I’d like to motorize a roller blind. Is it better to buy a ZigBee electric motor or a cord motor? What’s the difference? Thanks.
I imagine that the cord motor will be cheaper and much easier to fit. I use the Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1 on 4 roller blinds.
Does it work well? Is it noisy? Does it handle well with HA?
The Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1 supports Zigbee (link), so as long as you have support for Zigbee in your setup you’re probably good to go.
You could’ve easily Google’d that yourself also 
Did they change their comment or are you missing the ball completely and being very bitchy with it as well?
Thanks for your valuable input. Since I use 4 of them, I know very well what protocol they use and how they work and how to integrate with them HA.
Perhaps you could consider reading your replies before posting to see if they add value or are directed at the correct person.
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Yes, they work very well.
It’s not silent, but I don’t use them in any bedrooms so the noise is not really an issue. If anything the noise comes from the beaded cord passing through the driving wheel as opposed to the motor itself.
Yes, mine are fully integrated via ZHA. I’m sure they work just the same with Z2M.
I have motorized roller shutters (external ones) and i bought classic shutter motors at Conrad, they were quite cheap (under 50€ per piece). I drive them with shelly’s 2PM run on esphome. Works perfectly.
I’d rather have “classic” motor and control separately, since it’s easier to change/repair/modify. If you buy, say, ZigBee electric motor all-in-one and electronics dies on you you must change whole thing. The downside, however, is that you have additional shelly you must hide somewhere…
It’s an expensive option, but they have proven they work. My awning came with a Somfy motor, you’ll need the Somfy gateway, but it can integrate using HomeKit, so it’s fully locally available.
The Somfy gateway can also be locally controlled using the Overkiz integration.
@MarcelloTT : you say awning in the title and roller blind in the post. It seems to me an awning requires a very strong motor like Somfy, a simple roller blind requires much less force and therefore cheaper solutions. Depending on where you live there are nice solutions from Motion Blinds using RF and a cheap wifi dongle that you can use to convert a roller blind to a motorized ones. They also make Matter based ones in the Eve line, but those are much more expensive.
Yes, there is also the Overkiz integration for Somfy, but from my research it depends a bit on which functionality you want from it. They both have benefits and drawbacks (if nothing has changed in the mean time).
I’m talking about an awning that’s installed internally, that rolls up around a tube, and that’s normally operated using a cord. I understand that the motor-in-the-roller solution is more professional.