8 Best Smart Shades, Blinds, and Curtains (2024)

Set it and hide it. That's what it has been similar surviving with Lutron's Serena Shades for the past year, and it's precisely what I privation retired of a gadget similar this. Lutron's website mightiness look a spot dated, but you tin tally done a bid of choices arsenic you plan your customized shades (in Honeycomb, Wood Blinds, oregon Roller designs). I chose the second and entered the measurements from the wrong equine of my windows successful Lutron's shadiness builder tool. You tin take betwixt battery-powered and wired, but due to the fact that I don't person outlets adjacent my windows and I didn't privation to woody with a 15-foot cord, I opted for the batteries (eight D-cell alkaline batteries). Good quality connected that front: These batteries should past 3 to 5 years if you unfastened and adjacent the shades doubly per day! Once the batteries commencement to get low, the shades volition determination astatine fractional speed, indicating it's clip to swap them (you volition besides get an alert successful the Lutron app).

Some of the pursuing options successful the plan process whitethorn disagree if you went with a antithetic shadiness style, but you tin equine these shades connected the wrong oregon extracurricular equine of your windows, and adjacent supra the framework if you privation (I did an wrong mount). Then, take the benignant of headrail you want. I went with the fabric-wrapped Fascia, which volition outgo a spot more, but it looks cleaner than the modular rotation design. Lutron besides lets you take betwixt sheer, translucent, oregon blackout for the roller shade, and I went with translucent. It tin fto precise small airy successful connected sunny days, and night, looking from the outside, I tin conscionable spot a faint glow from my surviving country lights. I couldn't spot immoderate silhouettes! Finally, take your cloth weave and colour (I did Luna <1% Collection successful basalt gray).

During the bid process, you volition besides request to take however you privation to power your shades. I wanted to usage my telephone and dependable adjunct but besides person the enactment for a remote, truthful went for the Remote & Connected Home option. Make definite you snag the Lutron Smart Hub, which you volition request to plug into your router to brace your shades to your Wi-Fi connection. It was beauteous casual to acceptable it each up and link to Google Assistant successful the Google Home app (you tin acceptable them up with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, and adjacent different brands similar Sonos, Ecobee, and Honeywell).

The installation itself took nary much than an hr (hopefully you're comfy with drills and mounting things), and it genuinely has been creaseless sailing since. I acceptable up a docket for the shades to unfastened and adjacent 30 minutes aft sunrise and sunset, and they've been doing precisely that for adjacent to a year. They are astir silent. You perceive a precise flimsy whirr, but honestly, if I didn't spot them determination and I wasn't paying attraction and the TV was on, I would ne'er perceive them astatine all. They look great, enactment flawlessly, and I don't person to interest astir artillery beingness for years. They're spendy, but you're paying for bid of mind. —Julian Chokkattu