Smart Home & Motorized Screen Controls
A screen that is awkward to operate stops being used by about the third week. How you run it deserves as much thought as which fabric goes on it.
The Fourth Layer, and the One Left Until Last
Control is one of the four layers in how we specify a project — system, fabric, application and control. It is also the one that is easiest to leave until last and hardest to ignore afterwards.
The failure mode is predictable. Four screens, four handheld remotes, none of them where anyone can find them, and by August nobody bothers lowering the west opening before dinner. The screens work perfectly and the patio is still too hot, because operating them was three steps too many.
Getting this right is mostly a planning decision rather than an expensive one, and much of it has to be decided before the walls are closed up.
How These Systems Get Operated
Handheld remote
Simple, and fine for one or two screens. Multiplies badly. Channel remotes that address several screens from one handset are often a better starting point than one remote per opening.
Wall control
An easily overlooked option. A keypad at the door people actually use to reach the patio tends to get used more than a remote, and it cannot go missing. It needs to be planned before finishes go on.
App control
Useful for operating from indoors or away from the property, and for setting schedules. Less often the right primary control for something you operate on your way out of the door.
Groups and scenes
Running the whole patio on one command, or a defined set of openings for a particular use — an evening scene that closes the insect openings, a storm command that stows everything. This is where multi-screen installations start feeling designed.
Smart-home integration
Bringing the screens into a platform the house already runs, so they appear alongside lighting and shades rather than as a separate island. Possible in many cases, but it depends on the motor and control package specified.
Automation
Schedules and triggers — closing insect screens at dusk through the season, stowing on a wind signal. Sensor and automation options vary by system and we confirm what is currently available rather than promising a behavior.
What the Manufacturer Actually Publishes
Progressive Screens, the manufacturer of the MagnaTrack® system, publishes a list of motor brands and integration platforms it works with. As of writing, the motor brands it names include Somfy, Simu, Rollease Acmeda, Dooya, AMP Motorization and Gaposa. The integration platforms it names include Control4, Crestron, Lutron, Savant, ELAN, RTI, URC, SmartThings, Josh.ai, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, alongside an open API.
Two caveats matter more than the list. First, a platform appearing on a manufacturer's page does not mean every configuration supports it — what is possible depends on the specific motor and control package specified for your screens. Second, that list changes. We confirm compatibility against current manufacturer documentation, and against the platform you actually run, during specification rather than promising it up front.
If a particular platform is a requirement rather than a preference, say so before anything is ordered. Some integrations are decided by the motor, and the motor is decided early. We would rather design around your requirement than tell you afterwards that it needed a different motor.
- Handheld remote
- Wall keypad
- Mobile app
- Grouped control
- Scenes
- Scheduling
- Third-party integration
Many Control Problems Are Really Power Problems
Every motorized screen needs power at the head of the opening, and every wall control needs a location and often a wire. Neither is difficult while the ceiling is open. Both get expensive and visible afterwards.
On a retrofit that means the site measure includes where power can realistically be run and what that will look like when it is done. On a new build or renovation it means agreeing screen positions, keypad locations and circuit provision at the same time as the electrical layout — which is why the earlier a screen contractor is in the conversation, the cleaner the result.
Questions About Controls
Will my screens work with my existing smart-home system?
Possibly. It depends on the platform you run and on the motor and control package specified for the screens. Tell us the platform at the first conversation and we will confirm it against current manufacturer documentation before anything is ordered, rather than promising it now.
Do the screens work if the internet is down?
Local control — handheld remote and wall keypad — does not depend on an internet connection. App and voice control generally does. This is a good reason not to make the app the only way to operate the patio.
What happens in a power cut?
A mains-powered motorized screen will not move without power. If the screen is down when the power goes out it stays down. Options for backup vary by system, and if that matters to you it should be raised during specification.
Can I add automation later?
Sometimes, and it is much easier when the motor and control package were chosen with that in mind. Say at the start that you may want it later and we will specify accordingly, even if you do not buy it now.
Who sets it up?
We do, at handover, and we walk you through it before we leave. A system nobody has been shown how to drive is not a finished installation.
Tell Us How You Want to Run It
Which door you come out of, who else uses the patio, and what platform the house already runs. Those three answers shape the control specification.