emo777 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hello,just wondering what works best to have motorized drapes for home theater? what intergrates best with c4 control? what wiring setup do you recommend and which models etc. ANy info would be much appreciated to help make my decision.My drapery fellow is telling me to avoid RTS and hardwire it but he's not too sure what c4 requires. any suggestions?thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newgen66 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 do mechoshades with zigbee and your done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hello,just wondering what works best to have motorized drapes for home theater? what intergrates best with c4 control? what wiring setup do you recommend and which models etc. ANy info would be much appreciated to help make my decision.My drapery fellow is telling me to avoid RTS and hardwire it but he's not too sure what c4 requires. any suggestions?thanksHow come he is talking you out of RTS (Somfy)? I've seen it done and it works well. Does he not carry it, not understand it or have problems with them? From my research most drapery places shy away from it because they are afraid of the technology because they don't understand it or how it works/whats involved.My 2 cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 What power requirements do the mechoshades have? I would like to put shades on some windows but I don't have ANY wiring ran to them, and getting wiring there would be difficult to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hello' date='just wondering what works best to have motorized drapes for home theater? what intergrates best with c4 control? what wiring setup do you recommend and which models etc. ANy info would be much appreciated to help make my decision.My drapery fellow is telling me to avoid RTS and hardwire it but he's not too sure what c4 requires. any suggestions?thanks[/quote']How come he is talking you out of RTS (Somfy)? I've seen it done and it works well. Does he not carry it, not understand it or have problems with them? From my research most drapery places shy away from it because they are afraid of the technology because they don't understand it or how it works/whats involved.My 2 cents...I'm going to second this. I wired to shade locations and then changed my mind and went with RTS and It's worked-out well. Maybe he's baulking over the interface... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emo777 Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Yeah, he thinks there may be interference with other items in the room and suggested to hardwire to also save moneynewgen66, which model of the mechoshades would you recommend and what accesories to get zigbee etcthanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 What power requirements do the mechoshades have? I would like to put shades on some windows but I don't have ANY wiring ran to them, and getting wiring there would be difficult to say the least.For mechoshades in residential settings all you need a 16 guage 2 conductor for power. I think that is about it. Communication is done through zigbee. Not too hard to run at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 It would be hard to get to the windows I'm talking about. Very hard. I'll ask a professional there opinion but I think it would be quite the project with substantial drywall repair required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Somfy has motors now that are controlled by RS485 and then that panel connects via RS232 to a controller. Also I bet you could use almost any relay/dry contact motor and wire it to an IO extender or use card access wireless relays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Somfy makes one- no need for Card Access parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emo777 Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 are you talking about the somfy glydea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_ Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I asked and was quoted 3 times the price for mechoshade compared to somfy. I think I'm going to go with Somfy, and use the RTS serial interface to integrate with C4. I hope it works. I'm not happy that I have to use batteries but apparently they last for a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 ^ I would like to try what you are doing. How does the RTS work? Does the C4 controller serial interface to a Somfy controller? And then the Somfy controller sends out the required commands to the battery-powered receiver at the blinds?Have you any model numbers I could use to look up these components?Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikon Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 It would be hard to get to the windows I'm talking about. Very hard. I'll ask a professional there opinion but I think it would be quite the project with substantial drywall repair required.I'll have to take your word for it as I have not seen the window you are referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_ Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 ^^ Don't have much information. It's been almost 2 weeks and no word yet. It works like you described. I don't have any model numbers yet. I'm not sure I want to try and do this myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I asked and was quoted 3 times the price for mechoshade compared to somfy. I think I'm going to go with Somfy, and use the RTS serial interface to integrate with C4. I hope it works. I'm not happy that I have to use batteries but apparently they last for a few years.Now this is interesting. So these are wireless, and battery operated? Then you have a module in the rack that connects to C4 via RS-232, and sends the commands to the shades?That would be perfect for me. These shades will only operate once per day, a certain number of minutes before sundown when the light blasts through and makes it difficult to sit on one side of the kitchen table, so batteries would be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 There is also a dry contact module from Somfy for around $70 street. Even if you have a CAT5e cable within 65 ft. of the shades, it works. This is what I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 So figuring out what I need on the somfy sight is diffucult at best.Is there someone on here that sells somfy, that I can buy from? I need to cover four windows that are fairly small (I will get exact dimensions as needed). They need to be wireless, battery powered. I have an available RS-232 port that I can use. I don't mind if they all have to be controlled as a group.I appreciate the assistance and look forward to buying some shades from somebody! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I asked and was quoted 3 times the price for mechoshade compared to somfy. I think I'm going to go with Somfy' date=' and use the RTS serial interface to integrate with C4. I hope it works. I'm not happy that I have to use batteries but apparently they last for a few years.[/quote']Now this is interesting. So these are wireless, and battery operated? Then you have a module in the rack that connects to C4 via RS-232, and sends the commands to the shades?That would be perfect for me. These shades will only operate once per day, a certain number of minutes before sundown when the light blasts through and makes it difficult to sit on one side of the kitchen table, so batteries would be fine.You can use RTS hardwired to somfy motors or the battery units. I'm planning on using the RTS wired so I don't have to worry about changing the batteries every year or so. You can use shades, blinds etc... The blinds tilt. The others go up and down (for the blinds to tilt and go up and down its alot more money per window). You can retrofit current blinds to tilt by buying a unit and installing it yourself (example: http://www.automatedshadestore.com/shop/product-list.php?pg1-cid86.html) Comfortex uses the RTS units and they come in battery or wired (transformer) already done for you. Comfortex or Hunter Douglas have a whole host of options. They do work with sun senors.I'm running 2 16/2 to each window with one pair powering the unit (back to a transformer because I have alot of windows) and the other one for communication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoGo Delicious Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 . . . .Is there someone on here that sells somfy, that I can buy from?We are a Somfy dealer and the product we specify depends and the a few things such as the total weight of the shade or drape fabric, travel distance, etc. You need to make sure you have the motor spec d. that can handle what you want to do. Remember Somfy only manuf. & sells motors and controllers, not shades. We design the complete motorized solution and then hand it over to a window treatment company for final assembly. I can help answer some general questions but your best bet is to find an integrator that is a Somfy dealer so they recommend the correct solution for your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Somfy only sells the controllers.....that makes more sense now.I will further my research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Just call your nearest Budget Blinds people- they sell the Somfy stuff and provide the fabric service. I've used them once or twice- no problemo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_ Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 ^ I am working with the same company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drspringer Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 I looked into a lot of motorized drapes but the cost of some of these is ridiculous. I was quoted over $12k to put in two skylight shades and motorized drapes. I decided to find something cheaper on my own and found these motorized curtain rods for $150 each.http://www.metechs.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9&zenid=2pbngm5bin3v4o8mgc179ekqr5They are not the highest quality and the motors are on the loud side but they work. We couldn't get the IR to run these but there is a standard phone jack on the motor for direct wiring. We ran it to the C4 relay extender and ran power over the same cat5 cable. they have been in operation for almost a year without any trouble.I also bought Hunter Douglas motorized shades for the skylights and figured out how to wire those to the relay as well since we also had trouble with IR control on those. I'm just waiting for the wiring guy to come back and crawl through the ceiling to finish that up. When it's all done I'll have the four windows covered for less than $2k. Not with the same quality of the $12K version but it does the same thing. And I still get the wow factor whenever I turn on the theater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_ Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I got another dealer to come out and check things out. Basically, I'll be getting Hunter Douglas honey-comb shades or maybe the Silhouette type. The shades are controlled by Somfy motors and have their own remotes. There is a RS-232 interface that connects to a controller and you can program it to control the shades. The dealer that came out is also a C4 dealer and so I think I'll be happy with the results. I'll update when I have more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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