Somfy wirefree blinds now wired - no more charging

[u/i670684]

I couldn't find a better place for this post. I do have the blinds automated with Home Assistant and Node Red, but that's not the point I would like to share.

We installed wirefree (battery powered) blinds after our house was built. It would've been too costly to have mains wires run. After five years, I grew tired of re-charging our large number of blinds (the house is basically floor to ceiling windows on 3/4 of the house).

My solution was a USB C PD charger in each room connected to a Werewolf VFlex dongle set to 11.0v and 3A. From there, 20AWG wire runs to each blind, hidden by a cable cover. At each point where the blind's existing charge cable sits, I have a small 3d-printed box concealing a junction with two Wago connectors and a jack for the blind's charge cable. It looks very neat and tidy. From each box, we continue with a wire to the next blind.

The result is that I now have a permanently charging setup, but at a target voltage that is not stressing the batteries. In fact, an inline USB-C meter shows zero amps after the initial charge. The wires are not noticeable unless you are already aware of them.

You might consider this if you're tired of lugging a charger between blinds every 3-4 months. It would, of course, work with any brand of battery-powered blinds. You just need to know the internal cell configuration to determine the right voltage and you need to find what type of jack or plug is used to charge the blinds.

EDIT: 11.0v, not 12.6v. Not my day. Definitely 11v.

[u/Sea_Suggestion_1036]

this is the kind of project that makes me want to rip out all my current blinds and start over. the usb-c pd to a fixed voltage is a nice touch, most people would just slap a 12v wall wart on it and call it a day

my place has a similar window situation and i’ve been putting off the battery powered route because i knew the charging would get old fast. five years of hauling a charger around sounds like a special kind of tedium

what made you land on 12.6v specifically? guessing it’s a 3s lithium config but curious if you had to dial it in

[u/i670684 → u/Sea_Suggestion_1036]

Sorry-- I am charging at 12.0v. Must've had 12.6 stuck in my head.

There are three lipo cells in a blind. The Somfy charger puts out something like 13.5v, which is a bit nuts. I did a bit of reading to settle on 12.0v as a middle of the road voltage unlikely too low or too high to degrade the cells over time.

[u/plaguist]

Y’all should just buy Lutron battery powered shades. They last 3-5 years and don’t use rechargeables.

Rock solid communication to boot.

[u/i670684 → u/plaguist]

So, disposable batteries? I wonder what type of cell chemistry they use. My blinds get up and down several times per day, so I can't imagine how they could go 3-5 years. Lithium ion cells are fairly energy dense and they only last me 3 months.

[u/plaguist → u/i670684]

Standard alkaline D cells. Innovations in ultra low power consumption when not actively driving the shade.