Thursday, July 30, 2026 — Wholesale Blind Factory
Adding motorized shades to a smart home you already run — Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or a hub like SmartThings — works well as long as you match the shade's power source and control system to what you already have. Somfy motorized shades, which we install across Greater Vancouver, are built to sit alongside other smart devices rather than replace them, but a few decisions up front (power, hub, and scenes) determine how smoothly they fit in.
Most of the time, yes, but it depends on the bridge between the shade motor and your existing app. Somfy shades typically connect through their own hub (Somfy TaHoma), which then talks to broader platforms. Before you order, confirm with your installer whether your specific motor and hub combination integrates with the app you already use daily. If you want a single app controlling shades, lights, and locks, ask this question at the consultation stage rather than after installation — it's much easier to plan for than to retrofit.
This is usually the biggest practical decision in an existing home, since running new wiring after the fact is disruptive.
For most existing homes, battery power is the path of least resistance. It avoids opening walls and lets you add shades room by room without an electrician.
Often yes, at least initially. Somfy motors generally operate on their own protocol, which means a small hub or bridge sits between the shade and your home Wi-Fi. That hub is then what connects to broader smart home platforms. It's an extra piece of hardware, but it's usually a one-time setup — once the hub is on your network, additional shades in other rooms join the same system without repeating the process.
If you already have automation set up — lights dimming at sunset, thermostat schedules, an "away" mode when you leave the house — motorized shades can usually be added into those same routines rather than running on their own separate schedule. Common additions homeowners make once shades are online:
The specific steps to build these routines depend on your platform's app, so we recommend testing one or two scenes with your installer at the time of setup rather than guessing afterward.
In most cases, motorization means new custom shades built with a motor inside the headrail — you can't simply bolt a motor onto an existing corded blind. The upside is that you're not stuck redoing your whole home at once. Motorized cellular shades, roller shades, and zebra shades can be added window by window or room by room, joining your existing smart home network as you go. This also means you can start with the windows that get the most daily use — bedrooms for morning light control, or a great room with hard-to-reach or oversized windows — and expand later.
A little homework before your free in-home consultation speeds things up and helps us recommend the right motor and hub combination for your setup. Bring or note:
All of our custom motorized shades are built in our Coquitlam facility and backed by a limited lifetime warranty on the window covering itself. Because there are no cords, motorized shades are also a safer option in homes with young kids or pets — worth keeping in mind if you're motorizing some rooms and leaving others corded for now.
The fastest way to know exactly what will work with your existing smart home is a free in-home consultation. We'll look at your windows, ask about your current platform, and recommend the motor and hub setup that fits without duplicating hardware you already own. Call (604) 942-4201 or book online, or browse motorized options at /shop to get a sense of styles before your visit.
Yes. Many homeowners motorize priority rooms first — bedrooms, great rooms, hard-to-reach windows — and keep corded blinds elsewhere. Motorized rooms simply join your smart home network while corded rooms operate manually, with no conflict between the two.
The shade motor itself usually communicates with a small hub rather than directly with Wi-Fi, and that hub connects to your home network to enable app and voice control. If your Wi-Fi goes down, most motors still respond to a physical remote.
No. Shades are added as another device on your existing platform, similar to adding a smart plug or light. The main setup step is pairing the shade hub with your network once, after which additional shades join the same system quickly.
Motorization typically requires new shades built with the motor inside the headrail, since it isn't usually possible to add a motor to an existing corded blind. Cost varies by size, fabric, and motor type — a free in-home consultation will give you an exact quote for your windows.