I’ve got an extra tall living room, and without a 15’ ladder there’s no way I can actuate the pull down shades. I would be annoyed to have to climb up to change batteries a few times a year. What I would ideally want are some kind of window shade or blinds with a remote or HA controllable, and a little solar panel to collect the juicy rays of the sun.

I have found hard wired shades, battery powered shades with remotes, and zigbee etc shades, but not exactly what I’m looking for.

Any suggestions?

I don’t actually HAVE any automation at home beyond some hated Alexas, but these shades would be a great place to start.

Thanks in advance.

  • walden@sub.wetshaving.socialEnglish
    3·
    20 hours ago

    I’m not up to date on the current market, but I have Ikea blinds that are battery operated which I control from HA. The batteries are rechargeable, and the batteries themselves have micro-USB ports for charging.

    One option would be to buy these, see what kind of charging port they come with these days, and try to make some physical modifications to jam a USB connector in there. From there, you just have to figure out the solar part. A lot of solar charge controllers have USB ports which should work to charge the battery, but they are clunky and you’d have to mount it on the wall probably.

    For what it’s worth, the batteries in these shades last quite a long time… Looking at one of them, I last charged it in September 2024, and it’s still at 72%. It goes up/down at least once a day I’d say.