I am doing a whole home reno and would like to automate as many blinds as possible - Some blinds are already existing manual roller blinds.
I will add hardwire to as many as possible. I have read that using CAT6 is the best option for future proofing for communication and low voltage power delivery. - Do you agree? - any other considerations?
Currently I have many many hardwired Z-wave switches (can act as repeaters) and others, and will be adding more through the reno. BUT, I have read that some powered blinds offer POE with Matter so was thinking that using the CAT6 for power and communication is a better option. I like the idea of hardwired communication over Z-wave. -Do you agree?
The only blinds option I see online for Matter + POE is SmartWings. I am not opposed to DIYing the blinds, if the cost savings are there. (I have a 3d printer and can do 3d modeling). Has anyone done a cost comparision of DIY vs prebuilt, and are there DIY hardware options for blinds with Matter+POE?
Overall there will be about 17-20 blinds I would like to get done, likely not all at once due to cost.
If you need a quote to measure & install the window treatments, send me a PM. Somfy offers POE motors. There are DIY motorization where you can buy direct from mfg like 3 day blinds, etc. However going through dealers is probably the easiest turn key way. But if you do go with buying direct and need someone to measure or just install, let me know.
For motorization, low voltage is pretty straight forward. You will have a homerun 16/2 wire. You will have a power panel that it connects into (a large transformer, Somfy does offer a 20 motor panel). Now if you go POE you could have one cable but would need to get a network POE switch that would accomedate all the motors.
Thanks, can you let me know what you mean by 1 cable for POE? is it possible to mount shades in parallel? I thought each blind would need an individual CAT 6 going from switch to blind.
1 cat5e POE cable per motor that would get home run back to the network switch. You can do cat6 but it’s overkill. You can save money by doing cat5e. Personally, I have Somfy Zigbee connected into Home Assistant. Was a lot easier than trying to make an integration for everything to work. I setup my Zigbee motors to the TaHoma Switch, connected them to HA via HomeKit (don’t need any iOS devices) and bam. I’ve attached some diagrams.
