REVIEW – I have a lot of “smart” products in my house. In fact, I just checked and there are currently 38 things connected to the Wireless network in my house. And only a few of them are phones, tablets, or computers. Most of our smart devices are smart lights, smart plugs, and smart speakers. I knew of smart shades, but never really thought they would be useful. I was wrong! We had been thinking about replacing the blinds on our bedroom for a while, and the SmartWings Smart Roller Shades fit the bill perfectly!
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: Depends on configuration, from $179
Where to buy: SmartWings
What is it?
The SmartWings motorized shades are just that – motorized roller shades that are “smart” meaning they can connect to your smart home network and be controlled remotely and automatically.
What’s included?
The shades are completely configurable and built to order, so what is included depends on what you order. But for me, here’s what was included.
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- The shades (three of them, for three windows)
- Remote control (one control for all 3)
- Small solar panels that stick to the window to charge the shades
- Manuals (one for mounting, one for the remote and setup, one for the smart network functions)
- Mounting hardware
Tech specs
Because the shades are completely configurable, I’m not going to list specific tech specs, but I will list the types of things that are configurable with the shades.
- Percent blackout (50%, 70%, 100%)
- Size (completely configurable, length and width, up to 109 inches wide and 120 inches high)
- Motor type (Standard, which is just remote control; Zigbee, Alexa, Z-Wave Plus, HomeKit over Thread, Matter over Thread, Matter and Power over Ethernet)
- Valance type
- Bottom bar type
- Solar panel
- Remote control (control up to 5 shades, or up to 15 shades)
- Which side of the blinds the motor is on
- If the shades roll from the front or back
One tech spec that is particularly exciting, especially for new construction, is the ability to specify Power over Ethernet (POE). Many new homes are now constructed with extensive ethernet wiring. You can specify SmartWings’ new POE motors which let you power the shades from the ethernet, as well as connect to your smart home through Matter over Ethernet. This great feature removes the need for the solar panel, and removes any of the challenges of a wireless or Thread network to connect. But your home does need a hard-wired ethernet cable at the top corner of each window.
Design and features
The shades are completely configurable to the design and features will be specific to your order, but here’s what I got. I ordered three shades for the three windows in our main bedroom. I got the Matter over Thread motors.
If you are not familiar with Matter or Thread, Matter is a newer smart home standard that is supposed to be universal across different devices and platforms. Thread is a radio network (like wifi or Bluetooth) that is low power and uses mesh technology that allows your smart home devices to communicate seamlessly and without going out over the greater internet. Just a quick note about Thread – you need something called a Thread Border Router for this to work. A Border Router is already built into many smart home devices. For me, my Google Nest Hub Max has a Thread Border Router built in.
I chose the 70% blackout Safari shades in the biscuit color. These choices were mostly to mimic the colors and blackout characteristics of the old blinds that we were replacing. I chose the cassette valance, standard bottom bar, and the solar panel option for all three shades. I ordered one 5 channel remote.
The ordering process was easy and the shades arrived direct from China in about a week.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
The shades arrive from the factory completely set up, based on the specifications you give when you order. There is even a sticker on them identifying which window they correspond to (bedroom left, for example), that you specify when you order. The shades are already paired to the remote , with that information on the sticker as well. For connecting to your smart home, it depends on which type of motor you get and thus what your smart home setup will be, but my Matter over Thread shades included a QR code sticker on the shades that allowed quick setup to my Smart Home using the Google Home app on my phone.
Physical installation was quick and easy thanks to some innovative brackets that are included. I simply attached the brackets using holes that were already there from the old blinds I removed, and the new shades easily snapped right into those brackets. Total installation time for all three shades was about 20 minutes.
The solar panel sticks to the window with 3M double sided tape and plugs into the shades with a USB-C cord. Easy. And the solar panels are narrow enough that they hide nicely behind the shades. You can see them a little from outside, but not at all from inside.
The shades are very configurable. They some setup from the factory, but if you wanted to change how high or low they go for example, you can do that, and directions are included in the manual.
Performance
I did not know how much I would enjoy smart shades. Now, the shades themselves are not that smart. Their only real function is to open and close. The power is in automating that process. For example, I can now control the shades three ways. I can use the included remote control, I can use voice control (Google, open the shades), or I can automate the shades. That for me is where the power is.
For me, the power in a smart home is having things happen based on other things. For example, our indoor lighting turns on or off based on the ambient light outside, controlled from a connected weather station. I have a routine to close the shades 45 minutes before sunset and to open the shades every day at 9:00. This is great because we used to just leave the old blinds closed all the time, which meant that our bedroom was just dark. But now we’ve seen the light! I have also created an automation that closes the shades if the outdoor temperature rises about 87 degrees, to keep the room from getting too hot.
SmartWings claims the battery in the shades will last for several months before it needs to be charged. Charging is easy, by just plugging a USB-C cable into the port. I chose the solar panels which means I should never have to worry about charging. My windows all face north, but the batteries are always maintained at 100%.
As I mentioned previously, the shades are very configurable. For example, you can change how far the shades come down when closing if you have an air conditioner or fan installed in the window. You can change the speed of the motor. You can change the top limit of the shades if you want them to always remain closed a few inches. You can change which buttons control which shades on the remote. When I first read about all these configurations, I expected there to be an app to easily make these changes. I was wrong. Unfortunately, configuring anything is more akin to programming a VCR in 1987. Inputs are made using a series of button pushes on the remote or the one button on the shades, and the shades respond by jogging the motor a number of times to confirm the input. I found this very frustrating and unsatisfying in the era of well designed apps that make configuring things simple. Perhaps that’s why the shades arrive from the factory fully configured. But once I got through the initial frustration of setting the shades up the way I wanted them, they are great. Just don’t lose the manuals with all the instructions. At least the manuals are well written and instructive.
Final thoughts
I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy smart shades. It seems simple, but going through the process of manually open three mini blinds (when two of them were half way behind a bed) was a real pain, so the room usually remained dark. But now the shades open and close automatically, and the look of the shades has really enhanced the room.
What I like about the SmartWings Smart Motorized Shades
- They look really good!
- I didn’t realize how much I would like smart shades
- Solar!
What needs to be improved?
- Really needs an app for configuration
Price: Depends completely upon your configuration. From $179
Where to buy: SmartWings
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by SmartWings. SmartWings did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out our other motorized shades reviews!
- SmartWings Motorized Light Filtering Roller Shades review – Smart Shades for a Smart Home!
- SmartWings Outdoor Shades review – motorized, solar-powered, and HomeKit-enabled!
- Allesin K230 Motorized Cellular Shades review
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Danny- clarifying something you said… You mentioned your windows face north and the solor panel still charges ‘enough’. Do your north facing windows get any sunlight? I have N facing as well (live in CO) but the amount of sun that actually hits the windows is limited to peak summer time. Any color you can provide on north facing charging would be great.
Scott, I’ve had the shades up for about two months, and they generally open and to close once a day. The batteries never fall below 95%. I think even absent the solar panels, they should probably last several months before you would need to charge them. If they do run down, you just plug into any standard charger with a USB port. I’ve been pretty impressed with the battery life. So I think even the limited indirect sunlight they receive on my three windows is enough to keep the batteries topped off when opening and closing a modest amount.