Smart Motorized Shades for Under $100 with Home Assistant

I’ve wanted to have motorized shades for a while now, and have not found an ‘off-the-shelf’ product that has the features I need, while remaining at an affordable price. The closest product that I’ve found is the IKEA ‘Fyrtur’ smart blinds. However, when pricing out my bedroom window which is almost 96″ wide, it would require two of the largest sizes available, costing over $500 CAD. Not wanting to spend that much, I set out to DIY the project.

The following tutorial is meant as a guide. I’d recommend reading through, and taking ideas from it that can fit with your requirements. I’ve done this project twice now and have modified it each time so clearly there are different ways to accomplish this!

Smart Roller Shade Components

Below, I’ve listed the components that I purchased for the project. If you have some of these products, or alternatives, than you may not need all of the parts. In total, these purchases cost me around $80 CAD, or about $60 USD. The most expensive component was the roller shade motor at around $45 CAD or about $33 USD.

Note: I cannot vouch for any of sellers given by the Aliexpress links. I purchased the 12V motor through that seller but as always check the seller ratings. I am only providing links for reference.

Roller Shade Motor

Motor Controller Driver

Wifi Controller

Dupont Cables

12V Power Supply

Roller Shade Options

As far as I can tell, there are 3 main options when choosing a roller shade, varying from completely purchased with little to zero DIY, or to requiring almost complete DIY:

“Zero” DIY

“Some” DIY

“Full” DIY

Hardware Assembly

There are three main components required for the roller shade motor system:

  1. The rotation sensor: This connects to the end of the roller shade motor and rotates while the roller shade tube rotates. This is what lets us set the limit positions to stop the motor when the blind is raised and lowered to the full positions.
  2. The motor driver: If using the slotted 38mm roller shade tube, this motor driver will interface with the slot and provide the rotation to the tube. In the above image, the adapter I 3D printed for the ABS tube is currently covering the motor driver.
  3. The end cap wheel: Again, if using the slotted 38mm roller shade tube, this end cap will interface with the slot. It is free spinning in the bracket (provided in the roller shade kit). As well, in the above image, the adapter I printed on this end cap.

ABS Tube, Motor Shade Adapter, and Shade Material Assembly

Roller Shade Limit Adjustment

Controller Assembly

Programming Setup

Controller Wiring

Home Assistant Integration

Conclusion and Finishing Touches

Since I built my shade from scratch, it did not include any housing which left the roller tube exposed. While it didn’t look that bad, I prefer the shade to be covered. I found that the IKEA picture holder shelves are about the right size to cover the entire setup, and provide a clean look. I used the shade brackets that I had left over from the blinds that were in place before this project.

Before

After

And thats it! If you decide to take on this project, let me know! And as always, if you have any questions or run into any problems, let me know, I’m happy to help.

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