Lately, I have been deep in the market for some motorized blinds that work with my SmartThings ecosystem of devices.
After spending hours looking at various products available, I was surprised to find that there were only a few that offer quality blinds that are worth your investment.
Since I already spent an eternity on the research process, I figured I should make this article curating the products that I personally deemed worthy for your windows.
Blinds that work with Samsung's SmartThings are the Graber Zebra Blinds, followed by the Lutron Serena and Coulisse Eve Motion Blinds. The Ikea Fyrtur stands out as the most budget-friendly and universally available smart blind option.
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Graber Zebra Blinds
Graber Zebra blinds are one of the most popular blinds with SmartThings integration out there.
Being zebra blinds, you can ensure that you can get the necessary light you need inside your rooms without it being too overpowering.
They use the Z-wave wireless communications protocol for easy remote control operations.
These are Somfy motorized shades available at very affordable prices, compared to the competition.
The Graber Zebra blinds use a 12V radio frequency motor for motorization and are compatible with different power sources, including a battery pack.
The model also offers a variety of shades to choose from, based on your preference for color, style, and fabric material.
The material is also easy to clean and maintain, ensuring the product will last you a very long time.
Ikea Fyrtur
Ikea Fyrtur is by far the only smart blinds on this list that is easily available thanks to the sheer number of Ikea stores in the country.
You can pop up to any Ikea store and order these without many hassles and be ensured they are available whenever you need them.
They come in the form of a simple blackout roller blind, leading to a very classy look overall.
This product is perfect for bedrooms that are notorious for a lot of light seeping through.
Furthermore, you can control the blinds using the included remote control, or via the SmartThings app once paired.
There are different size options available too, with the most popular size being the 76.2cm x 195cm model.
Width of the roller | 30 inches |
Width of the fabric | 28¼ inches |
Length of the blind | 76¾ inches |
Area covered by the blind | 15.28 sq feet |
Lutron Serena
The Lutron Serena acts similarly to the Graber Zebra blinds, in that they are highly customizable.
Instead of being forced to select from a preset selection of configurations, you can make a custom build based on your window frame.
Lutron has made available a variety of smart blind models too, and they are listed as follows:
- Smart Roller Shades.
- Smart Wood Blinds.
- Smart Architectural Honeycomb shades.
- Smart Standard Honeycomb shades.
The Lutron Serena smart blinds can be mounted in three ways:
- Outside the mount and above the frame
The shades are mounted above the window frame, increasing the overall size of your window space and giving the whole room a more aesthetic vibe.
- Outside the mount and on the frame
The shades are mounted on top of the frame, making it a perfect fit for tight spaces and shallow windows.
- Inside the mount
The shades are mounted inside the window frame, giving the whole window a clean and neat look.
In order to make the whole system 'smart', you will need to purchase their smart product lineup separately, which consists of the following:
Lutron Smart Hub
The Lutron Smart Hub acts as the intermediary between the Lutron smart blinds and your compatible smartphone or tablet.
This enables you to set custom schedules and scenes as per the commands you set, for each and every Lutron Serena smart blind you have set up.
This smart hub is also necessary for integration with various other popular smart home services such as Samsung Smartthings.
For $80, this is a must-have if you really want to take your Lutron Serena smart blinds experience to the next level.
Lutron Smart Remote
The Lutron Smart Remote, like any other remote controller, offers to control all your Lutron Smart Blinds with a single controller.
It doesn't do anything fancy, but it does its job well and in the case of any smart blind remote controller, that is what matters.
This can be especially useful if you don't have your smartphone or tablet in hand to control the blinds.
The battery of the smart remote is also rated to last 10 years, so that is one less thing to worry about.
The Lutron Smart Remote controller also comes with a mounting kit that helps you mount the controller to a wall without any special tools.
The functionality of the product does justify its price tag of $27.
Coulisse Eve Motion Blinds
Coulisse is a reputed name when it comes to traditional window coverings since its inception back in 1992.
With the advent of smart homes, Coulisse dived into the smart blinds scene with their new lineup: Eve MotionBlinds.
MotionBlinds incorporates the tried and tested quality of traditional Coulisse window coverings but with the added integration of smart home services.
As the name suggests, they partnered with the company Eve for smart motors that are natively compatible with Apple HomeKit.
Although they primarily focus on incorporating their products with Apple Homekit, they do support other services such as Samsung SmartThings.
But it is not built in like the Apple HomeKit support, and you will have to get their MotionBlinds WiFi Bridge external peripheral for integration with SmartThings
MotionBlinds WiFi Bridge
This works similarly to how the Lutron Smart Hub works, in that it is used as an intermediary between the MotionBlinds and your SmartThings app.
For $100, it is an expensive accessory to add to your smart home, but considering its utility in providing the SmartThings integration, it is a fair trade.
Buyer's Guide
Smart blinds are a niche product for a smart home, considering just how vast the current smart home market is.
Since the primary functionality is to just open and close the blinds, people usually don't mind using a simple remote control that is more cost-effective.
But just like any smart home integration-enabled device, it is only once you experience the luxury of using the service will you realize its utility.
The sheer convenience of scheduling your blinds, or even controlling it remotely from afar is a luxury one can definitely get used to over time.
That being said, when you are in the market for such smart blinds, there are a few key steps you need to take care of.
Buy From a Reputed Brand
When in the market for a smart blind, or any product at that, people usually tend to go for the cheaper buy.
While there is nothing wrong with getting a few bucks saved out of your purchase, it is best to consider the product's value in the long run.
In the age of electronics where everyone jumps in instantly on the latest and greatest product, it is easy to get a low-quality product with an abysmally poor lifetime.
To avoid such a condition, it is best to get a product of a reputed brand, with decent customer care support and warranty.
This ensures that your product will last you a long time.
Buy From a Trusted Seller
Just as important as the brand you are going for, is the place you buy it from.
In this era where counterfeit products run amok, it is getting more difficult by the day to distinguish the real one from the fake.
You can get over this hassle by getting it from a trusted seller, which is officially recognized by the brand.
If buying online, it is best to consider Amazon as your marketplace, or the website that the brand officially recognizes as a seller.
Final Thoughts
Smart Blinds are relatively new to the smart home scene, with even reputed brands like Blink only slowly adding support for SmartThings.
But the fact remains that it is one of the emerging electronic appliances at home that is slowly falling into the Internet of Things (IoT) scene.
I hope my article on the best smart motorized blinds you can buy that are natively supported by the SmartThings ecosystem has been a good read.
Have a good day!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Are motorized smart blinds worth it?
Motorized smart blinds bring forward a lot of comfort and convenience when it comes to using blinds.
This is especially useful if the window is in a place that is difficult to reach manually.
The smart functionality can let you automate its functionality based on time without much effort, making it very efficient for any home.
Can I convert my existing blind into a smart motorized blind?
There are products such as the MySmartBlinds' Home Automation Kit that can convert a conventional blind into a motorized one.
It is also possible to pair this blind with the MySmartBlinds app, which makes it compatible with the Google Home and Amazon Alexa ecosystems.
Can I make my existing motorized blinds compatible with SmartThings?
Unfortunately, there is no product available that makes it possible to introduce compatibility of existing conventional motorized blinds with the Smart Things ecosystem.
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