Motorised blinds & automation for Raslouw's new-build glass.

Power options

• Rechargeable battery motors — no wiring, retrofit-friendly, charged every few months via a USB-style charger. The default for apartments and existing homes.
• Wired 220V motors — for new builds and renovations, permanent with no charging, best for big or heavy systems and exterior products. Needs an electrician and a little planning at the right stage of the build.
• Solar trickle options exist for awkward, hard-to-wire positions.

Control layers

1. Handset remote — single blind or multi-channel, one remote for every blind in a room.
2. App control — from the couch, or from the office wondering if you left the west blinds up.
3. Schedules — bedroom blinds open with sunrise, west-facing blinds drop at a set time in summer.
4. Sensors — sun sensors drop shading automatically on hot elevations; wind sensors retract awnings and exterior screens before a highveld storm gust does it for you, a safety-critical feature on any exterior product.
5. Smart-home and voice control, for a household already running things that way.

When motorisation is essentially required

Spans too wide or heavy for a chain, blinds above stair voids or double-volume glazing, concealed ceiling-recess systems, exterior venetians, awnings and zip screens, or a whole wall of glass you'd rather control with one button than six separate chains — all common in Raslouw's newer architectural builds.

Honest notes

No dangling chains makes this the most child-safe operation there is. Motors are quiet, not silent, and quality units carry multi-year guarantees. Battery motors need that periodic charge — we set the expectation clearly at quote stage, not after installation.

Talking rands

Motorisation is never charged alone; it rides on the blind beneath. Across the range we put up, one square metre of motorised system runs R2,500 through R7,500 — cheapest on an interior roller, dearest on a large exterior product, and everything else placed by product and by span. Sensors, wall switches and multi-channel handsets go on the schedule as their own lines.

A base charge applies to small openings, and on a window you can reach without thinking a motor is money spent for little return — we say so instead of writing it in. Your figure per opening follows the measure, on paper.