Set it and neglect it. That is what it has been like residing with Lutron’s Serena Shades for the previous yr, and it is precisely what I would like out of a gadget like this. Lutron’s web site would possibly look a bit dated, however you’ll be able to run by way of a sequence of selections as you design your customized shades (in Honeycomb, Wooden Blinds, or Curler designs). I selected the latter and entered the measurements from the within mount of my home windows in Lutron’s shade builder software. You possibly can select between battery-powered and wired, however as a result of I haven’t got shops close to my home windows and I did not need to take care of a 15-foot wire, I opted for the batteries (eight D-cell alkaline batteries). Excellent news on that entrance: These batteries ought to final three to 5 years when you open and shut the shades twice per day! As soon as the batteries begin to get low, the shades will transfer at half velocity, indicating it is time to swap them (additionally, you will get an alert within the Lutron app).
Among the following choices within the design course of could differ when you went with a special shade type, however you’ll be able to mount these shades on the within or exterior mount of your home windows, and even above the body if you need (I did an inside mount). Then, select the form of headrail you need. I went with the fabric-wrapped Fascia, which is able to price a bit extra, however it seems cleaner than the usual roll design. Lutron additionally helps you to select between sheer, translucent, or blackout for the curler shade, and I went with translucent. It will possibly let little or no gentle in on sunny days, and night time, trying from the skin, I can simply see a faint glow from my lounge lights. I could not see any silhouettes! Lastly, select your cloth weave and shade (I did Luna <1% Assortment in basalt grey).
In the course of the order course of, additionally, you will want to decide on the way you need to management your shades. I wished to make use of my cellphone and voice assistant but in addition have the choice for a distant, so went for the Distant & Related Dwelling possibility. Ensure you snag the Lutron Smart Hub, which you will want to plug into your router to pair your shades to your Wi-Fi connection. It was fairly straightforward to set all of it up and hook up with Google Assistant within the Google Dwelling app (you’ll be able to set them up with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, and even different manufacturers like Sonos, Ecobee, and Honeywell).
The set up itself took not more than an hour (hopefully you are comfy with drills and mounting issues), and it really has been clean crusing since. I arrange a schedule for the shades to open and shut half-hour after dawn and sundown, and so they’ve been doing precisely that for near a yr. They’re virtually silent. You hear a really slight whirr, however truthfully, if I did not see them transfer and I wasn’t paying consideration and the TV was on, I might by no means hear them in any respect. They give the impression of being nice, work flawlessly, and I haven’t got to fret about battery life for years. They’re spendy, however you are paying for peace of thoughts. —Julian Chokkattu
