Every home has windows. And, probably most homeowners would agree that window treatments are necessary for privacy and cosmetic appeal. But, should you install motorized window treatments? As a homeowner, you make a significant investment in your home and its interior furnishings. And you likely have an interest in protecting them. Motorized shades bring real value and practical benefits that make them worth the investment.
Motorized shades are available in battery operated and hardwired solutions, therefore making them an appropriate option for essentially every type of home.
Battery powered shades are great for existing homes where cabling might be too labor intensive. They are also good for retrofitting an older building because they don’t require wiring. Even if you’re not sure you’ll want motorized shades later, if your home is currently under construction, run the wire now. It’s much more cost-efficient to run the wires while the walls are open. Pre-wiring also allows for easy upgrades from manual to motorized window treatments.
Shading solutions available include roller shades, Roman shades and drapery track systems. Roller shades are the most common form of motorized window treatment. They consist of an aluminum tube with a motor inside that rolls a panel of fabric up and down. The home builder can construct a pocket in the ceiling to completely hide the roller. This makes roller shades a popular choice when building a home. Fabric for roller shades comes in sheer, translucent and room darkening. And in a wide variety of colors.
Roman shades are similar to roller shades. The difference: the fabric folds neatly as it raises instead of wrapping around a tube. The fabric choices for Roman shades are similar to those for roller shades. However, Roman shades can also be made from virtually any fabric. Drapery systems are comprised of fabric that hangs from a motorized track that pulls the drapery from one side to the other. Or, opens the drapes from the middle and pulls them to each side. Like Roman shades, you can choose practically any drapery material you wish.
In conclusion, motorized window treatments are more than visually appealing. They add to the security, privacy, and efficiency of your home. Also, when motorized window treatments are integrated with a smart lighting or automation system, the drapes and/or shades can move in concert with other systems like lighting, music and HVAC.
In addition… what is your time worth? At the Mills offices, we have two large banks of windows. Using the average time to raise and lower shades each day, multiplied by the average cost per employee, we determined that raising and lowering two sets of shades would cost us over $900 per year! So, also factoring in energy savings, our motorized shades actually paid for themselves in under two years.
Therefore, yes, motorized window treatments are worth consideration as an investment in your home.
*Photos courtesy of Crestron
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