FAQ: Do you have a drapery motor kit for motorized opening and closing of drapes and curtains, with Z-Wave option?

Drapery and curtain motorized remote control operation is something our clients have been asking for, ever since we introduced our roller blind and shade motors a few years back. We decided it was time to introduce a DIY kit for opening and closing drapes and curtains.

We also manufacture an optional Z-Wave group controller for use with most automation hubs, such as SmartThings, Hubitat, Vera, Wink, Homeseer, Fibaro, etc. These hubs also facilitate easy integration with voice control system like Alexa and Google Assistant.

These drapery motor kits use our radio equipped motors (rechargeable battery type is also available) that utilize RF (Radio Frequency) for transmission of the remote control signal. A small antenna in the motor receives the control signal and an onboard microprocessor activates the motor.

For further instructions about how to install the CurtainCloser™, please see the INSTALLATION section further down this page.

We had a number of goals in mind when we developed the drapery control system; here's a list of the main features:

• Make it very affordable.
• Make it very easy to install.
• Make it very robust, with a long life.
• Make it very quiet when operating.
• Make it compatible with LED lighting systems.
• Make it unobtrusive, without a visual impact on the room.
• Make it green, with very low power consumption and solar option.
• Make it very adaptable, so it can be used with any type of curtain track or rod.
• Make it very smart, compatible with our Z-Wave group controller.

Here's a short video, the bare track demo sits in front of an actual motorized curtain that is used to conceal the 13 foot home theater screen in our senior design & production engineer's state-of-the-art home theater. If you are interested to see how it was used in the home theater shown in the second video below, visit our article about the ultimate home theater, or "How I got out-theatered" ...

Note the clearly visible idler sprocket at the beginning of the video. This video is also showing the original version of CurtainCloser™ kit, but the new version is the same in terms of functionality.

(see video below for actual demonstration of home theater screen curtain)

We feel that we have accomplished these goals in the design and production of these drapery motor kits, and we hope you agree with us. If you wish to place an order, please visit the drapery and curtain motor section of our online store. These drapery kits can also be used in combination with our motorized blackout blinds and window openers.

Here is the same system (seen in the video above) actually in use, drawing the home theater curtains with the 13 foot screen activated:

You can purchase this kit at the drapery and curtain motor section of our online store

An Affordable Drapery Motor Kit

Existing drapery motor systems tend to be very expensive because they use proprietary parts in every area of the product. The railings are custom made, with special drive belts and various other custom components. The long railings are particularly expensive to ship.

They work well, but are very expensive, especially if you have to pay a professional installer. The ones we have seen are in the $750 to $2,000 range (not installed).

We took a different view on this and decided to make something much more affordable, that could be retrofitted onto existing railing systems, or used with off-the-shelf drapery railings and rods. We don't see the need for expensive custom railings and drive belts, and we wanted something easy to install (don't forget to also consider the cost of installation that will be saved by DIY).

At the same time, we did not compromise on the quality of the motor or components that we used, and in fact, our motors systems are actually very sophisticated, with the ability to extend control to Z-Wave hubs and/or browser based devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptops. Add to that fact the very easy solar powered wireless installation, and you'll end up with some pretty smart drapes!

The components we use are all very high quality and have been rigourously tested for long term performance

A 'Smart' Motorized Drapery Kit

You can start off with the multi-channel hand held remote included in the kit. Even this unit is very powerful, capable of controlling 5 individual drapes, roller shades, window openers, etc. You can also group motors onto specific channels if you want them to operate all at once. There is also a master ALL channel that activates all channels at once. You can also replicate the remote control program and have more than one in the same room for added convenience.

But then you can take it one giant step forward ... at very little cost you can add our Zwave interface to enable control from a hub: use phones, tablets, PC, etc. That's Pretty smart! Please see this website for more info on our Z-Wave Group Controller:

control drapes, curtains, shades, lighting, and other devices with Zwave. Use your phone, tablet or PC

You can purchase this kit at the drapery and curtain motor section of our online store

INSTALLATION

If you can drill holes and tighten bolts, you can install one of these systems. We estimate that even a novice will not spend much more than an hour installing one of these units. It does depend on the type of railing you use, but no part of this process takes a really long time. If you are not inclined to DIY, you will still save money paying a professional installer because of the simplicity of this system, but please make sure everyone involved with the installation has read the following SAFETY NOTICE.

A Word About Safety

Our motors are capable of delivering a considerable amount of torque (up to 16 lb/7.25 kg lift with 1.5" tube), more than enough to injure hands or feet that might get caught in the mechanism that is being driven with it. Drapery and curtain railings are typically not in an accessible location, but we wanted to be sure that you understand that injuries can be caused if your fingers get caught in it. We know these systems get used for other applications that we've never thought of, by other crazed DIYers, and we wanted to be sure that safey is considered.

It is also very important to understand how to set TRAVEL LIMITS for the motor. As mentioned previously, these motors are quite powerful and have the capacity to damage the chain fastenings if the travel limits are not properly set. We highly reccommend that you practise setting the travel limits for the motor BEFORE you feed the chain through the motor drive socket.

Another issue that should be considered is shock hazard. These low voltage motors (with no external wiring if you have the built-in battery type) are extremely safe from that point of view, especially compared to motors that are powered by the standard AC voltage grid. There is no shock hazard whatsoever.

Assigning Remote Control Channels and Setting Travel Limits

The motor channel assignment and travel limits are covered in a separate article; here is the main index page for the series G motors that are used with the CurtainCloser™ kit:

Assigning channel to motor, setting travel limits

Mounting Motor and Sprockets, Feeding the Chain

There are 4 main components to the kit:

• Drive motor with chain sprocket concealed behind curtain at one end
• Bead chain that is attached to the leading edge of the curtain
• Idler sprocket that is concealed behind the curtain at the other end
• Remote control for the motor
• Copper wire to fasten the chain

If you ordered a battery motor kit, it would include an AC charger, and you may have also added a solar charger.

The motor with brackets comes pre-assembled, as does the idler sprocket assembly for the opposite end of the curtain rail. Here is the basic installation procedure:

• Screw the motor assembly into the wall at one end of your curtain railing or rod. It doesn't matter which end, the motor is programmable re direction of travel.
• Screw the idler sprocket assembly onto the other end of the wall in a similar manner. Please be sure to use screws or anchors that will be strong enough to support the chain tension.
• Route the chain around the idler sprocket at one end, so that when you splice the chain, it will be adjacent to the curtain.
• Continue feeding it back along the railing until you get to the motor sprocket at the other end, then activate the motor to feed the chain through the drive socket by activating the motor BRIEFLY. Loop it back along (or through) the railing/rod/track and join the chain with a piece of copper wire.
• You can think of this as a motorized clothesline, now that you have run the chain through the sprockets and joined it. The chain tension should not be too tight, but it should be enough that it passes easily through the sprockets.

This would be a good time to set the travel limits, if you have not already done that. PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO ALLOW THE CHAIN SPLICE POINT TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE SPROCKETS AS IT COULD DAMAGE THE SYSTEM.

Center Pull or Full Width Pull?

At this point you are ready to attach the chain to the curtain. In the case of a full width pull, from one side of the window to the other, you would attach the front side of the chain with a piece of copper wire to the leading 'car' or hook that is at the leading edge of the curtain. The chain will then draw the curtain when you activate the motor, BUT DON'T FORGET TO SET THE TRAVEL LIMITS!

If you are wanting a center-pull type where there are 2 curtains that meet at the middle, the only difference from the full width type is that the chain splice is attached to the leading edge of one curtain, and the same location of the back part of the chain is attached to the leading edge of the other curtain. When you activate the motor, it will draw the curtains apart, or draw them back to the closed position (see the above video of a center pull setup).

If you are using the solar charging option, screw the solar panel into the window or door frame in an appropriate location, and plug it into the motor.

A Very Green Motorized Drapery Kit

Solar energy has been dropping in price for many years and is now very close to the cost of fossil fuel energy; cheaper if you factor in the cost of war and subsidies to oil companies. We have worked with solar energy systems for over 40 years and fully support this increasingly prevalent power source. All our systems are designed for DC solar operation and will effortlessly interface with standard PV (Photo-Voltaic) systems.

We feature extremely low standby radio motors, on the order of 70 microamps, including the motors inside our battery units used in these drapery and curtain systems. The battery charge will last 3 to 6 months with typical daily use, and some clients that use our solar charging option are reporting that they have never had to charge the battery motors.

You can purchase this kit at the drapery and curtain motor section of our online store

We sincerely hope you enjoy using these advanced motors; if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time!