Smart automated shades are a hot product right now, even when they’re helping to keep your customers’ homes cool in the summer and comfortable in the winter. Whether included in new construction, or added as a new project to existing homes, smart automated shades are a popular item, and sales of this product are forecasted by most experts to continue to climb.
Here’s just one recent example: a 2022 study from Persistence Market Research said that the global market for automated blinds and shades is expected to reach $24,236 million by 2033, growing at a 4.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2033.
Sales on the rise.
Why the steady increase in sales? It may just be a matter of increased awareness of the very clear benefits of automated window shades in terms of aesthetics, security, convenience, comfort, energy savings, and a palpable coolness factor. Plus, the capabilities of these devices continue to grow, with recent enhancements in streamlined and simplified Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) control, scene setting, voice control, cloud-based connectivity, mobile app control, and fabric and design options.
Automated window shades are not only growing in overall sales, but customers are finding new locations to install these devices throughout their homes, from primary bedroom suites to family rooms to home theaters, offices and outdoor living spaces. And along these lines, customers who are exploring new smart window shade applications are also benefiting from pairing their smart automated shades with other connected devices. This growing interest in complementary devices presents an opportunity for dealers and integrators to turn what could be a single-product sale into a connected bundle, and perhaps an entrée by customers into purchasing a complete or near-complete smart home ecosystem.
What follows are some suggested connected-device pairings for smart automated shades, pairings that can potentially connect dealers with expanded sales and longer-lasting customer relationships.
Energize smart thermostat sales.
Homeowners who purchase smart thermostats are likely intrigued by the product’s convenient, app-based scheduling of heating and cooling, leading to the potential saving in energy costs from sensible, well-timed temperature control. Smart automated shades can deliver similar convenience-boosting, energy-saving benefits.
Because some automated shades like those from PowerShades can be pre-set to raise and lower according to a custom schedule, they can work to increase solar heating in a home during the colder times of day (or year) and keep a home naturally cooler when the sun is at its peak. This can result in effortless, passive energy savings by reducing energy consumption up to 30%. This also means that a smart thermostat paired with smart automated shades can be even more effective when it comes to energizing smart home sales.
Securing more smart security sales.
Smart automated shades can play an important role in a home’s smart security ecosystem – a group of connected devices that specifically address home monitoring and safety. Connected devices that make up a smart security ecosystem can include any combination of smart locks, smart doorbells, indoor/outdoor cameras, door/window and motion sensors, alarm systems, control hubs, and yes, automated shades.
Like all the devices in a smart security ecosystem, smart automated shades can be remotely controlled through an app using a cell phone, tablet, or PC. This means security-focused homeowners can open and close their shades or set them on a schedule when they are away at work, vacation, or whenever they leave their home vacant.
Safety-conscious homeowners, particularly those with small children, also appreciate that automated shades can do their part in making a home safer. Blinds with looped manual string or bead control can be a real danger for children and pets; cordless motorized shades eliminate this danger.
These home automation products not only improve the lives of homeowners but also protect them and keep the home and family safe. A sale that begins with any of these devices can naturally lead to the sale of additional connected security products, including smart shades.
What’s the bright idea?
Smart lighting in the form of smart LED bulbs is growing in popularity. Controlled through smart apps or voice-activation, smart bulbs are a great way to reduce energy use and increase security. You don’t need a light bulb going off in your head to see how customers interested in the benefits of smart lighting would also be interested in the energy-saving and security-enhancing benefits of smart automated shades. Scenarios can be pre-set where automated shades open to let in the sunlight and bulbs reduce output. Indoor and outdoor lighting settings can be timed to coincide at night with shades going down.
Along these same lines, homeowners interested in the energy-saving benefit of smart outlets, plugs and switches would likely find a lot to like in smart automated shades.
Are you not entertained?
Customers who dream of creating or enhancing a home theater system may also appreciate the convenient light-blocking capabilities of automated smart shades equipped with glare-eliminating blackout fabric. Automated shades can help create the perfect setting for home theater viewing, timed to lower as lights dim and the movie begins.
Of course, automated shades with blackout fabric can also be ideal for customers who merely want to dream a bit longer in the morning. These shades can be paired with smart lighting and smart alarm clocks to make sure that customers start their day fresh and well-rested.
Lights, cameras…automated shades.
Automated shades may not always be the main attraction in a smart home. But they can be one of the most important, most impressive, and with the wide array of fabric options offered by companies like PowerShades, one of the most beautiful. So even if the smart home sale doesn’t begin with smart automated shades, keeping these devices front of mind makes sense if dealers want to maximize their efforts and avoid leaving potential business on the table (or over the window).
About the author.
Jason Turner is Vice President and Co-Founder of PowerShades. An electrical engineer by trade, Jason started in the aerospace industry with Lockheed Martin. He spent 15+ years with Leggett & Platt as both General Manager of the Smart Products Division, and Director of Control & Technology. He holds patents in automation and control of machines and furniture; wireless power transmission for consumer devices; and control and automation of window coverings and light control. Jason received an MBA from Webster University, and a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Pittsburg State University.
