Originally published at: SmartWings HomeKit Shades: Affordable Automation Done Right - TidBITS
In 2018, Tonya and I replaced our perfectly functional roof at the behest of our insurance company, which believed that any shingles from 1984 should go the way of the mullet, regardless of their condition. We covered the roof with copper-colored steel and took advantage of the upheaval to replace three skylights with Velux solar-powered motorized shades. Sometime later, we added a Velux gateway that enabled us to control the shades using HomeKit (see “HomeKit for the Holidays (And Home Troubleshooting Tips),” 15 January 2021). The Velux shades have worked extremely well since, closing automatically 30 minutes after sunset every day and opening either automatically or, in the case of the one in our bedroom, when we ask Siri to open it.
However, our bedroom has two other east-facing windows that allow early morning sunshine to roust us from our slumber before we, who do not identify as morning people, would prefer to get up. We solved this problem with standard cellular blackout shades: every night before bed, we would close the shades, and every morning, we would raise them. Until we experienced the wonder of programmable motorized shades, we didn’t realize our primitive state, pulling those cords every morning and night as though winding a grandfather clock.
I have long been keeping an eye on manufacturers of HomeKit-enabled shades, but a single shade from brands like Lutron would have cost upwards of $600. I don’t expect living in the future to be free, but $600 was more than I could justify to avoid raising and lowering shades every day.
Imagine my delight when a representative from SmartWings contacted me and asked if I would like to review the company’s HomeKit-compatible motorized shades. Free shades for the effort of measuring and installing! And if I failed miserably or the shades didn’t work, at least I would get an article out of it.
Even better is what actually happened: I measured my window very carefully, SmartWings sent me the shade, I installed it, and it has worked nearly flawlessly. I got this article out of it, and as soon as I can figure out how to replace the door handle that requires manual intervention when raising and lowering the remaining shade, I’ll be buying another SmartWings shade. And if I ever have an appropriate excuse, I’d love to replace a large outdoor patio shade so I could control it via HomeKit and Siri.
Ordering SmartWings Motorized Shades
The Texas-based SmartWings specializes in smart shades and blinds, offering a wide variety of styles, including roller shades, zebra shades, Roman shades, woven wood shades, dual shades, outdoor shades, and motorized draperies. Since we were primarily interested in blocking out the sun, we ignored all the fancy options and focused on SmartWings’ simple cellular blackout shades, which are available in two varieties: Hazel and Nowa.
Deciding between the two was difficult, but after much contemplation of the product pages, we realized that the main differences came down to available colors, the location of the rechargeable battery pack, and the recommended depth for an inside mount. Ultimately, it was the inside mount depth that helped us choose Hazel, as it allowed for a shallower installation. Our window frame was deep enough for either option, but due to the molding configuration, a thicker shade might not have installed cleanly.
Initially, we were concerned that the Hazel shade would look dorky due to the white rechargeable battery pack barnacled to the outside of the valance, as we saw in some customer photos and videos on the product page. Eventually, we realized that the battery could hang on either side, so as long as we had enough space for it behind the shade, it wouldn’t be a problem. In contrast, the Nowa shade, while requiring more inside mount depth, integrates its rechargeable battery into the shade’s valance.
Choosing the color was another issue. Hazel shades come in four colors—white, grey, cream, and coffee—whereas Nowa shades offer white, cream, wheat, slate blue, medium grey, and dark grey. The previous shade was a sort of medium brown, so we guessed, hoping the Hazel’s coffee color would be more similar than the Nowa’s wheat. We got lucky—it was an exact match to what we had before and thus fit perfectly with the shade on the door window next to it. I wouldn’t exactly call it coffee-colored, though, unless you take a lot of cream.
With the decision to go with Hazel made, I measured the window. SmartWings provides good instructions, and since I’ve too frequently suffered from failing to heed “measure twice, cut once,” I followed the version of that phrase from the year 1560, which says to “mark seven times and cut once.” I even used two different tape measures to make sure I wasn’t holding one wrong. It was going to be highly embarrassing if the shade didn’t fit inside the window frame, and truly annoying if it had wide gaps on the sides.
When selecting your options, keep in mind that viewing all necessary choices requires scrolling within the options area, which may not be entirely obvious.
Choosing the HomeKit Motor over Thread—which eliminates the need for a dedicated hub, although you do need a HomeKit hub like a HomePod or Apple TV—and the necessary remote controller raised the ultimate price to $370, which is within what I consider an appropriate tax for living in the future. (The other shade I plan to get for the full-door window—narrower but longer—would be slightly cheaper.)
Installing the SmartWings Hazel Shade
Delivery took 12 days, which seemed reasonable, considering that the shades had to be constructed according to my measurements. The shade was packed carefully in an inner cardboard box and protected by an outer box. Plastic caps guarded2 the ends from the indignities of shipping, and it arrived via DHL without any damage.
I considered taking photos of the installation, but there wasn’t much to show. SmartWings’ instructions were decent, but as a word person, I found it challenging to understand and internalize all the illustrations. It didn’t help that the metal hangers for the battery clips had to be removed from the clips, turned around, and reinserted for the clips to hang on the valance. It also took me a few minutes of puzzling over the instructions to figure out how much room to leave behind the brackets for the battery pack. I suspect that some of the front-mounted battery packs on the SmartWings site were installed by people who either didn’t have enough depth or failed to take that into account when measuring and decided not to fix the mistake.
You can see what the shade looks like with the battery attached before I clipped it into the brackets, which were easily screwed into the wooden window frame.
And here I am pretending to attach it to the brackets. (It actually takes two hands, and the spring-loaded brackets snap into the top of the valance.)
Once I physically installed the shade, it was time to add it to HomeKit, which required a pairing process involving pressing buttons on either the motor or the back of the remote. The motor method didn’t work for me for some reason (perhaps I didn’t hold the button down for the requisite time), but the remote method did. After that, I was able to scan the QR code sticker on the bottom of the shade to add it to HomeKit. I called it “Window Shade” to differentiate it from the Velux skylight shades, which I somewhat erroneously called “Blinds” when I set them up. (Apparently, blinds are usually made of a hard material with slats, whereas shades are made of a soft, continuous material. Who knew?)
HomeKit allows you to organize accessories by assigning them to specific rooms in your home (like Bedroom, Kitchen, etc.). This room-based organization makes it easy to control multiple accessories in the same room with a single command. In my case, I added both the SmartWings shade and the Velux skylight shade to the Bedroom room in HomeKit. This means I can say, “Hey Siri, open the Bedroom shades” to control them all simultaneously. Or I can control them individually by using their specific names: “Open the Window Shade” for the SmartWings and “Open the Blinds” for the Velux. I could also have given them the same name if I wanted them to respond in tandem to all commands.
Honestly, although the rest of the SmartWings HomeKit-related instructions look reasonable, I didn’t read them at the time because I already know how to add accessories to our home, put them in scenes, and use them in automations.
Nor did I look at the remote programming instructions since I don’t anticipate using the remote much. However, while writing this article, I paged through the remote programming manual and discovered that the Hazel shade supports three motor speeds. I had been thinking it was a bit poky, so I promptly reprogrammed it from the slowest to the fastest speed. There must be a reason why someone would want a slow shade, but if I have a choice of having the shade open or close in 48, 41, or 32 seconds, I’m going to choose 32 every time.
Using the SmartWings Hazel Shade
As with the Velux shades, our interaction with the Hazel shade is highly prescribed. Every day, 30 minutes after sunset, a HomeKit automation closes it. Every morning, when we’re ready to face the light, one of us asks Siri (via a HomePod) to open the shade. That’s it. It just works. You can watch it here, but I’ll warn you that it’s only slightly more exciting than watching paint dry. But you do get to see our copper-colored roof on the garage.
After living with the SmartWings Hazel shade for a few weeks, I have only three criticisms, the first of which is now moot:
- Speed: Initially, I thought the SmartWings shade was slower than seemed necessary and certainly slower than the Velux shade. However, reprogramming the motor speed addressed that concern.
- Sound: The SmartWings shade motor is noticeably louder than the Velux shade motor. I recorded the SmartWings shade at 60 decibels next to its motor and about 45 decibels where I would be listening to it in bed. In contrast, the Velux shade produces about 50 decibels next to the motor and around 40 where I would be. It’s not a major problem, but quieter is better.
- Automation failures: Twice, for entirely unknown reasons, HomeKit’s After Sunset automation failed to close the SmartWings shade, although the Velux shade had closed. This is minor, and I easily rectified it by speaking sharply to Siri later in the evening. If you were in a situation where you relied heavily on the shade and couldn’t check in person (like protecting sensitive plants from bright sun while you’re on vacation), you might want to verify its state in the Home app.
The only remaining known unknown is how long the battery will last before needing to be recharged—SmartWings suggests 4–6 months. The battery has a USB-C port and comes with a USB Type-A to USB-C cable, though you’ll need to provide a USB power adapter from your extensive collection. Charging it in place with an extension cord might be possible, but it’s easy enough to remove the shade from its brackets, so I’ll probably do that instead. If manual recharging was going to be a problem, SmartWings offers an optional solar panel that can keep the battery charged; that’s how our Velux shades stay charged.
Ultimately, the SmartWings Hazel shade has proven to be entirely worthwhile, and I recommend it without reservation. Other products from the company likely provide similar quality and functionality at a lower price than you might find elsewhere.