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Advantages of Motorized Shades

Motorized shades

If you’re thinking about motorized shades in Miramar Beach, FL when you’re looking at replacing your existing window treatments, you may wonder if they really have any advantages over window shades that are operated manually.

 

In fact, motorized window shades have many distinct advantages that make them an excellent choice for window coverings for your home. Here are just a few.

 

One of the advantages of motorized window shades is that they give you more convenience than windows shades that you have to manually operate.

 

You may be surprised at how often you adjust your window shades every day for light filtering, for ventilation, and for privacy when you’re at home. When you’re not at home, you can’t adjust your manual shades during the day at all.

 

When you have motorized window shades installed, you instantly have the convenience of adjusting them easily and anytime, no matter whether you are home or not. This allows you to get the most benefit out of your window shades, especially since they are a key part of your home’s energy efficiency and security.

 

When you have motorized window shades installed in your home, you have the advantage of being able to schedule when they open or close with your smartphone or digital tablet. You can also adjust your motorized window shades independently of a schedule if the need arises.

 

For example, if you know that the weather is going to be extremely hot and humid on a particular summer day, and you normally have your shades scheduled to be closed between 10 am and 2 pm (typically the hottest part of the day), you can use your smart phone to close them until 4 pm or 6 pm.

 

This will ensure that your home stays as cool as possible all day and your HVAC system won’t have to work harder to try to maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the house.

 

As you can see, having motorized shades can help you conserve energy inside your home, which will lead to energy cost savings. To optimize how motorized shades can increase the energy efficiency of your home, you can connect them with a smart hub or a smart sun sensor that will automatically adjust your motorized shades in both summer and winter.

 

In summer months, motorized shades that are integrated with smart technology in your home will automatically be lowered during the summer when the sun is hottest and automatically raised during the winter to take full advantage of the sun’s warmth to help heat your home.

 

What this means is that motorized shades can be a critical contributor to your heating and cooling system running more efficiently without you and your family having to sacrifice comfort in your home.

 

Energy companies raise their rates every year because energy gets more expensive to produce. While you may not be able to do anything about the energy company’s rate changes, you can lower how much energy you use and, therefore, keep your overall energy costs lower by using motorized shades in your energy conservation plan for your home.

 

Another advantage of motorized shades is that they can help protect your home from break-ins. Many times, potential thieves will watch houses for several days to see whether the occupants are home or not.

 

If you have manual window shades, the shades will not be opened while you and your family are away from home. This can make your home vulnerable to break-ins and thefts. With motorized shades, you can automatically program your shades to open and close throughout the day.

Motorized shade

This gives the appearance that someone is always home. Additionally, you can sync motorized shades with smart lighting so that the shades close every evening at a set time (sunset, for instance) and lights in your home turn on.

 

If you’d like learn more about motorized shades in Miramar Beach, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm.

Motorized Shutters

Motorized shutters

Motorized shutters in Miramar Beach, FL should be part of the integration of smart technology in your home. Motorized shutters not only give you complete control, no matter where you are or what you are doing, over their operation, but they also add value to your home.

 

Motorized shutters are manufactured with materials that are resistant to cracking, warping, discoloring, fading, and chipping, so they are one of the most durable window treatments you can have installed in your home.

 

When you have motorized shutters installed in your home, you can use smart technology to operate them so that you can have abundant natural light in your home throughout the day (closing them, perhaps, during the heat of summer days, to keep your home’s interior cooler) and complete privacy at night.

 

With smart technology, you can automate when your motorized window shutters open and close, or you can open and close them independently using several different methods including remotes, digital devices, or your voice.

 

There are a couple of different ways you can have your shutters motorized.

 

One way that shutters can be motorized is with a battery-powered motor. When you have your shutters motorized this way, you don’t need an electrician for the installation. The batteries for motorized shutters are concealed in the bottom rail. Battery life is quite long, and lasts an average of three to five years, depending on how much use they get.

 

You can also have your shutters motorized using a plug in an electrical outlet. The plug will come from the top of the shutters where the electric motor is housed.

 

This works best, however, when the electrical outlook is located very close to the windows where the shutters are installed. If you don’t have electrical outlets nearby, then using the battery-powered motorization is your best option.

 

You can control the operation of your motorized shutters using several methods.

 

One method you can use is a wall-mounted remote. Another method you can use is a hand-held remote. Both of these methods require you to be at home where the remotes and shutters are.

 

However, you can also use your digital devices to operate your home’s motorized shutters, no matter whether you are at home or not. You can also use your smartphone or tablet to schedule when your window shutters should open and close using apps provided by the manufacturer of the motorized shutters.

 

Having the ability to control your motorized shutters gives you complete control over their operation. If, for example, you and your family have schedule changes that leave your home empty most of the day, you can set up a schedule to have your shutters open and close at different times during the day to give the appearance that someone is home all the time.

 

Motorized shuttersThis makes your home less vulnerable while you’re away and can give you and your family more security and peace of mind when your schedules often change or suddenly get hectic.

 

If you already have smart technology in your home, you can easily integrate your motorized shutters with other smart devices in your home including lighting, security systems, and thermostats. For example, you can set up an automatic schedule that turns on your lights when your motorized shutters are closed and turns off your lights when they are open.

 

Motorized shutters are not just convenient, but they are also a way to boost the efficiency (energy and otherwise) of your home. They offer many advantages that you will be surprised you were able to live without before.

 

If you’d like to learn more about motorized shutters in Miramar Beach, FL, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm.

What is Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization?

Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization

Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization in Miramar Beach, FL is an innovative new technology that transforms more than 20 of Hunter Douglas’ window treatment legacy products into smart shades. This includes Design Studio drapes, roller shades, window shutters, Vignette modern Roman shades, and Luminette privacy sheers, to name a few.

 

Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization is the perfect addition to smart homes with Hunter Douglas window coverings. It allows you to automate when and how your window treatments work so that you can set them and forget them.

 

Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization is compatible with many types of smart technology devices and apps. These include Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Siri. They also include Hunter Douglas’ PowerView® app and Pebble remote.

 

Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization also works with smart home systems. These include Logitech Harmony Home, Apple HomeKit, ELAN, Universal Remote Control, Crestron, Savant, IFTTT, Control4, and RTI, among others.

 

The Hunter Douglas PowerView app lets you open and close your window treatments by voice command whenever you want. It also gives you the ability to group your Hunter Douglas window coverings and create schedules to open and close them throughout the day and at night.

 

You can use time settings for your open/close schedule, or you can use sunrise and sunset. There is a lot of flexibility built into the Hunter Douglas PowerView app that enables you to take full advantage of Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization throughout your home.

 

One option the Hunter Douglas PowerView® app has is the ability for you to coordinate how your Hunter Douglas window treatments work with other smart devices in your home. These can include thermostat settings, lighting, security systems, and smart locks.

 

The Hunter Douglas PowerView® app can be activated by pushing a button or by using your voice.

 

The PowerView® Pebble remote has default buttons for opening and closing your Hunter Douglas window coverings, as well as default buttons to operate louvers, vanes, slats, and middle rails in Hunter Douglas window blinds and window shutters. It also has a button that lets you set favorite positions for opening your Hunter Douglas window shades or window shutters.

 

There are also six programmable buttons on the PowerView® Pebble remote that you can use to set up your own customized settings for operating your Hunter Douglas window shutters and window shades.

Hunter Douglas PowerView Motorization

 

To activate Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization (and the Hunter Douglas PowerView® app) for all the smart Hunter Douglas window treatments in your home, you will need the following:

 

  • Internet service in your home
  • An Apple mobile device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch) with version 10.0 or higher IOS installed
  • An Android device with an OS of 4.4 (Kit Kat) or higher
  • The Hunter Douglas PowerView® Hub Kit
  • The Hunter Douglas PowerView® Hub
  • An ethernet cable
  • A USB power supply and power supply cable
  • The Internet service in your home
  • Hunter Douglas PowerView® app downloaded on your Apple (App Store) or Android (Google Play Store) mobile device

 

Homes with integrated smart technology that handles window coverings, lighting, temperature control, security, and locks are safer and more efficient. Never again will you have to worry that when you and your family aren’t home for an extended period of time and your home might be a target for a break-in.

 

Once your Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization is installed, you can be assured that your window treatments will operate the same way when you’re not at home as they do when you are (or you can remotely randomize the times of day when they open and close). This will give you a lot of peace of mind.

 

If you’d like to have Hunter Douglas PowerView® Motorization installed in your home in Miramar Beach, FL, our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm can take care of everything you need.

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