I am planning to order Bali motorized shades, which use the Z-wave protocol. They offer several types of remotes, as well as an app/gateway combo. The remotes are the Z-wave plus, the easy view, and the Z-wave premium. I intend to use the Z-wave USB dongle with Z-wave JS that is working on my HA, but I wouldn’t mind also being able to control the shades from a remote or app. My question is, are any of these options compatible with using HA for Z-wave control, or should I just order the motorized shades and power supply? Thanks.
The remotes show up as button devices when paired.
There is a specific pairing procedure in the manual to pair both the remote and blinds with your controller and then pair the remote directly to the blind.
So sky is the limit.
I have 10 blinds, bought each with a remote - just in case I sell, new owners might want a remote. I have 10 remotes in a drawer. Rarely used.
That said you DEFINITELY want at least one remote. It’s used to set limits. It will be incredibly hard to do without it.
Final word of advice on these blinds.
Bali is a brand of Springs Window Fashions, Bali is the brand they generally sell to ‘big box’ stores like Lowes or Menards. The problem is when the device need support… Who do you call?
Bali and the store generally start pointing fingers at each other. This matters because the ONLY way you can get firmware updates for these is from the manufacturer… (see where I’m going) Bali has been less than helpful over the last 5 or so year in that matter. So if you are going Bali. Ask what happens if you need updates to firmware and make sure you get a guaranteed response.
I purchased my blinds (Graber brand, the very same Springs / Somfy / Bali / Graber blinds) from an online retailer (ZebraBlinds) and ive obtained firmware from them for all of my blinds multiple times over the last 5 or so years.
You’re gonna pay a lot for a ZWave blind (at least $150 US or likely more if you go full custom.) Make sure you also have good support…
Nathan, thanks for your detailed and helpful response. I hadn’t considered the firmware issue. I was looking at the Bali site because Costco is having a sale there, but I’m now also looking at Zebra. I’m shopping to cover five big windows (largest is almost five feet by nine feet) so it’s a significant purchase.
To be clear, I should not buy a gateway or hub if I have a working Z-wave network, just a remote?
That’s exactly why I brought it up. There was a significant issue with the Somfy motors in these things around FW 11.2 that caused the blinds to stall out. (Current is 12.x or 13.x I think) The Zebra blind rep was very helpful getting the firmware out to all their clients - but kept getting hammered by Bali clients who couldn’t get a firmware out of them. They may have changed since - but if I’m spending over $200 USD on a single unit. You BETTER be able to provide me firmware updates when required.
Yes they pair directly with any ZWave hub. I’m using ZWaveJS UI on an Aeotec Stick 7. Runs like a champ.
Here are the instructions on how to add the Bali blinds and the remote to HA, then adding the blinds to the remote as well. I followed these instructions and everything works perfectly.