Specialists in the motorisation and solar control market indicate that the sector is coming of age, with increased uptake accompanied by the ability to continually enhance product offerings while opening up the market to a more accessible price point.

New additions for Acmeda’s Automate

Vincent Lazzara, marketing director at Acmeda, confirms Acmeda’s Automate S45 range now includes two new additions; the Automate Q S45 - Quiet Electronic Limit Motor and the Automate S45 - Mechanical Limit Motor.

“The Automate Q S45 - Quiet Electronic Limit Motor is the next generation in technology, maintaining all the features and benefits of the Automate S45 EL with the added bonus of a quiet operation for those wanting a noise free environment. Standard features include; easy electronic limit setting, simplified motor and hardware solution, optional single or fifteen channel remote and an Easy-lock effortless installation.”

The Automate S45 - Mechanical Limit Motor is suitable for use with home automation systems, such as C-BUS.

In the coming months, Acmeda will release an adaption kit for its Wirefree battery motor so it can be used with the S45 range, and will soon follow with an adaption for its SS38 Roman blind system, Lazzara adds.

The company’s innovations have been driven by the demand to make home automation more accessible to the mass market, he confirms. “Battery motors are a great solution for those wanting an automated blind without the hassle/cost of electricians or wiring into the home. An S35 and S45 solution will ensure that solutions are available for the mass market. Utilising an inbuilt Lithium Ion technology, the wire free solution has an approximate six month cycle between charges and life cycle of 300 charges, making it a reliable entry point solution for those wanting automation without all the associated on costs. An optional solar powered charger ensures you can simply set it discreetly against a window, leave and forget; a great option for those with busy lifestyles.”

“So far our motors have struck a chord with the market,” he says. “Sales have outstripped forecasts as consumers who previously did not consider motorisation have found our motors to be affordable, reliable and easy to use.”

Lazzara describes the two greatest challenges in this category as “high costs associated with motors and associated wiring, and the fear of the unknown.”

“Acmeda is addressing these challenges by bringing in an internationally competitive solution, and technologies such as wire free to break these barriers. We also strive to make the automation solution as simple as possible, by seamlessly integrating it with Acmeda’s systems. This provides a total package for blind manufacturers and retailers and a simple and accessible solution for consumers.”

“The current Automate range features four motors - we would like to further develop and complete the range with a motor to suit every type of application at an affordable price - with future plans to include an S45 Wirefree battery motor, Roman Blind Motor and S60 for the heavy duty applications.”

Expanded offer at JAI

JAI Products director Phil Horner says the company, which has witnessed increased interest in the solar powered tubular motor category in recent times, has expanded its offer to facilitate uptake of motorisation.

“In keeping up with the ever-changing market in motorisation, JAI have released a new branch within its Intro motorisation range. Intro Green will be available in the next few months and will streamline and rectify the current issues that are associated with solar powered motorisation. We thought: ‘Why does it have to be so difficult?’ So we rectified things like different tubes, different remotes and different programming.”

“There has always been keen interest in solar powered tubular motors to complement the current tubular motors in the market place. With the new addition to our range, “Intro Green” 25mm solar powered motors will be available that are compatible with our current ranges of Intro motors. New technologies have also seen solar panels decrease in size tremendously over the last few years, down to a size of 380mm x 55mm. In conjunction with the decrease in solar panel size, the motor still has enough strength to operate a standard 2400 x 2400 wide blind. We have also been able to streamline all of our motors to work with the same remote, program the same way and be compatible with the standard 38mm tube, making it the easiest motor to use on the market. With all these improvements you can only imagine the positive feedback we have been getting from the market. There are exciting times ahead.”

With the prevalence of imported product representing an ongoing challenge across the industry, JAI is committed to differentiating itself in terms of quality, Horner concludes.

“Most motors available on the market these days are manufactured in China, with a huge range available to all and sundry. This in itself can be a problem for a lot of wholesalers and blind makers, trying to find the right manufacturer who has the same philosophy and attention to detail as their own. We are able to sit down with the directors and electrical engineers of our suppliers to discuss improvements to existing products to suit the Australian market. This is a tremendous advantage when it comes to quality control and ensuring that our product will withstand the harsh climate that is forced upon us. Having supplied motors for over seven years to the Australian and New Zealand market now, we have been able to iron out the ‘bugs’ to provide the highest quality that Australian consumers demand. When manufacturers and retailers purchase an Intro motor, they can be guaranteed that we are committed to them and their business. We have our own in house electrician who can solve any issues with wiring, programming and installation promptly and with minimal fuss.”

JAI Products will be increasing the range within the next year to include 35mm and 45mm motors, driven by growing consumer interest in solar powered motors, he confirms.

Commercial & residential solutions from Somfy

Somfy strategic marketing manager Marleine Gerges confirms the latest product innovations in this category include the animeo range of Somfy controls for commercial buildings. Described as “a range of intelligent controls to manage blinds and shutters within commercial buildings, designed to adapt to any façade configuration,” animeo solutions optimise the management of air, sun and shade in buildings, enhancing occupants’ well-being while improving the building’s energy performance.

The range includes: the animeo Solo – an easy-to-use system to control one or two zones, and dedicated to small commercial buildings; the animeo IB+ - an intelligent system to control one to 16 zones and dedicated to medium and large buildings; and the animeo KNX – interactive façade management system compatible with KNX standards.

The Somfy animeo IB+ package is an independent, off-the-shelf control solution designed to monitor environmental conditions to ensure that the blinds’ position is optimised. Additionally it features a built in sun-tracking algorithm and timers that can easily be configured during commissioning to manage the reaction of the façade at different times during the day, and on different days of the week, reflecting occupancy levels within the building. The animeo IB+ system can also receive inputs from the building’s management and HVAC systems as well as giving users overriding control of the blinds in their local area. This local control by occupants is one of the key items of the Green Star Office Design and As-Built v2 IEQ-5 Glare Control Credit.”

Gerges says Somfy’s commercial range offers significant benefits to the market.

“Buildings make up around 40 per cent of total energy use in the western world; 80 per cent of this energy consumption is consumed during the life activity of the building after it’s built. As such they represent one of the largest opportunities to improve energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions.”

“Somfy’s Bioclimatic architecture puts the building’s occupants at the centre of the design. Similarly the behaviour of the building’s occupants can have a significant impact on the performance of the building. Bioclimatic buildings use the change in weather and climate over the day and over the seasons to assist in heating and cooling, and making the most of natural light.”

In terms of the residential market, the recently introduced Somfy Touch Panel’s positioning “brings home automation within the reach of every homeowner,” Gerges says.

The Somfy Touch Panel package combines the open protocol Somfy RS485 RTS radio transmitter with the 7” thin film panel - allowing centralised control of Somfy automated blinds, awnings, curtains, louvres, shutters and lights.

The system is designed so home owners can identify up to 30 items in their home, with easy to remember custom names such as “kitchen blinds” or “balcony awning”. Simple to program timer functions and scenario settings are also possible via a single intuitive touch screen interface. Up to 20 combinations of items as a scenario can be controlled such as ‘morning’ or ‘holiday simulation’. For large projects, multiple panels can be individually accessed and share a single RS485 connection.

Meanwhile Somfy’s Telis 6 Chronis RTS remote control with timer has six channels, controlling groups of up to six Somfy home applications from a central location including roller shutters, indoor blinds, outdoor screens and awnings. In automatic mode, the clock manages in each zone of the home, the movements of groups of motorised products. Each day of the week can be programmed separately. The automatic mode provides end users with a range of benefits, including: greater comfort – centralised control and timer programming; greater security – presence simulation; greater energy savings – ‘dusk’ function; greater peace of mind – automatic time features.

Somfy remains committed to educating customers and end users both in the commercial and residential sectors about how to optimise Somfy products, Gerges confirms.

“One of our biggest challenges is users wanting to manually change the position of the window coverings during certain times of the day. Users need to understand they would need to turn the solar control off in order to manually control the blind or awnings, however imagine the number of times someone would have to get up from their desk to adjust a manual blind over the course of a day in order to mirror the control settings of an automated solution. Once users understand the automated system and realise they do not need to manually adjust the blinds, this issue is resolved.”

The company approaches this issue through education and training, with Somfy Oceania offering Somfy School training programs to all of its customers across Australia and New Zealand.

“Customers are able to choose between 12 modules to help progress their knowledge on Somfy, to better sell and service their own clients. Somfy Oceania’s Business Development Managers discuss the training needs with each of their customers and develop a training plan to suit their needs. Through educating our customers, we can educate the end users to eliminate this issue.”