HomeKit HomeKit roller blind cord motor

[Ipadonly1]

Hello,

Would anyone kindly have any recommendations for a HomeKit compatible motor for retrofitting a roller blind?

I had seen the Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, but it seems to require a hub as well. There’s also the SOMA smart Shades 3, but the cheapest option is £179 for a 2 pack.

This may well just be the going price for this kind of product - I’m new to HomeKit so please forgive my ignorance, but it does seem like a lot of money

Thank you if you’re able to help.

 

[erihp]

get a hubitat and shop for offline/zigbee shades/blind options. so many more products are available and at much lower costs (like the aqara you found)

plus, then you can add a ton of zwave and zigbee devices to homekit. def the way to go.

Hubitat Update Adds Support for Matter and Aqara - Homekit News and Reviews

Hubitat has released an update that introduces built-in support for Matter Bridge devices, Aqara Zigbee and Matter devices, and more...

homekitnews.com

 

[Itinj24]

Hello,

Would anyone kindly have any recommendations for a HomeKit compatible motor for retrofitting a roller blind?

I had seen the Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, but it seems to require a hub as well. There’s also the SOMA smart Shades 3, but the cheapest option is £179 for a 2 pack.

This may well just be the going price for this kind of product - I’m new to HomeKit so please forgive my ignorance, but it does seem like a lot of money

Thank you if you’re able to help.

Why the reluctancy for a hub? The hub devices (Zigbee, Thread, Z-Wave as recommended above) are generally faster to respond and more reliable than WiFi versions. You want to keep as many devices off WiFi as possible, not the other way around. Hubs aren’t expensive but with something like Aqara and Hubitat, it opens you to a large variety of very budget friendly, fast and reliable sensors. Check out the Aqara sensors in Amazon.

 

[erihp]

Why the reluctancy for a hub? The hub devices (Zigbee, Thread, Z-Wave as recommended above) are generally faster to respond and more reliable than WiFi versions. You want to keep as many devices off WiFi as possible, not the other way around. Hubs aren’t expensive but with something like Aqara and Hubitat, it opens you to a large variety of very budget friendly, fast and reliable sensors. Check out the Aqara sensors in Amazon.

can +1 aqara sensors and accessories, but i would not recommend their hub. i dont trust them, and using their hub and shortcuts and automations within aqara require a login, and app, and internet connectivity.

hubitat needs nothing. it can run with no account, no internet connectivity, and does not need a 'cloud' to function.

 

[Itinj24]

can +1 aqara sensors and accessories, but i would not recommend their hub. i dont trust them, and using their hub and shortcuts and automations within aqara require a login, and app, and internet connectivity.

hubitat needs nothing. it can run with no account, no internet connectivity, and does not need a 'cloud' to function.

I have a C-8 Hubitat hub sitting in the box I bought when it first came out and when HomeKit support was announced (a year ago I think?). So you’re saying the Aqara sensors connect direct to Hubitat?

Aqara hubs don’t bother me. I like the built in alarm/siren and other features they offer. FWIW, I don’t trust any tech company, including Apple.

 

[erihp]

I have a C-8 Hubitat hub sitting in the box I bought when it first came out and when HomeKit support was announced (a year ago I think?). So you’re saying the Aqara sensors connect direct to Hubitat?

yep!

 

[Itinj24]

yep!

Cool, I gotta break that seal. I bought it initially for the EcoNet Bulldog water valve (still not installed) but didn’t know it could take Aqara sensors. Good to know, thanks 👍🏻

 

[erihp]

Cool, I gotta break that seal. I bought it initially for the EcoNet Bulldog water valve (still not installed) but didn’t know it could take Aqara sensors. Good to know, thanks 👍🏻

and ikea zigbee devices, and hue, and tuya zigbee and all those cheapie no brand devices too!

great little hubs.

 

[Itinj24]

and ikea zigbee devices, and hue, and tuya zigbee and all those cheapie no brand devices too!

great little hubs.

Wait, say that again?! Did you say Hue? I thought they were proprietary. So Hue lights will connect to Hubitat without the need for a Hue bridge and be exposed to HomeKit?

 

[erihp]

Wait, say that again?! Did you say Hue? I thought they were proprietary. So Hue lights will connect to Hubitat without the need for a Hue bridge and be exposed to HomeKit?

yep. couple different ways to do it, as hubitat has official drivers and also support community drivers.

the community supported integration has many features the official does not support.

here is info on the official integration:

Hue Bridge Integration

Learn how to use the Hubitat Hue Bridge Integration app to bring Hue Bridge lights and groups into Hubitat

docs2.hubitat.com

and here is cocohue:

GitHub - HubitatCommunity/CoCoHue: Open-source community-created Hue Bridge integration for Hubitat

Open-source community-created Hue Bridge integration for Hubitat - HubitatCommunity/CoCoHue

github.com

it is generally advised if you have a diverse zigbee network, its better to put bulbs on their own zigbee network

 

[Itinj24]

yep. couple different ways to do it, as hubitat has official drivers and also support community drivers.

here is info on the official integration:

Hue Bridge Integration

Learn how to use the Hubitat Hue Bridge Integration app to bring Hue Bridge lights and groups into Hubitat

docs2.hubitat.com

and here is cocohue:

GitHub - HubitatCommunity/CoCoHue: Open-source community-created Hue Bridge integration for Hubitat

Open-source community-created Hue Bridge integration for Hubitat - HubitatCommunity/CoCoHue

github.com

it is generally advised if you have a diverse zigbee network, its better to put bulbs on their own zigbee network

Interesting. Thanks for that!

 

[erihp]

Interesting. Thanks for that!

also if its just a bulb or sensor you can try to add via the generic zigbee device driver as well.