Motorised Blinds & Automation

Chains work fine on a single standard window. They stop working the moment a blind runs the width of a sliding-door wall, sits above a stair void, or is one of six across an open-plan living area — which describes most of Steyn City's ground-floor glazing. It's why motorisation comes up at almost every measure we do on the estate.

Control that matches how you actually live

• Handset remote — one remote, every blind in a room, no cords at all.
• App control — check the west-facing blinds are down before you leave the estate for the day.
• Schedules — bedroom blinds open at sunrise, west-facing glass drops automatically mid-afternoon in summer.
• Sun and wind sensors — shading reacts to the actual weather. Wind sensors matter most on exterior products, retracting awnings and screens before a Highveld storm gust arrives.

Battery or wired — the honest trade-off

Rechargeable battery motors retrofit into an existing window with no wiring, charged every few months. Wired 220V motors suit new builds and big, heavy systems best — permanent, no charging, but need an electrician involved at first-fix stage. On a new Steyn City build, wiring in at first fix is usually the better long-term call; on an established home, battery motors are the practical retrofit.

Where it's close to essential

Spans too wide or heavy for a manual chain. Blinds above stair voids or double-volume glass. Concealed ceiling-recess systems, where there's no chain access at all. Multi-blind glass walls, where "one button, six blinds" is the entire point. And every exterior product — external venetians, awnings, zip screens — for the wind-sensor safety case alone.

The safety case

No dangling chains is the most child-safe operation there is — worth raising specifically for a nursery or playroom. Quality motors are quiet, not silent, and carry multi-year guarantees; battery motors need that periodic charge, and we set clear expectations on that at quote stage rather than after the fact.

What automation costs, honestly

There is no standalone motorisation price, because a motor is always fitted to a product. Installed, the products we automate span a range from R2,500 up to R7,500 the square metre. A motorised roller on an ordinary interior window sits at the bottom of that band, a day-night blind above it, and an outdoor system built to survive Highveld sun, wind and hail at the top.

Sensors, keypads and hubs are quoted on their own lines rather than buried in a rate, so you can decide window by window what is worth automating. A small opening carries a minimum charge. Everything here is orientation only — the real figure follows the visit, when the motor tally, the products involved and the power arrangement are all known.