Somfy Vs Louvolite motorised blinds

jabriel

Looking to motorise blinds for the entire house. I have 11 windows in total which range in size.

A local blinds company supplies Somfy and Louvolite products.

OPTION 1
Somfy Roll Up 28 RTS: ROLL UP 28 RTS

Somfy motors have a 5 year warranty on the motor and one can use rechargeable batteries.

This is a little more fiddly when recharging batteries.

Existing options for home automation.

I think Somfy as a company are/were focused on motorisation etc.

OPTION 2
Louvolite: Motorised Blinds - Louvolite (I'm looking at the remote option, not the one touch wand option.)

Louvolite motors have a 2 year warranty on the motor and has a lithium rechargeable battery.

Less fiddly when recharging batteries.

Apparently they will have home automation options from Jan 2019 and the existing motors/devices will be compatible.

Louvolite are a company focused on blinds. That said, they are a little behind the times if they are only bringing out home automation in 2019.

Price wise both above options are the same.

OPTION 3 - approximately £1.3k more!
Somfy Sonesse 30rts: SONESSE 30 RTS - Quiet DC motorisation for small blinds, dedicated to interior applications.

This is with a 5 year warranty on the motor and lithium based rechargeable batteries which are very easy and not fiddly to recharge.

Can you share you experiences (good or bad) with either company?

Should I get the Somfy as the motor has a longer warranty? Or are Louvolite motors just as reliable? Or should I focus on ease of use and opt for Louvolite as they are less fiddly to recharge.

Any help would be much appreciated.

d10brp

Big standard Somfy set up here across 7 wide and tall windows. Had them about 2.5 years and still going strong. I went for the simple disposable battery route and use Kirkland batteries from Costco. I don't change them often, once or twice a year.

PsyVision

I was interested in some Somfy mains powered ones but trying to find some with blackout channels

cmclean

You can get them fit them all the time Somfy cassetted so not light blend around the edges

jabriel

Is it fiddly changing the batteries?

Is yours integrated with Tahoma/google home/other smart home solution? If so, is it working well?

Someone (I don't know) suggested Louvolite motors are fine and as they're cheaper, go with them. But if their motors are just as good, why do they not offer a longer warranty? Or am I placing too much value on the 5 year warranty on the Somfy motor?

d10brp

Changing the batteries is easy. The battery compartment is mounted behind the blind, you just unplug it, unscrew the top, empty the dead batteries and drop in the new ones. Only need to do it 1-2 times per year so no big deal. I don't have any smart home integration with them though.

jabriel

Thanks d10brp.

Will have a think over the next few days.

inkymortar

If it helps I've got Somfy mains powered blinds installed for 5x 5m drops, using a Vera Edge controller which I can control using an Amazon Echo. They've been installed for 3 years and have had no problems whatsoever.

PsyVision

Nice!  What do you use to trigger the blinds from the Vera?

jabriel

Thanks. Unfortunately for me mains powered blinds aren't an option.