Everyone loves daylight—besides whenever you’re making an attempt to look at a matinee in your house theater, or when it’s making your room unbearably heat within the summertime, or whenever you wish to take a nap. With Graber Virtual Cord Motorized Shades masking your home windows, you’ll be able to management simply how a lot daylight comes right into a room with a distant management. And since they’re outfitted with Z-Wave radios, the shades could be integrated into your good dwelling system, opened and closed on a schedule, and managed with a voice command to Alexa or Google Assistant.
When I first thought of outfitting my dwelling theater with shades, I didn’t assume a lot past the truth that I wished to darken the room through the day, and that I wished a motorized mannequin, so I might incorporate them into my Vivint good dwelling system. I had no thought that there have been so many different choices that I would want to think about. Graber’s website has a handy decision guide that quizzes you in regards to the form of your home windows, how a lot mild you wish to move by means of the shades, the diploma of privateness you need them to afford, if you would like insulation in addition to mild management, and the colour and sort of fabric that may match your room’s décor and your private design aesthetic.
Mounting the shade contained in the window body inevitably ends in mild leakage across the prime and sides, however I didn’t wish to cowl up the window trim.
I discovered it to be a really instructional and great tool, however Graber doesn’t promote its product straight, and its web site barely touches on how motorized shades function or how they are often integrated into a wise dwelling system. It’s additionally value noting that Graber doesn’t supply any technique of controlling the shades aside from with a distant management. As you’ll be taught from this assessment, if you wish to get most profit from them, you’ll must have a Z-Wave-compatible good dwelling hub in addition to a wise speaker.
One of Graber’s sellers, ZebraBlinds, specializes in window treatments for smart homes, and so they supplied two Graber Virtual Cord Motorized Shades for this assessment (two in order that I might check choices for controlling them as a gaggle). They additionally supplied useful recommendation as I used to be putting in the shades and incorporating them into my very own good dwelling system.
How to decide on a shade
The bigger of the 2 home windows in my dwelling theater has a southern publicity, so the solar beats down on it incessantly, making the room uncomfortably heat within the summertime. I additionally wished a window remedy that may darken the room within the daytime, so we might use the room for its meant objective on weekend days: To watch motion pictures. Based on Graber’s resolution information, echoed by ZebraBlinds, I opted for double-celled mobile shades utilizing Graber’s Cocoon material. This honeycomb-formed material, in line with Graber, consists of three layers of metalized polyester movie sealed between spunlace fabric.
Michael Brown / IDGDouble-celled building tremendously will increase these shades’ insulation worth in addition to their skill to dam daylight.
These shades don’t render the room nighttime darkish. That mentioned, they block greater than sufficient daylight to not solely enable my Samsung Q7F QLED TV to ship one of the best image potential, but additionally to let me hearth up a ceiling-mounted Epson PowerLite Cinema 500 video projector at any time of day. What’s extra, closing the shades on very popular days retains my dwelling theater a lot cooler, lowering the quantity of air con my dwelling wants.
According to third-party check outcomes (from Architectural Testing, Inc.) cited by Graber, these shades cut back warmth switch right into a room by 56 p.c after they’re mounted behind dual-pane home windows. If you reside in a colder local weather, you’ll have an interest to know that the shades even have robust insulation properties, lowering warmth switch out of the room by 22.2 p.c. Some of these vitality financial savings shall be offset by any lights you activate within the room, assuming the ambient mild out of your TV or video projector isn’t sufficient so that you can really feel comfy. You can view and obtain a PDF of that report by clicking on the hyperlink under.
Installing Graber’s motorized shades
Graber offers steel brackets that you simply’ll must screw into your window body. You’ll additionally must determined the place you’ll mount the shades earlier than you organize them. They could be put in contained in the window body, which is able to enable mild to return by means of a fraction-of-an-inch hole on the prime and on both facet of the shade, or outdoors and barely above the window body. In the latter state of affairs, you would possibly wish to buy an non-compulsory valance to cowl the headrail containing the motor. I elected for an inside mount, regardless of the ensuing mild hole, as a result of we’ve ornamental trim round our home windows that I didn’t need the shade to cowl.
Michael Brown / IDGWhile the antenna for the Z-Wave radio is essentially uncovered, Graber ought to have finished extra to hide Somfy’s motor.
Graber makes use of a 12-volt motor from Somfy to boost and decrease the shade, and the motor is managed by a Z-Wave Plus radio. Somfy additionally offers easy two-button, single-channel Z-Wave distant controls. I mounted the remotes on the wall subsequent to my mild switches, however you’ll be able to slide them off their plastic mounts and carry them to the sofa.
Fancier remotes are additionally out there at an added price. For instance, there’s a three-button distant that provides a “home” button that may return the shade to a most popular place, and a multi-channel distant with a monochrome LCD show that may management as much as 24 motorized shades. The multi-channel distant has a complete of 12 channels, every of which might management one or a number of shades, with a most of eight shades per channel.
The shade’s motor requires electrical energy, in fact, and it comes with a wall wart for that objective. Most properties don’t have electrical retailers of their window frames, nevertheless, so Graber offers a battery pack that may energy the shade. Raising and decreasing the shade requires a number of energy, so that you’ll want to put in eight AA lithium batteries for those who don’t wish to take care of that wall wart.
Michael Brown / IDGGraber’s motorized blinds could be battery powered by eight lithium AA cells.
If you’re mounting the shade outdoors the window body, you’ll connect the battery pack to the wall above the headrail—much more purpose why you’ll need a valance in that scenario. With an inside mount, the battery pack hangs off the again of the headrail on the identical kind of bracket that attaches the shade to the window body. But whereas hanging the battery pack off the again of the headrail retains it hidden whenever you’re within the room, doing so comes with two downsides.
First, you’ll must take the shade all the way down to entry the battery pack when it’s time to switch the batteries. This could be cumbersome whenever you’re coping with a bigger shade, and also you would possibly want a helper. Second, the again of the headrail—in addition to a part of the motor, the battery pack and its cable, the antenna for the Z-Wave radio, and the three or extra mounting brackets—are all uncovered to anybody trying on the window from outdoors your private home.
Michael Brown / IDGThe again of Graber’s motorized shade isn’t the prettiest to take a look at from the opposite facet of the window. It’s additionally value noting that regardless of which coloration you select for the within of the shade, the again facet shall be white.
The uncovered {hardware} definitely isn’t aesthetically pleasing, however you in all probability gained’t care if there’s far between the window and a spot the place somebody might fairly be anticipated to take a look at it from outdoors. If there’s a patio, porch, or sidewalk instantly adjoining to the window, however, it’s a minor eyesore. Also, for those who select a room-darkening shade like I did, you’ll wish to know that the again of the shade that faces the window shall be white, it doesn’t matter what coloration you select for the inside facet. This helps to mirror sunshine, cut back warmth switch, and is far much less more likely to noticeably fade than a dyed material.
Graber shades as a part of a wise dwelling system
Raising and decreasing the shades with a distant management is enjoyable, however why push buttons when you’ll be able to command your digital assistant to do it? Since neither Amazon nor Google good audio system help Z-Wave straight, nevertheless, you’ll must have a wise dwelling hub in between. ZebraBlinds tells me a number of its clients use Samsung SmartIssues or Hubitat Elevation good dwelling hubs for this, however I elected to enroll the shades (and their remotes) into my Vivint Smart Home system.
Michael Brown / IDGScrew this plastic block into the wall, and you may mount Graber’s two-button distant. To take the distant with you, merely slide it up.
The wrinkle is that Vivint doesn’t straight help motorized shades, so for those who run into an issue, the corporate’s tech help won’t give you the chance that can assist you, and it’s extremely unlikely to roll a truck out to your private home. But to the corporate’s credit score, it doesn’t outright bar you from putting in merchandise it doesn’t help. And for me, that’s one of the best of each worlds: I get all the advantages of a professionally put in, monitored, and tech-supported good dwelling system, however I can take the DIY path every time I’m so inclined.
Michael Brown / IDGVivint Smart Home doesn’t straight help motorized shades, however the firm gained’t forestall you from including them to your system.
To forestall anybody from hacking into your Vivint system, it’s essential to name technical help and supply your safety password to have your management panel quickly unlocked. You can then enroll the shades as in the event that they have been Z-Wave dimmer switches. Once I’d finished that, I might management the shades with the Vivint app, from the Vivint Sky management panel, or with Alexa through my Amazon Echo and suitable Sonos good audio system. I’ve Google Home audio system, too, however I speak to Alexa rather more usually.
Since the shades are handled like dimmer switches, you’ll want to regulate them as such. In the Vivint app, for instance, the direct shade controls vary from “off” (the shade is solely closed) to 5 levels of “on” (successfully, 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100-percent open). This is rather like all the opposite Z-Wave dimmers I’ve put in.
Vivint’s good dwelling app makes it simple to create customized routines utilizing quite a lot of occasions as triggers, so I created a rule that units the shades to 80-percent open at dawn, and 0-percent open (closed, in different phrases) at sundown. As with direct system management, your decisions listed below are 10-, 40-, 60-, 80-, or 100 p.c.
I might have created different guidelines primarily based on time schedules (on at 60 p.c at 7 a.m. each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for instance, after which off at 6:30 p.m. on the identical days); in line with the standing of my safety system (off when it’s in armed-stay mode, once I’m usually in mattress for the evening); and even open to a given share when one—or any—of my exterior doorways are opened. There are many different prospects, though not all are acceptable. I might have the shades open or shut when my video doorbell detects a customer, as an example, however would I would like that?
Curiously, the Vivint system allows you to assign gadgets to teams—I created one referred to as “Theater Shades” and assigned the 2 theater shades to it—however then I found that when you can management a gaggle of gadgets manually, you’ll be able to’t create guidelines for teams. That meant I wanted to create separate guidelines for every shade—4 in all. The shades open and shut on the appointed occasions almost in sync, so it’s probably not an enormous deal. But it’s not perfection, both.
Michael Brown / IDGThe two-button distant (proper) and 12-channel distant ship helpful options, however price additional.
Controlling Graber shades with a wise speaker
Vivint works with each Alexa and Google Assistant, however as I discussed earlier, I primarily depend on Alexa-compatible good audio system, so I’ll describe my expertise with that digital assistant right here. Unlike Vivint, Amazon does assist you to management teams of good dwelling gadgets, to allow them to function in sync. Using the Alexa app, I first created a room referred to as “Theater,” after which I assigned the 2 shades, named “Theater Shade” and “Theater Shade Two” to that room. That lets me push a button within the app to open each shades on the identical time—“All On”—and I can shut them each on the identical time with a button labeled “All Off.” Vivint’s app is definitely higher on this rating, permitting me to specify how far open I would like the shades to be (the identical worth for each).
Michael Brown / IDGAmazon’s Alexa routines allow you to create subtle sequences of occasions along with your good dwelling gadgets.
With the Alexa app, however, I can create customized routines that set off both shade or each shades on the identical time, and I don’t want to talk to Alexa as if I’m controlling a dimmer swap. For instance, I created a customized routine that units the bigger of the 2 motorized shades on the 50-percent mark once I say “Alexa, open the big shade halfway.” That’s a complete lot extra pure to say than “Alexa, set ‘Theater Shade’ to 50 percent.” What’s extra, you’re not restricted to 5 increments of “open.” You use a slider to pick out any quantity on a 100-point scale.
I arrange different Alexa routines to open the shade with the southern publicity to 80-percent open (to dam the afternoon solar when it’s excessive within the sky), and the opposite shade (which faces west) to 100-percent), and one other to shut them each on the identical time.
If you’ve gotten different suitable gadgets in your good dwelling system, you’ll be able to combine these into Alexa routines, too. I created a routine in order that once I say “Alexa, it’s movie time,” each motorized shades shut, my TV activates, the sconces on each partitions come on at 42-percent brightness (they’re all managed by the identical Z-Wave dimmer), and the air flow fan within the leisure middle the place all my different A/V gear is put in activates. Keep your phrases simple for Alexa to grasp, and there’s nearly no restrict to what you’ll be able to ask her do in case you have the suitable gadgets.
Decadent, however dear
Shades aren’t an off-the-shelf product or an impulse purchase; they have to be customized made to your home windows, and also you’ll want to attend a couple of weeks for supply (ZebraBlinds’ lead time is 2.5 to 4 weeks, relying on demand). In addition to the opposite choices talked about up prime, you’ll additionally must resolve which type you need, what kind of cloth, which coloration, and extra. Each of these choices will influence the worth of the shade. Graber and its sellers, together with ZebraBlinds, will ship you free swatches so you’ll be able to decide one thing you’ll like.
And you must take your time, as a result of this stuff are something however low cost. ZebraBlinds costs round $580 for the bigger window shaded wanted for my dwelling theater (58 x 58 inches), and about $483 for the shade wanted for the narrower however equally tall window (33 x 58 inches). But a ZebraBlinds gross sales rep advised me through e-mail that the corporate routinely gives reductions on its web site, and that it continuously gives offers to “dwelling automation clients that come by means of boards, such because the SmartThings community forums. It does range however we all the time have one thing (clients can ask us for the coupon or test varied boards for it).”
In one low cost state of affairs, ZebraBlinds was providing a 41-percent “SmartThings discount,” which might have lowered my $1,063.50 order for each blinds to simply $627.46. Another state of affairs supplied a 15-percent “site-wide discount on select cellular or pleated shades,” which might have lowered my order to $744.45. Since any order you would possibly place shall be personalized, and we’ve no approach of realizing which reductions could be out there whenever you purchase, we’ve left pricing off this assessment’s “At a Glance” field.
Michael Brown / IDGThe battery pack hangs off the again of the headrail.
The backside line
These Graber Virtual Cord Motorized Shades turned out to be cheaper than I assumed, however they’re positively among the many priciest equipment with which you’ll outfit a wise dwelling. The material these shades are made out of seems and feels luxurious, and the honeycomb design gives nice room-darkening and insulating options.
The Somfy motors that elevate and decrease them are reasonably quiet. Sitting on my sofa about 4 ft from the window, I registered a rise in noise degree of 9.6dB opening the shade from its totally closed place (I measured the common background noise degree in my dwelling theater to be 24.9dB, in comparison with 34.5dB whereas the shade motor was working).
The motor wanted lower than 30 seconds to roll up the 58-inch shade, or to decrease it to its utterly closed place utilizing the distant management. Commands relayed through the Vivint Smart Home app or Alexa have been delayed barely by the necessity for the directions to journey as much as and again down from the cloud.
You can use these motorized shades with no broader good dwelling system—the Z-Wave remotes come pre-paired to the shades, and so they’re very simple to make use of—however you’ll get probably the most profit from them in case you have each a wise dwelling hub and a wise speaker. And on that entrance, be ready to speculate a while into how one can management the shades, each alone and in live performance along with your different good dwelling gadgets. But that would be the enjoyable half for any fanatic.
I’d wish to see Graber give you a greater design for the battery compartment (one which doesn’t require dismounting the shade to switch the batteries), and growing one thing for the again of the headrail that covers the uncovered bits and items would add aesthetic worth to the shades. Apart from these nits, Graber’s motorized shades ship loads of bang for the buck.