Motors Have Different Speeds
For years, the industry almost NEVER suggested doing horizontal window treatments, like roller shades, for sliders or patio doors. But for some reason, over the past few years, shadings on these openings have become very popular. The most important factor to consider is the speed of the lift system or motor. This is because when people are wanting to go outside, they want to do it quickly. Please watch the video and see the difference in two different motor speeds. I will discuss why we made this choice afterward.
Before I discuss with you why we made the choice we did, I will go over a couple of technical facts.
Technical Details that Impact Shade Motor Speed
When we were determining which motors we wanted to use on this job, we had to consider a lot of factors. First of all, the right choice of motor depends on the weight of the shade. Since this shade is about 12 1/2’ wide and about 7 1/2’ tall, we needed a motor that could handle that size. At the time, the obvious choice was the motor we used, which is a Rollease 10 (newton meter) nM. If the window was smaller, we could have used a lower nM rating.
Every motor has a rotation speed as well. These are determined by an “RPM”, or rotations per minute. The 10 nM has a very slow RPM which allows it to lift extremely heavy weights. Other motors have varying speeds depending on what the fabricators have determined is best for that system. One nice feature is that some motors have adjustable shade motor speeds. Usually, these roller motors offer 3 different speeds. Here is a little fact that some people aren’t aware of. If you choose a slower speed, it tends to be quieter.
Another factor that related to this job has to do with the custom tube diameter that was chosen. Tube sizes are the part of the shade that holds the fabric and rolls it up on itself. The tube size is again dependent on a couple of things. Number one is the size of the shade. When they are large as the big one in the video, we needed a very large tube. We chose a 2 1/2” diameter tube. This prevents significant sagging of the shade, since it is only held at each end of the window treatment. A great feature of a larger diameter tube is that the wider the tube, the faster the shade motor speed will be.
What You Need to Do When Choosing a Motor
Rollease Acmeda Q3 Motor Speed
You need to determine the shade motor speed of the motors that you are choosing for your windows. Take a peak at the specifications chart of the motors you are inquiring about. In this case, we used the Rollease Acmeda Q10 motor which has a 9 RPM speed and a Q3 motor which has a 28 RPM speed. When you watch the video, you can really see the huge difference in functionality.
This client has another sliding door just around the corner that they use to go inside and outside. So the speed of this shade was not important in this case. We made the choice that we did based on the very specific specifications that we have available to us when selecting motors. The use of a lower powered nM motor put us right on the edge of the suggested motor for that size. So, we determined that we should upgrade the power to eliminate the chance of the motor that we picked being overly strained when working.
So, when you are making a choice about what motor to put in your roller shades or Roman shades or whichever window treatment you are using, please give it a lot of thought. Your choices will make a big difference in your happiness. This is our focus. To help our clients get exactly what they want and need in order to cover function and style in their homes or offices. Thanks for reading our blog post. Please contact us if we can assist you with your project.
About Us
Kempler Design is located in Reno NV and serves the northern Nevada and Lake Tahoe regions with a mobile design showroom. Paul Kempler, its founder is considered a window fashions expert. Kempler Design has been featured in many prestigious projects, including the HGTV dream home in Lake Tahoe. Kempler Design works with homeowners as well as interior design firms looking for a local contact in the Reno/Tahoe area or is available for travel.