Motorisation, for glass a chain was never going to reach
Tubular motors inside the blind roll, controlled by remote, wall switch, phone app, schedule or sensor — the upsell that becomes the only practical option on wide or high ridge-facing glazing.
Motorisation sits across every product line as the premium upsell, but on Faerie Glen’s wide picture windows and double-volume glazing, it stops being optional and starts being the only sensible way to operate the blind at all.
Power options
- Rechargeable battery motors — no wiring, retrofit-friendly, charged every few months via a USB-style charger. The default for existing homes.
- Wired 220V motors — for new builds and renovations, permanent and never needing a charge, best for big or heavy systems and exterior products. Needs an electrician and some planning.
- Solar trickle-charge options exist for awkward, hard-to-reach positions.
Control layers
- Handset remote — one remote, every blind in the room.
- App control — close the west blinds from the office when you remember you left them open.
- Schedules — bedroom blinds open with sunrise, ridge-facing blinds drop automatically in summer.
- Sun sensors drop shading automatically on hot elevations; wind sensors retract awnings and exterior screens before a highveld afternoon storm arrives — safety-critical on exterior products.
- Voice control and smart-home links, if the rest of the house already runs that way.
When it’s essentially required
Spans too wide or heavy for a chain, blinds above a stairwell or double-volume void, concealed ceiling-recess systems, external venetians, awnings and zip screens, or a whole wall of glass you’d rather control with one button than six chains — all common on this ridge’s bigger stands.
Safety, honestly
No dangling chains is the most child-safe blind operation there is — the gold standard, not just a nice-to-have. Quality motors are quiet but not silent, and carry multi-year guarantees. Battery motors need that periodic charge; we set that expectation plainly at quote stage, not after installation.
What automation costs, by product
Motorisation is priced by what it is driving, so an honest answer is a spread rather than a single figure: roughly R2,500 to R7,500 per square metre installed across the range on this site. A motorised blockout or sunscreen roller lands at R2,500 to R3,800 per square metre; motorised interior venetians at R2,500 to R3,600 in aluminium and R3,000 to R4,500 in timber; motorised external venetians at R4,500 to R6,500.
Those are guide bands per square metre installed, not quotes, and small windows still carry a minimum charge. The figure really turns on the room: how many blinds share a control, whether a battery tube or a wired motor suits that wall, and where the power sits. The free measure settles all three, and the written per-window price comes after it.
Let’s work out what actually needs a motor.
Free in-home measure, an honest read on which windows justify motorisation, and a written quote either way.