Here in San Francisco, CA, we pride ourselves on having the most modern and eco-friendly products. While you’re waiting in line for the latest Apple design or switching out all your incandescent bulbs for LEDs, consider your window dressings. If your blinds or shades aren’t automated, then you have the opportunity for even more improvement. Adding motorized shades to your home can minimize your overall energy use and maximize your home’s comfort and style. Since different rooms have different requirements, read on to learn how motorized blinds and shades can meet these needs.

Using your shades, you can determine how much natural light will enter your spaces at any time, allowing you to synchronize with your environment for big energy savings. Even if you are away from home, you can control your shades using a smartphone or tablet, or pre-program everyday settings. For instance, you can program the shades to stay down during the day to keep out excess heat, thus stabilizing your home temperature. Since each room in your home has specific lighting needs, you can program the shades in each space to fully meet those requirements:

SEE ALSO: Elevate Your Home with Light

Bedroom: If you have difficulty waking up in the morning, a little natural light can go a long way. When your bedroom has motorized shades, you set them to slowly open at the same time as your alarm. This way, you can ease yourself out of bed and keep your circadian rhythm in check. In addition, the use of natural light in the morning will reduce your use of electricity

Living Room: Worried about the sun damaging your artwork, furniture, or rugs? Perhaps you take the time every morning to manually close each shade for protection. With motorized shades, you can leave your house knowing that every window is covered; you’ve already programmed your shades to close. Then, simply program the shade to open at your normal return time to harness the natural light, again, and to save energy.

Kitchen: Natural light is a great feature to any home. However, there’s nothing worse than a harsh, blinding sun glare as you attempt to cook. Since the sun is usually setting around dinner time, this can be a common problem. If your kitchen shades are automated, all you must do is program them to an astrological clock. Then, the blinds or shades will close as the sun sets. Therefore, you don’t have to stop cooking, and you don’t have to be blinded. When combined with home lighting automation, you can even have lights that turn on as the shades close.

Special Windows: Windows can be excellent design features. However, some windows, like skylights, are too high up to manage manually. You can have custom motorized shades built for just about any window, allowing you to have ultimate control over the light and heat coming into your home.

It’s easy to understand why motorized shades are the latest trend in home automation. Plus, since they are highly customizable in both appearance and use, we don’t think they will go out of style anytime soon. Contact a local BRAVAS partner to learn more about making your home more eco-friendly and comfortable.