SOMA Smart Shades turns the existing shades in your home into smart shades with no screws and no additional wiring. These Bluetooth based controllers are battery operated, can be either USB charged or solar panel charged and provide you with the ability to move your shades up, down, stop or to a specific level. It is compatible with chain based shading solutions and also tilt (rod) based solutions. As such it can be easily retrofit into existing homes with ease at an extremely affordable price

Features

• Bi-directional control and feedback via local API
• Import of all soma shades (including tilt)
• Up / Down / Stop / Level based commands
• Position feedback
• Battery level feedback

FAQ

Can you give us some usage examples?

• Automate existing shades in the home without additional wiring at an extremely affordable price!
• Program shades to open on sunrise and close on sunset
• Program shades to close when you arm the home
• Program shades to close when the forecast for the day is above a certain temperature and it is sunny
• Program shades to close when you start up your movie

Where can i purchase these devices from?

Soma is available for international purchase from their website https://www.somasmarthome.com/

Alternatively if you are in Australia you can purchase it from our friends at OzSmartThings https://www.ozsmartthings.com.au/

How long does it take to charge via USB?

The full charge takes up to 10 hours and the battery will last up to 25 days on a single charge, depending on the number of triggers and manipulations with the device.

What about charging via solar panel?

Solar panel is expected to be connected to the device constantly and it does not charge the device fully to 100%.

Installation instructions

• Plug in the charging cables audio jack, see detailed instructions here
• The protective film needs to be removed from the solar panel
• The panel has to be attached to the window glass facing outdoors
• The panel does not work or has limited effectiveness with the following types of windows
  • Frosted glass windows
  • Windows with spectrally selective glazing
  • Windows with tinted, coated or reflective glasses
  • Triple pane windows
• Make sure that the solar panel is fully open to the sunlight and that it is not covered even partly by physical items or that it is not partly covered by shadow (for example shadows might be caused by nearby buildings or trees)
• Check the Charging Level. In the Smart Shades app > Device Settings > Troubleshooting > Charging Level. The Charging Level changes according to the light entering the panel. Move the panel to find the best position for it
  • Make sure that you have the latest firmware installed to see this option in the settings. See Checking for Firmware Updates.
• The panel may have limited effectiveness if attached to the windows facing north
• The panel may have limited effectiveness during certain seasons in certain geographical locations
  • Use USB charger during these periods

How do we know when the battery level is low?

The battery level can be checked via the Soma Smart Shades app. The driver also pulls in the battery level information as a variable. As such you can program against the battery level. We highly recommend you add a push notification to advise the home owner when the battery level is low.

I want to try this driver out before buying it?

All Chowmain drivers for Control4 come with a 90 day trial.

How do I find out more information about the driver?

Please see the links below for more information about the driver.

Driver Link