Electric Curtain Rails

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  • Nad
    Automated Home Guru
    • Jul 2008
    • 145

    Electric Curtain Rails

    Hi all,

    I was just wondering what people are using for their automated curtain rails? I need to get 2 bay window rails and the Silentgliss solution is a bit on the expensive side for my wallet

    The total length of the rail needs to be 5m and be bent into a semi circular shape. Any ideas/ options are most welcomed

    Thanks,
    Nad
  • Andrew Millne
    Automated Home Ninja
    • Nov 2007
    • 269

    #2
    I'm busy looking at this too so I'd be grateful to hear how you get on. My dilemna is that all my windows are only approximately 1 metre wide but all rooms have at least two windows. 16 in total, for a flat!

    cheapest I've found the silent gliss units for is £235 inc VAT & delivery from http://www.discountelectriccurtains....utoglide-5090/

    But nearly £4k for curtain automation is a definate excess. I'm tempted just to put a pattress next to the windows and install some conduit up the walls ready for later installation if I find more affordable units. I was kind of hoping for about £70-80. For the kitchen I'm thinking blinds rather than curtains but can't find any up to now.

    How are you going to power them? dedicated 24v radial or mains transformers?
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    • chris_j_hunter
      Automated Home Legend
      • Dec 2007
      • 1713

      #3
      no experience of these guys, but they're on our list of possibles :



      they seem to do a good range, for curtains & blinds, 'though our interest is in roller blinds, particularly their DIY option :



      using Idratek to control them, 'though they do offer other control options ...
      Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 28 March 2010, 06:51 PM.
      Our self-build - going further with HA...

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      • Andrew Millne
        Automated Home Ninja
        • Nov 2007
        • 269

        #4
        Originally posted by chris_j_hunter View Post
        no experience of these guys, but they're on our list of possibles :
        Good find, the roller blinds look perfect for my kitchen and bathroom.
        using Idratek to control them...
        Presumably through a relay module or din rail relays? Will you be installing a dedicated 24v supply?
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        • chris_j_hunter
          Automated Home Legend
          • Dec 2007
          • 1713

          #5
          >presumably through a relay module or din rail relays ...

          yep, not sure which just now, but local has advantages in that the relevant module comes along with the buttons - the buttons being for local input, if required, and if/how we provide those depends on local circumstances & other needs in the vicinity (that we're trying to finalise) ...

          >will you be installing a dedicated 24V supply ...

          in node-0, presumably you mean - quite possibly, just need to check-out current requirements & cost the options (cable vs multiple PCUs, installed) !

          and complete the discussion with SWMBO on what we'll be using for the windows !
          Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 29 March 2010, 10:18 AM.
          Our self-build - going further with HA...

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          • TimH
            Automated Home Legend
            • Feb 2004
            • 509

            #6
            Another supplier here:


            No personal experience but might be worth a look.

            HTH,

            Tim.
            My Flickr Photos

            Comment

            • MarkHarrison
              Automated Home Jr Member
              • Feb 2004
              • 18

              #7
              SilentGliss curtains, and Somfy blinds are the way I'd go.

              We tried various "cheaper" options in the early 2000s, and found that they broke too much, so ended up with these two only.

              At the time (and I've not been active as an installer for 3 years), it was the case that the SilentGliss blinds were re-badged Somfys with "price uplift technology."

              Somfy's solution for blinds is nice - the thing that automaters sometimes get wrong, though, is assuming that they can use them for multiple stop points (for screens showing 16:9 or 4:3 TV), and that they can raise/lower them to the right point by controlling the timing - I've never known this to work :-( The Somfy's have "top and bottom" limit points, though, which work well.

              I agree that the bay window solution is expensive, though - your only other options (which may well be rejected from an interior design perspective) are either to have separate short curtains in each part of the bay, or to "flat curtain" across the inside of the bay, so the whole of it is "outside the curtains" in the evening.

              Please remember that Somfy can be cut on-site, but SilentGliss need to be made to order, and can't be shortened post-manufacture. You also need to specify "curtains open to the left, right or centre" which is as seen inside the room, looking out.

              Mark
              (Used to be an installer, and used to run training courses on Somfy and SilentGliss.)

              Comment

              • chris_j_hunter
                Automated Home Legend
                • Dec 2007
                • 1713

                #8
                SFAIK / AIUI the intelli-blinds offerings are Somfy ...

                so that's hopefully a good sign !
                Our self-build - going further with HA...

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                • Andrew Millne
                  Automated Home Ninja
                  • Nov 2007
                  • 269

                  #9
                  Originally posted by chris_j_hunter View Post
                  SFAIK / AIUI the intelli-blinds offerings are Somfy ...
                  Sounds promising as they are just at the right price point for me. Still not sure how to wire them and what power supply I'd need.
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                  • TimH
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Feb 2004
                    • 509

                    #11
                    Another supplier from my archive of mailing list messages...
                    try: http://www.farnboroughblinds.com/AUTOMATION.html

                    Don't know if they're rebadging other brands though.

                    HTH,

                    Tim.
                    My Flickr Photos

                    Comment

                    • Andrew Millne
                      Automated Home Ninja
                      • Nov 2007
                      • 269

                      #12
                      My building work is progressing nicely so I've decided to revisit this with a view to doing maybe kitchen and bathroom (5 windows in total) to start with but I think I've come across what would be a potential showstopper for the whole house. I was intending to use QRH modules and wire some of the motors in parallel (on a room by room basis) in order to cut down the number of relay outputs used but I don't think this will be possible due to the slight variations in the motors and differing times to reach limits.
                      Visit my blog and Follow me on Twitter...

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                      • toscal
                        Moderator
                        • Oct 2005
                        • 2061

                        #13
                        Originally posted by MarkHarrison View Post
                        Somfy's solution for blinds is nice - the thing that automaters sometimes get wrong, though, is assuming that they can use them for multiple stop points (for screens showing 16:9 or 4:3 TV), and that they can raise/lower them to the right point by controlling the timing - I've never known this to work :-( The Somfy's have "top and bottom" limit points, though, which work well.

                        Mark
                        (Used to be an installer, and used to run training courses on Somfy and SilentGliss.)
                        Xanura do an X10 shutter/curtain module that can be virtually set to any position. In practice it works out to be about 23 positions. They are not cheap but they work and work very well. And can cope with most roller shutter and curtain motors without the need for an extra relay or two.
                        On shutters we have found sometimes the internal cams that regulate the open and close points can move, and will need to be reset. This is normally done by just putting the module in to program mode and re-setting the open and close points.
                        I know some motorised curtain tracks can be bent to shape, so could follow a bay window.But this tends to work better on very large bays with a large radius, rather than small bays and small radii . So a gradual curve is better.
                        IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
                        Renovation Spain Blog

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