While not one of the most obvious accessories in the world of video projection, motorized window shades can play a vital role in controlling ambient light to enable tolerable daytime viewing. Such is the case in my home where I have several different brands of motorized shades and blinds throughout the house to help not only provide automated/scheduled privacy at night, but more importantly for this article, room darkening during day-time TV and movie watching.

The first motorized shade I ever installed was provided by PowerShades, a custom integration-focused company based in Joplin, MO, and distributed in the CI channel by the PowerHouse Alliance. That ~8-year-old shade was due for an upgraded motor and operating system to reduce operating noise and to expand controllability and add home automation scheduling.

PowerShades Window
PowerShades motorized shade installed

When I installed that original shade, I was covering a large opening (75 inches wide x 67 inches high double-hung windows) in my family room that previously only had manual drapes. That initial project required measurement, the determination of mounting position (inside the window frame or above it), shade color, and transparency preference.

I won't go into the details of that long-ago process too much because this article is really about the simplicity of upgrading a motor on a PowerShades motorized shade. Working with PowerShades on this project, while challenging at times because I am media and not an experienced custom integrator, ended up providing me with a much quieter shade and one that could be controlled via app and automated through a portal for opening and closing on a schedule.

PowerShades Motor
The PowerShades motor

My original shade was mounted on the exterior of the window (above it) within a box header that encloses the roller and fabric in a protective enclosure. When it came time to replace the motor, I unplugged the shade from its AC power outlet, removed the header covering, clicked a tab, and carefully lowered the heavy shade roller to a projected area on the floor. Normally, you would have to unroll the shade all the way until the shade tube is exposed and unscrew the screw head on the tube to un-anchor the motor. The purpose of this screw (if you have one) is to secure motors within the tubes for specific shipping methods. Some shades do not have the motor anchored in by a screw. For me, the motor slid right out of the cardboard roller tube without any real elbow grease or unscrewing required at all.

Sliding the replacement motor into the roller was just as simple as removing the old one. Then I remounted the roller shade to the brackets and plugged the new power connector into the wall. That's when I called on the helpful tech support team at PowerShades for assistance.

My original shade from PowerShades was essentially a dumb device. It had a wall-mounted RF remote for programming top and bottom stops and then manually triggering up, down, and stop commands. The new shade motor would be controlled via a PowerShades RF Gateway, which is a round, white box that either hardwires into your network via Power over Ethernet (PoE) or powers up via AC plug and then connects it to Wi-Fi. One Gateway can support up to 30 shades.)

There was some intervention from tech support getting my PowerShades dashboard set up since the gateway had not been added to the system before being sent out to me. This being a retrofit project seemed to get things off to a little bit of a shaky start, but we got it sorted out eventually and moved ahead.

Configuring the shades—naming them, performing firmware updates of the PoE models, setting their direction, putting them into groups, and setting up automations—is done via the PowerShades Property Dashboard, and this is also where a CI dealer will have access to their projects and be able to give their customers access to their own homes so they can go in and tweak and make adjustments.

PowerShades Remote
The PowerShades remote

Once my shade was paired to the RF Gateway via Wi-Fi, I went through set-up steps on the dashboard. The dashboard is a bit rudimentary, but it does allow you to manage shades in multiple properties if you own them. Once you select the correct property, you navigate to the "devices" tab at the top of the page and then select the "RF Gateways" tab under the selected property. Next, you assign the shades on the property to the channels on the dialog box that opened. I was dealing with one shade and one channel, but the gateway allows 30 channels. The last steps involved pairing the shade with the gateway and configuring it.

As I stated earlier, my original shade came with an RF remote, which attaches magnetically to a wall mount. That remote had to be paired to the new shade motor by pressing the "P" button of the back on the remote until the motor responded with a "jog." Once the motor responded, I clicked "pair" on the dashboard.

Next, I paired the shade from the motor programming button by holding down a button on the edge of the roller for two seconds until the motor jogged and beeped once. Then I clicked "pair" on the dashboard. To make sure everything was communicating, I tested the functionality of the setup by sending an Up and Down command.

One of the benefits of swapping out the old motor for a new one in my PowerShades shade was that I could now operate it remotely and, more importantly, create automation schedules. Initially I was disappointed that the PowerShades app (which wouldn't work with my old motor at all) only provided access to Up, Down, and Stop for my new motor. In other words, all automation schedules had to be set up in the dashboard, on my computer, rather than through the app. This seems like a clunky setup, but the truth is that once I figured out the times that I wanted the shade to close completely at bedtime, open in the morning, and lower partway when sun directly hits my window in the late afternoon (thermal management), I really didn't need to fiddle with the schedule anymore. And, although I do still have the remote control right next to the shade, I can see the benefit of having the app for adjusting the shade in between automations, remotely, rather than having to be in the room with the remote control. I have found that with my schedules now set, I don't dig into the scheduling tool or use the app that much anymore (unless I'm testing out a projector in the daytime, of course).

Having lived with the new PowerShades motor for several months now, I have noticed that it is substantially quieter than its predecessor, which had a much more noticeable mechanical grinding sound. While it is far from the quietest motorized shade in my house (that honor goes to Lutron), all in all, updating my PowerShades motor has resulted in much smoother operation and convenience in my motorized shade.

 

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