Why should your clients pull and tug when they can raise or lower the shades remotely? As motorized shades grow in popularity, integrators are becoming more comfortable with selling, ordering, and installing them. And the demand is there.
“Honestly, I think a lot of the uptick in demand comes down to the price conversation, which may be surprising to hear,” says Ryan Williams, director of design and sales, Cinegration, a Hunter Douglas dealer. “When clients see the cost difference between manual and motorized options, they often realize that motorized shades aren’t dramatically more expensive, but they add an exponential amount of convenience and value to their home.”
Imagine, he suggests, a space with five large, staggered windows; the thought of manually adjusting each shade every day becomes tedious pretty quickly. “With motorization, clients get a sense of simplicity and uniformity that just makes sense. Plus, when you’re already investing in a high-end home, motorized shades feel like a natural addition — they’re an elegant solution that aligns with the rest of the smart home experience.”
When the Cinegration team leads design conversations with clients, they’re the ones advocating for motorization, Williams says. “That’s because we understand how it simplifies life and elevates the user experience. While interior designers focus on aesthetics, ensuring the shades match the room’s design language, we’re the ones pushing for functionality and ease of use. It’s about creating a space where design and technology complement each other effortlessly.”
With the increased adoption of smart home technology, demand for motorized shades accelerated at a rapid pace within the CI market, says Chris Lynch, national business development director, Nice North America. “One of the key trends we’ve observed in 2024 is the tremendous growth in the adoption of motorized exterior shades. The reason is that homeowners are increasingly giving a high value to outdoor living space, and the motorized exterior shades offer that perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and energy efficiency through better sunlight, heat, and privacy control.
“The growing interest in motorized shades is largely driven by functionality and convenience,” he adds. “Homeowners still want seamless integration of their shades with the rest of their smart home technology, so they can even control hard-to-reach shades remotely. Advancements in shade motors and fabric options have also made these solutions more palatable for consumers. This demand has also been tied to overall whole-home design requests, where motorized shades become an extension of a connected home, with the ability to tailor shading solutions to match specific design aesthetics. More so, to us, motorized shades are not just a functional add-on but an enhancement to a design that can give innovative ways for a homeowner to improve energy efficiency, furniture and interior protection, and elevate one’s lifestyle.”
And that request for motorized shading has been steadily increasing year over year, driven by the growing popularity of smart home integration, says Maryellen Oswald, partnerships business development manager at Somfy North America. “With motors powered by Somfy, window coverings can be controlled remotely via smartphones or seamlessly integrated into home automation systems. Additionally, more homeowners are seeking both interior and exterior window coverings that regulate indoor temperature and reduce energy consumption.
“Somfy is proud to offer a wide range of innovative products and technologies that meet the needs of both residential and commercial customers,” she notes. “In 2024, several solutions resonated strongly within the industry, including Somfy’s Zigbee ecosystem of products and the Power over Ethernet (PoE) solution, among others. The Zigbee 3.0 protocol is an interoperable, globally adopted and secure IoT solution used to connect smart home devices to a consistent network and language. Zigbee creates an ecosystem of products that work seamlessly together, and that ecosystem now includes products from Somfy North America, easing the integration process and increasing comfort for end users.
“We have also released two professional tools that make it easier to configure motors, as well as provide after-sales service and support,” Oswald adds. “The TaHoma pro app is designed for OEMs and Installers to simplify the configuration and management of the Somfy Zigbee network. The second tool is Serv-e-Go, an all-in-one remote monitoring and troubleshooting tool for the Somfy Zigbee ecosystem. This app allows dealers to securely access installations in order to provide remote service to clients.”
The new Sonesse 30 and 40 PoE motors offer a full range of options in four sizes, delivering power outputs of 25, 30, 60, and 75 watts using any IEEE 802.3bt PoE switch. “These motors provide integrators with installation flexibility by utilizing a single Cat5e or Cat6 cable, significantly reducing the time and cabling required,” she says. “This results in faster, less labor-intensive installations. Designed to work exclusively with third-party control systems, this motor technology is ideal for both residential and commercial applications.”
At Nice, motorized shades offer a range of features that can be customized to meet the specific needs of each end-user, Lynch explains. “In addition to the ability to control your shades remotely, motorized shades can autonomously interact with a home’s environment to optimize comfort and energy savings.”
The biggest challenge that Nice sees in this industry is ensuring that partners and their customers have a strong understanding of the full variety of features and solutions that motorized shades provide so that they can truly optimize the shades for their homes, he says. “To equip our partners with the knowledge they need, we offer comprehensive support, including hands-on training and in-field assistance.”
The Hunter Douglas PowerView Gen 3 has made things so much easier for Cinegration from an installation perspective, Williams says. “The setup is faster, the communication between the shades and the system is more reliable thanks to the use of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), and it’s just a much smoother process overall. You don’t need a perfect Wi-Fi setup to get the shades online anymore, which used to be a sticking point in some homes. With Gen 3, we can now essentially walk into a project, bring the entire house of shades online, and get everything set up quickly without a lot of backtracking or troubleshooting.
“It’s easier for the homeowner as well, so it’s a win-win,” he adds. “Gen 3 has simplified the handoff to the client. Once we’ve completed the installation, transferring ownership of the system to the homeowner is incredibly clean. From there, it’s intuitive and allows clients to easily control their shades, set schedules, and make adjustments. Of course, every new technology comes with its own challenges, but Gen 3 offers a better user experience. So, the challenge is less about the technology itself and more about ensuring clients understand its full potential.
“We also can’t talk about the latest and greatest offerings from Hunter Douglas without talking about Aura Illuminated Shades; they are such a cool innovation because they go beyond what people typically expect from shades,” Williams notes. “It’s not just about raising or lowering them anymore; it’s about having control over the lighting in your space in a whole new way. The built-in LED lighting creates this beautiful, soft glow that can completely change the feel of a room. What’s really unique is how the light comes in at eye level rather than from an overhead source, which makes the space feel warmer and more inviting. Whether it’s brightening up a gloomy afternoon or setting a cozy ambiance in the evening, Aura lets you fine-tune both the natural and artificial light in your home. It’s an elegant solution that adds another layer of sophistication to the overall experience. We just added Aura shades to our showroom, and we are excited to show them to clients. They’re really one of those products that wows but you have to experience it to fully understand it.”
At Draper At Home, the latest introduction, the FlexStyle Cassette shade, was a result of requests from integrators, says Tabitha Quick, national director of CI, Draper At Home. “The shade arrives pre-installed inside the cassette, so all the installer has to do is attach mounting brackets with a single screw each then pop the cassette into the brackets. The FlexStyle Cassette is a great option for integrators because it is so versatile. Standard voltage, low voltage, and battery motors are available. RTS and Zigbee protocols provide plenty of control options. The cassette itself can be square or curved, and we can even cover it with fabric to match the shade panel.”
To The Max
With shades, it is important to “work with a manufacturer who treats you like a true partner,” Quick advises. “Find a domestic manufacturer with a wide product line, real and personal customer service, and that will help educate you and your customers. Listen carefully to what your clients want and offer custom solutions to meet their specific needs; this makes it even more important to partner with the right manufacturer. Start with a curated selection of fabrics and styles but have the capability to offer expanded choices for special high-end customers who want something different or unique. Ensure that the motorized shades you offer are compatible with existing smart home systems.”
Maximizing efficiency in our motorized shade projects comes down to the way the team approaches each installation, Williams says. “We prioritize a thoughtful, methodical setup process, ensuring that everything is dialed in before we even begin. Efficiency starts well before the shades are installed. It’s in the preparation, the planning, and the way we communicate with clients about their needs and expectations.
“We start with an understanding of what the homeowner wants from their space, then guide them through the options to make sure they’re getting exactly what they need,” he adds. “A lot of people come in with a specific idea from a fabric color or a shade they’ve seen, but they don’t always think about how it’s going to perform in their home, especially at night when privacy comes into play. That’s where our team steps in. We’re not just there to install shades; we’re there to advise, to guide, and to make sure they’re making choices they’ll be happy with long-term choices. And we take the time to explain things like opacities, how different shades will look in various lighting conditions, and whether they’ll provide the level of privacy the client expects.
“It’s not just about selling a product; it’s about creating a solution that seamlessly fits into their home and lifestyle. We also try to anticipate potential issues before they come up, whether it’s about functionality, how the shades will integrate with their design, or something as simple as making sure they won’t feel overexposed in their living room at night.
“This detailed, upfront approach is what sets us up for efficiency during installation. When we’ve already accounted for the specifics, everything from accurate measurements to understanding how the client intends to use the shades, we avoid the kind of hiccups that slow down a project. Our team goes in prepared, knowing exactly what needs to be done, and we’re able to execute without a lot of backtracking or last-minute adjustments. That kind of clarity also helps when coordinating with other trades on larger projects. We’re not just showing up and figuring it out as we go; every step is intentional, and that minimizes delays and unnecessary revisits. It’s a streamlined process from start to finish, and that’s how we deliver the best possible outcome for both us and the client.”
“Homeowners get the best results from their motorized shades when they are integrated with a whole-home automation system,” Lynch notes. “This allows the shades to interact with other factors of the home, like temperature, voice, or centralized control and more to ensure the shades are optimized for the homeowners’ needs. Integrators should also encourage their customers to take advantage of all the features of motorized shades. While convenience is a key driver for adoption, motorized shades can also offer significant energy savings if installers program the shades to automatically adapt to factors like lighting, room occupancy, and time of day.”
“When specifying, installing, and programming shade projects, the focus is on brands with the technology and offerings that ensure a smooth and robust experience for our clients and for us,” says Patrick Coleman, president/CEO, Future Automation & Design, a Somfy dealer. “Not all homes are wired for shades, and when they are, more often than not, they aren’t using the brand-specific wiring that many shade companies need to work with their products, so integrators will use wireless battery-powered shades in those areas, which isn’t always optimal due to the need to be charged every six months to a year, depending on use.
“One of the reasons we are big fans of Somfy’s new PoE shade solution is that most of these homes that are wired with just Cat5 or Cat6 can now have a PoE shade connected back to a network head end using the existing wiring with only a PoE switch needed for power and communication,” he adds. “With the new Somfy PoE shades, we can effectively cut our install and programming time in half. It’s a game changer and allows for more hardwired shades and easy pre-wires using the cabling we already have in abundance.”
