Where it earns its money
On a normal bedroom window within arm's reach, a motor is a luxury rather than a fix. These are the situations where it genuinely changes things.
High or unreachable windows
Stairwells, double-volume rooms, clerestory windows above a kitchen. If you need a ladder, you will never move that blind.
Wide or heavy blinds
A large blackout roller or a six metre vertical takes real effort on a chain. A motor makes it effortless and takes the strain off the mechanism.
A bank of windows
Five blinds along one wall, moving together on one channel and ending level. Doing that by hand never quite works.
Holiday houses
A timer opens and closes the blinds while nobody is there, so the house does not read as empty and the furniture is not sitting in full sun for months.
Children's rooms
No cord and no chain at all. Worth considering on its own merits, whatever else the motor does.
Anything you leave shut
If a blind is awkward enough that you stopped bothering with it, you paid for a window you no longer use.
Power: the first decision
This one is usually settled by your house rather than your preference, and it is worth getting right before you look at anything else.
Battery
No wiring at all, which makes it the usual answer for a retrofit into a finished house. Recharged every few months with a lead.
Add a solar panel and it keeps itself topped up, so you never handle it again. On a sunny window that is worth doing.
Plug-in
Runs off a normal wall socket, so you need a plug point near the window and you will see a cable. Nothing to recharge, and generally the least expensive motorised option. We fit a surge plug as a matter of course.
Hard wired
The neatest finish, cable inside the wall and nothing visible. It has to be planned into a build or renovation though, so tell us early if you are building — once the walls are closed the moment has passed.
How you control them
Most houses end up with two of these — a wall switch in the room, and a remote for everything else.
Handheld remote
In one, two, four, five and sixteen channel versions. One remote can run a single blind, or every blind in the house on separate channels with a group for the whole room.
Wall-mounted switch
Looks like a light switch, sits where you expect it, and cannot end up down the side of the couch. Two, five and eight channel versions.
Timer
Blinds open and close at set times whether you are there or not. The single most useful accessory in a holiday house.
Your phone and smart home
WiFi, Zigbee and Matter enabled motors are available. With the right gateway they join your existing setup, so blinds can be voice controlled or run in a scene with the lights.
Wind sensor
For outdoor blinds. Retracts the blind automatically when it gets windy. On this coast that is not a gadget — it is what saves the blind when the south-easter comes up while you are out.
Tell us at the survey
Which smart home system you already use changes which motor we specify. Far easier to get right at the start than to swap a motor afterwards.
What can be motorised
Somfy motors, and who handles a claim
Motors and accessories carry three to five years depending on the unit, on top of our own twelve month workmanship guarantee. The applicable terms are stated in writing on your quote.
On the premium Somfy motors there is a choice worth understanding. A supply-only option means warranty claims and technical support go to Somfy directly. A full service option means they are handled through the local supplier instead. The second is usually simpler for you, and we will tell you which applies before you order.
Either way you deal with us. See our terms →
Questions we get about motorisation
Do I need an electrician?
For a battery motor, no. For a plug-in motor you need a socket near the window, which you may already have. For a hard-wired motor, yes, and it needs planning into the build. We will tell you at the survey which your window suits.
How often does a battery motor need charging?
Every few months in normal use, depending on how often the blind moves and how heavy it is. Fit the solar panel and it looks after itself.
Can you motorise blinds I already have?
Sometimes, if the blind is a size and type our motors fit. Send us a photo of the blind and the headrail and we will tell you before anyone drives out. Often the cost comes close enough to a new blind that a new blind is the better buy, and we will say so.
What happens in a power cut?
A battery motor carries on as normal, which is a fair point in favour of battery in this country. A plug-in or wired motor stops until the power is back.
Does motorisation add to the lead time?
Blinds normally take around two weeks whether motorised or not. Where a specific motor or gateway has to come in, we will tell you at quote stage. Our express service can bring the blind itself down to around a week, at 25% more.