Pulling a cord or turning a crank
The history of controlling shading technology is clear: mechanical. Interior blinds were operated with a chain, roller shutters by pulling a cord, later also with the use of a chain. It was more difficult with exterior shading. The first generation of window roller shutters were pulled using a fabric strap, exterior blinds were tilted with a crank. Mechanical control can still be operated today. The difference is not so great for interior shading, but pulling heavy window roller shutters is inconvenient and physically demanding. Therefore, soon came the facilitation with help of electricity.
Electric switches
Connecting blinds or roller shutters to the electrical network will allow you to control the shading with no effort. The controls are similar to regular light switches, usually with pull-up or pull-down direction indicated. The disadvantage of an ordinary electric controller is a fact that you don't have to be aware of when purchasing: if the shading technology is not connected to the remote control, you have to hold the switch all the time until, for example, the roller shutter goes all the way down or all the way up. With bedroom shading that you pull down every night and pull up every morning, holding the switch for a few tens of seconds will soon stop being fun.
Remote controls and sensors
Pulling up blinds or roller shutters using a remote control, on the other hand, requires no effort. Not only is it not necessary to hold the switch all the time, but you don't even have to stand by the window. When choosing the control of shading technology, it is good to find out what technologies it supports. Read more about control selection in our article. You can also equip the exterior shading with sensors that, for example, automatically raise the exterior blinds in case of wind or, conversely, tilt the slats in strong sunlight.
Smart home
Remote control is not the latest craze of technology. Today, you can also control the shading using a smartphone and connect it to the smart home system. For example, the TaHoma system with Somfy controllers makes it possible, for example, to pull up the blinds in the entire apartment at once, to schedule a specific time for tilting the slats for each day, or to retract the awning remotely when you remember at your workplace that it was left open.
