If you’re a smart home dealer, you probably know automated window shades are a hot commodity these days. Your potential customers can quickly grasp the benefits of these beautiful and smart devices: benefits that include convenience, energy efficiency, temperature control and comfort, increased security, cord-free safety, aesthetic appeal, and more.
It’s no wonder the sales forecasts for these eye-catching and intelligent home automation products are so uplifting (pun intended). Here’s just one example: a March 2024 study from FMI (Future Market Insights) said the global blinds and shades market is expected to reach $26.78 billion by 2034 (up from $16.26 million in 2024). And automated shades are playing a substantial role in this growth. Sneha Varghese, senior consultant with FMI said, “The increasing popularity of smart and motorized solutions with advancements in technology is driving the blinds and shades market.”
A Window Treatment That’s Also a Gateway
One thing that may not be readily apparent to smart home dealers is the fact automated window shades can serve as a “gateway” product for consumers who might be reticent about fully embracing another technology. Once homeowners become familiar with the benefits of automated window shades, they may be more open to the concept of bundling their shades with other connected devices, or even purchasing a home automation hub and creating a complete smart home ecosystem consisting of multiple connected products.
What follows are some suggestions for products that can be naturally and easily paired with automated window shades, bringing homeowners a comprehensive home automation solution replete with benefits, and connecting dealers with expanded sales and longer-lasting customer relationships.
More Comfortable with Smart Thermostats
Dealers should gauge whether the temperature control derived from automated window shades is important to their shade customers. If so, smart thermostats may be a natural next purchase.
Automated shades can help make a home more comfortable, providing energy savings by lowering heating and air conditioning bills. Homeowners can control automated shades to take advantage of the warmth of the sun during colder days and keep rooms cool by lowering the shades during the heat of summer. If desired, products like PowerShades’ True PoE automated shades can be pre-programmed to open and close at set times (which can change according to the season).
Similarly, smart thermostats give homeowners more precise and convenient control over the temperature in their home. Like smart shades, smart thermostats can be preprogrammed to adjust temperature at certain times of day, and even be controlled remotely when the user is at work or on vacation. And when connected and controlled by a single app, smart shades and smart thermostats can work in concert to provide customers with a complete, whole-home climate control solution.
Security Benefits
Automated shades can also be viewed as a part of a home’s security eco-system, and thus lead to sales of other automated security products, like smart indoor and outdoor lighting, security cameras and smart locks. The most obvious security benefit of motorized shades is homeowners can schedule the shades to be down when they’re not home, through integration with any of a variety of smart hubs or home-control systems. They can also be activated by smart thermostats, smoke alarms, and other devices that receive triggers when the house is empty.
Smart shades can be programmed to lower automatically when it gets dark outside, enhancing privacy and security. They can even be put into vacation mode, which will create random patterns of opening and closing, making it difficult for potential housebreakers to detect a routine. And from the front door of a home, using a smart lock and central hub, the shades can be programmed to automatically raise when the door is unlocked as part of a custom scenario.
It should be noted smart lighting can also be an effective deterrent against break-ins, making would-be burglars think there is someone inside the home. In fact, integrating both smart lighting and smart shades inside the home with a smart lock outside the home will further enhance the effectiveness of the homeowner’s security plan.
Savings on Energy Costs
Automated window shades can be part of a complete automation system that can help reduce energy costs for homeowners by letting them control their devices according to pre-set parameters. We’ve already talked about how thermostats can automatically reduce heating or cooling at certain times of day. One of the benefits of smart lighting is it can be set to automatically shut off when not in use. And products like smart electric outlets are designed to monitor and control energy consumption, leading directly to lower utility bills.
Similarly, light-blocking and light-filtering automated shades can increase a home’s energy efficiency. By scheduling the shades to stay open more frequently in the winter, users can use less heat and switch off lights and lamps. Because the automated shades can be programmed to be open or closed at certain times of the year or the day, users can optimize energy management, reduce monthly utility bills by up to 30%, and reduce their environmental footprint.
All these connected devices bundled together create a home automation ecosystem that can greatly reduce a home’s energy output and provide substantial savings to homeowners every month.
Smart Device: A Beautiful Thing
Automated shades are not just about the technology, motorized innovation, and cost savings (all great things). With a clean, cord-free aesthetic and an ever-growing array of shade fabric offerings (PowerShades currently offers more than 300 fabric options), these products can help provide the interior appeal homeowners and interior designers are searching for. Plus, automated shades can be pre-set to block out damaging UV rays at certain times of day, preventing potential bleaching or damaging of furniture, rugs, and artwork.
But smart shades may only be part of the homeowner’s aesthetic upgrade. For example, devices like smart thermostats and smart locks can play an important role in bringing sleek, forward-looking design to a home’s decor. Customers who want their home controls and devices to combine functionality with clean, elegant design should consider pairing their new automated shades with other devices that are as smart-looking as they are technologically brilliant.
Home Automation Not Just Smart Shades
Strange, but true (this coming from the president of PowerShades), not all home automation sales begin with smart automated shades. As you can imagine, given the popularity of smart shades and all their complementary benefits, automated smart shades can also create business by serving as a potential add-on to the sale of other devices. When dealers want to get the most out of every opportunity, they should consider automated shades as a perfect addition to almost any home automation sale, whether the sale starts at the window, the door, or anywhere else in the home.
About the Author
Ryan Chacon is the president and co-founder of PowerShades. With more than 20 years of experience in the automation and controls industry, Ryan is an expert in engineering, product development, and IoT. Ryan currently holds 21 issued patents and two pending patents. Follow him on LinkedIn here.