Motorised Blinds & Home Automation

Wired or battery — the new-build case

On a new build, a wired 220V motor is usually the better call: your electrician is already on site, the chase can be planned into the wall before it's plastered, and you get a permanent system with nothing to charge. Rechargeable battery motors remain the right answer for windows added after transfer, or anywhere running a cable isn't practical.

Either way, the earlier the automation conversation happens relative to your build programme, the cleaner and cheaper the installation.

Control that matches how you actually live

A handset remote covers the basics. App control lets you check "did I leave the west blinds up?" from the office. Schedules drop west-facing blinds automatically as the highveld sun swings around in summer, and sun sensors do the same job without you setting a timer at all. Wind sensors matter most on exterior products — they retract awnings and external screens ahead of a highveld thunderstorm, which is asset protection as much as convenience.

Where it stops being optional

Spans too wide or heavy for a chain, blinds above a stair void or double-volume wall, concealed ceiling-recess systems, and any wall of glass you'd rather control with "one button, six blinds" — these are the situations where motorisation is the only practical answer, new build or not.

• No dangling chains — the most child-safe operation there is
• Quiet motors, quality brands carry multi-year guarantees
• Pairs naturally with concealed and recessed systems

What motorisation costs

Motorisation has no price of its own, because what you are buying is a product with a motor inside it. Across the range fitted on these houses, motorised shading runs roughly R2,500 to R7,500 per square metre installed: a motorised roller blind at R2,500 to R3,800, a motorised cellular blind at R3,000 to R4,800, and a motorised concealed or recessed system at R3,200 to R5,000.

Small openings are charged at a minimum whatever drives them, and a wired motor planned in while the house is still being finished is a different job from a battery motor retrofitted afterwards. Which one suits your build, and what each window comes to, is settled at the free measure and confirmed in writing.