Easy & Affordable Smart Blinds in MINUTES!
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- Опубликовано: 6 авг 2024
- The Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1 is a retrofit device designed to work with your existing Blinds to turn them into Smart Blinds that can then be automated by your Smart Home no matter which platform you are using, they work with Home Assistant, Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomeKit. In this review of the Aqara E1, we talk about specs & features, battery life, ease of use and more!
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Who is already automating blinds? If so what are you currently using?
Oh and Aqara is providing a 15% discount for the next 2 days (starting tomorrow), use code RSDE1KOL at checkout!
Somfy Sonesse Wirefree RTS motors and an RTXRFX433XL. Also controls our awning.
Amazon UK are reporting none in stock. Do you know when they will be back in?
Apparently this was a hot item! I've just emailed to ask when it will be back in stock, will let you know ASAP
@@JaneTaubman they are back in stock now if you are quick!
@@EverythingSmartHome Got one
Great video - straight to the point. And very interesting/promising product.
Thanks buddy!
Very good to see controllers like these with better protocol support
I bought the Soma shade controllers some time back when I started looking for some and they come with solar panels as well as a USB power cable. The ones on the south side have been running on solar ever since, but the north side ones struggled to recharge so they're plugged into a power socket I put in that has USB sockets
But...they're controlled through Bluetooth and although they can be scheduled to open and close through the app, I had bigger plans and wanted to control them through my smart hub
But...that meant I had to get their controller or build my own, which although I can run it on POE, it's an extra point of failure
It's easy enough to work with as you send it HTTP requests to open or close a blind but it's missing that 2 way feedback I would expect from Zigbee or Z-Wave. Instead it needs a bit of extra coding to request the status via another HTTP request
Interesting idea about the light sensor and oddly enough I've only just realised these ones support light level triggers but it only seems to be available as an option in the app as their controller doesn't seem to have an API option for the light level
Would have loved to have seen solar included here but I think you can add your own. And yes the 2 way feedback is certainly nice to have
Great review!
Great and straight to the point! I was planning to get the Ikea ones, but this might be both better and cheaper - better since I could leave it plugged in and cheaper overall (also more choices for the actual blind)
Glad you enjoyed it! Good luck with your choices!
Just got a Zemismart curtain track. Excited to install it.
I'm currently using it in conjunction with my flashed sonoff ZigBee hub which is integrated with home assistant. I wasn't expecting it to have enough power to open and close my large kitchen blinds so blown away by it 🙂👌
Nice one! 👌
So you don't need the aqara hub since it's zigbee? Did they just automatically get recognized by your home assistant?
Looks good, I wish there were more solar panel top up options. 2 months is probably frequent enough to be a bit of an annoyance.
I think you can attach a solar panel to these...I might just try that!
Just ordered one to try out thanks for the discount :)
Nice one, enjoy!
I keep looking for these, I love the Aqara products, will probably get one of these. Love the fact it has buttons so can be controlled 'manually' rather than via the App which should help with the Wife Acceptance Factor
For sure that is an all important factor! 😅
@@EverythingSmartHome Absolutely. Probably main factor. She's annoyed with some of the smart bulbs that she can't just use a switch (no neutral) but I am looking at the Aqara switches
Great video as always!! Have you had any issues once added to HA? I’ve noticed some people have been posting the up arrow in HA is greyed out so they can’t open the blinds. More so with ZHA. Have you had this issue at all?
Great review. One thing not mentioned is how it deals with the normal join you get in the ball chain. I have a metal ball chain cord and there is a big chunky plastic joiner which would have go through where the cog wheel would be for this smart device when opening or closing the blinds. I can't see how that would feed through or how it would work around that. There's no way for me to position the joiner in any location that doesn't pass through the lowest point of the cord so it would have to go through the cog wheel. Any thoughts?
Very useful video! Aqara products are always top quality.
I have a similar product that works with WiFi that I have flashed with tasmota.
Unfortunately after some months of good working, broke down :(
I saw that the chain of beads is not stranded. That shouldn't be, thus it could skip some beads loosing it's end positions.
I suggest that you move your motor further down or cut the chain short and connect it with a bead connector (yeah that's a thing :P)
Yeah I didn't pull the chain quite as much as I wanted due to filming for the video but will fix!
Thanks!
Last October (2020) I bought the Zemismart WiFi version of their roller blind motor, it's currently £38 on Aliexpress with free 10 day shipping. It came with a remote control and power brick. So far it's been great. I use it for virticle blinds, but it does do roller blinds too. it connects to Tuya smart app so is also compatible with voice assistants. It looks exactly the same as this one. Even though it comes with a power adapter it has a rechargable battery inside that lasts for around 6 months at average usage. I also think a light sensor would be a good idea, but you could rig one up and set a routine using Alexa etc... there are a few light sensors available.
This sounds promising… how are they now? Have a link to the product?
I had a different Aqara Blinds Zigbee controller in mind to automate my office blinds but i guess this is newer and better. I hope they will release a Curtain controller for the ikea rails, that would be cool.
That would be cool too!
What if you don't have the beads and you only have the string pull chord? Will it work?
Does anyone have any advice on choosing a Zigbee dongle to control these through Home Assistant? Found one for around £13 but I don’t know if it’s the right type or anything?
If it's ZigBee does it work with Philips hue as a switch or something?
Another great video thanks.
Do you think it might be possible to leave the charger cable in permanently making it wired ?
Thanks Steve, yes you can leave these plugged in!
Love what you were typing :)
Haha thanks! 😅
“I don’t have any real code to type so I am just typing…. (something)”
Did Aqara cease production of these? I'm not able to find them for sale.
Rather than having a slide control on app, is it possible to have like 3 buttons like: open, 50% open, close?
Nice video, which convinced me to get one. However, could you give a bit more detail on your Homeassistant integration/configuration for this motor? I've just got one of these to replace a dumb 433MHz motor, but I'm having trouble with the Homeassistant integration. I do not have an Aqara hub but I do have a Sonoff USB ZigBee 3.0 dongle, simple to pair, it's configured and working from the buttons.
Eventually got it working after an afternoon of 502 error.
is it mount on the wall a must? or i can just hang it?
What features are missing if i only use the app and do not use the Aqara Hub or Home Assistant?
Are these Europe only? Looking at reviews and seems they all seem to come from there. Can you use these in the US? Thanks
Would you mind makeing a video about your lovelace setup? Your slider for the blinds looks awesome and I already tried something like that for lights but failed :/ Your wall mounted tablet looks also very intresting with the sidebar mode 😁
Perhaps one day if I ever finish it 😅
Hmm. Very interesting! What about wooden horizontal blinds, where you need to control both up and down as well as open versus close?
My wooden blinds would probably be much too heavy for up and down I think but some others may work OK!
@@EverythingSmartHome Do you think it would work for aluminium venetian blinds - up and down and tilt as well?
Thank you for the wonderful breakdown of the specs! Love your presentation :) I live here in the US and have a different type of blind for which this unfortunately cannot be used. (I think)
Thanks for commenting and for the support, appreciate it! Hope you find something!
Any Wi-Fi ones? What do people have a recommend?
Where can I get them in the US?
Finally got one of those yesterday ^^ Already working in Home Assistant but i have an issue... always have to go to the device page in z2mqtt and click on the position refresh... any help?
Try updating the firmware to see if that helps
I really love this! I want it, but the 2 months of battery life sounds really annoying. Is it possible to connect it to power?
Yes you can keep it plugged in :)
Can you do a video with a Local Push blind? like Dooya?
How to you overcome de "stop bead" on the akara?
Sadly i dont have any blinds.. and my curtain tracks aren't compatible with any available devices yet.. Great Video as always.. I like the alexa backwards audio.. and also i've copied all your code from 0:10 :-)
Hey don't copy my code!!!
@@EverythingSmartHome too late !!! i've actually watched the footage back and you look like you are miming (in a typing sense).. scandalous !!!!
How do you install this device where you don’t have a recessed window space?
Does this work with non beaded threads
I'd say you may want a little less slack in your cord to make it run more smoothly and avoid the possibility of it jumping on the sprocket.
I fitted a Zemismart mains powered unit to a roller blind in a window high up in our double height hallway where you can't actually reach the window to pull a blind cord unless you extended the cord to about 4m long dangling down to the floor! I only fitted it a couple of months ago but so far so good, I've got it set on a daily schedule to open/close at sunrise/sunset and also to close if the Tuya weather app predicts daytime temperatures of over 21c to help keep the house cool in warmer weather.
Yeah it does want a little less, it works well but didn't pull the slack out as much as I wanted cause I was trying to film for the video 😅
Does the Aqara have any vertical adjustment on its wall plate to take up slack or is it just a single click into position? The Zemismart can slide up and down it's wallplate maybe 30-40mm to remove the slack then lock in position which is really useful and means you don't need to be 100% accurate fitting it.
Does this work with strings
can you create a schedule for what time to open and close the blinds?
Sure can!
Are the batteries built in or replaceable?
from where to buy it
This should be great for the vertical blinds where you only have to turn them 90 degrees ! I believe it would also increase baterry life considerably ..
Interesting, you might be onto something there. Many people do have those blinds, and installing this for them may actually extend the battery-life quite a lot. This would be a little tricky to close them horizontally though ...
@@rabidbunny3025 I never open the blinds fully sideways .. only tilt to 90 .. or 45 degrees
Having order/symmetry OCD makes it hard to see a loose/tight chain :-) Will these smart blinds work when you tighten things up by lowering the device?
Haha yeah the chain like that was definitely a result of my poor application!
Picked this motor up today. Connected it to HA, but the state isnt reporting back to HA. Did you find this or was the Aqara hub required for the state to report back to HA ?
No works fine for me without the Aqara Hub!
Would this be powerful enough to also power roman blinds, ratherb than roller blinds?
i tried on my wooden blinds and nope the motor is extremly weak.
Nice MKBHD shirt!!
Does this work with Zebra blinds?
Just to be clear, this would also, if you don't already have one, require the purchase of an Aqara hub?
Aqara products require a zigbee hub of some kind and can be paired directly with other zigbee controllers without the aqara hub
You don't need to use an Aqara Hub if you don't want to, you are free to use any ZigBee hub as mentioned above. Hope that helps!
Does the blinds easily pass the motor when rolling downwards?
Yes sure does, but this would be entirely dependant on where you position it 😅
Being quite frustrated at the moment. Watched this video and bought a first blind thinking it would work nicely in Home Assistant. Wrong wrong wrong. It’s not easy to do and I can’t get it working as yet. Running HA on raspberry pi using ZHA using ConbeeII. Blind us identified as a curtain and doesn’t work at all. Found various discussions on one that suggest I am not alone but failing to understand what I need to do to fix it.
Just making sure others know before diving in. Any tips would be greatly received.
What issues are you running into? This blind has worked pretty great for the most part from day 1 of this blind and I still use it every single day - so not sure what would have changed? Unless it's a different model
@@EverythingSmartHome my comment keeps vanishing. Third time now.
I got it working just after I put up my comment. Thanks for the super fast response. I updated my firmware and then re-added the blind.
I had updated the Conbee II stick firmware and that didn’t initially fix it but once I removed and added it back it was fine. Looked almost identical in HA but it works.
Can you still raise the blinds manually if you have this device installed?
That is why there are buttons on the device. I guess if you pull them manually the system is not equal to the actual situation
Could it open and close the blinds shutters?
If it has the same mechanism then possibly!
Video uploaded 32 minutes ago and already the link is currently unavailable?
Check back tomorrow morning, there will be stock then. Check the pinned comment for a discount code also which will work for the next 2 days
@@EverythingSmartHome thanks will do. I’m actually in the US, and nothing comes up on Amazon over here.
Nice video and a handy little device, although it's a bit pricey for what it is - 80 USDs for a single piece and most people will need 4-5 or even more of those. Hope they sell it in multi-packs at a discounted price or something.
I can't even find it anywhere online.
I assume this won't work if your cord isn't continuous.... (i.e., has a joiner to connect the ends of the cord together). Might be something to check first if one is thinking of buying.
Could perhaps be modified!
Need continuous loops for these. Connectors would jam it.
Can you still use your blinds manually after installing something like this?
Not very easily unfortunately
I understand this is a sponsored video but nearly identical devices have been around for a long time on Aliexpress with various connectivity options - i.e., Zigbee, Wifi and Bluetooth. This one is probably a rebrand/slight modification of one of those, it even looks identical to some.
I have a Zigbee one and it also works great.
This isn't a sponsored video, otherwise it would have been disclosed.
Yeah there is, not many (if any) are ZigBee 3.0 certified and also not everyone likes to buy from AliExpress, these are available now in the UK and EU to buy.
@@EverythingSmartHome I know that it's technically not a sponsored video, but that is a dangerous mindset.. Having products given (aka sponsored) to you for free, is a form of sponsoring, even though it might not legally be classified as "sponsored". Also, are you telling me that you don't get anything from people using that discount code?
I love your channel and I'm 100% okay with these types of video, as I love to get reviews on products. But not seeing how getting free things and getting something when people purchase the product can have the same effect as getting straight up paid for a video, is usually what drives good channels into "sell out" channels as they grow.
So this is not me hating or anything, just begging you to keep this in mind as your grow, since I know your channel has the potential to get very big and it would suck if that made it lose it's great quality of content.
I understand your concerns, but trust me when I say no one will ever make me say things I don't believe to be true and I will never say things I don't believe.
And no I don't class it as sponsored, there is no money changing hands and I have literally no obligation to even make a video about a product if I don't want to.
Also no, I don't get anything from the discount code whatsoever, I do get a kickback from the affiliate link, but that's from Amazon and nothing to do with Aqara.
@@EverythingSmartHome Minor point of clarification, but there is no such thing as "zigbee certified". Zigbee is open source and manufacturers are free to implement it any way they like, which is in fact why Aqara devices don't always play nice with other Zigbee devices.
@@Sandriell this isn't true, ZigBee 3.0 products are certified by the alliance as working with other devices, and it's specifically called a certification process on their website.
You can even search for certified products only on the ZigBee alliance website.
Is there one that works with blinds that use string?
You can get some beaded chain and connect it to the ends of your strings if using the string directly. doesn't work.
Now I just need some solution for my skylight blinds... which probably is still a long way away.
That would be nice! Let me know if you find some!
Can't find anywhere to buy this !
Yeah you guys bought them all after this video released 😭
Seems these haven't been in stock at Amazon UK for a few days now. Shame.
Yes apparently you guys bought them up real fast after this video!
@@EverythingSmartHome congratulations on a market moving video! Could you do a video on my old car please? Nothings shifted it so far.
When do they become available?
Available now!
@@EverythingSmartHome says they're not available on Amazon
They are showing as available to me?
@@EverythingSmartHome shows unavailable to me too, really want to get my hands on this item, been waiting for this for a while. Any suggestions?
Wish it was zwave then I could automate it to my alarm system
Battery operated equipment makes for a clean look sure, but honestly I believe that if its a permanent install it should be wired. I'm not running around changing batteries for my blinds
Good thing you are free to wire this then if you want!
@@EverythingSmartHome amazing 🙌
There are some blind controllers that also include a solar panel to put in the corner of your window to keep the battery topped up. I have one arriving from China in a few weeks to test, my main issue with this is the price, retro fitting blinds at £60 a pop is a bit steep, but looking at the rest of the competition it seems to be the going rate.
and it’s unavailable 😢
I'm in just need stock
Check tomorrow, they will be in stock!
3 shipping now. Thanks for discount code
Nice one! 🙌
"i don't have any real code to type..."
noticed that :D
What is the price for these?
I would pay up to 15 USD for one unit. Not more than that since I have 5 blinds to automate. Since this is the cheapo route, it should be cheap and not an expensive solution.
Looks neat but to be honest, I find it pricy (to say the least)
How much do you expect it to cost? Genuine question.
I've got the Zigbee edition from Benexmart and it cost 74 Euro.
What is the current price for this item?
@@TheOvenCook I'd say between 35 and 45eur.
The rational behind this:
I don't think there is any pricy component in the BOM, it's not a safety critical device and Aqara is usually at a very competitive price point (I use more than 30 Aqra devices myself).
Guys, "blinds" and "shades" are 2 different things.
Affordable: 65 euro x10 blinds = 650 euro. No thanks XD
those are shades not blinds. They are very different.
They’re called roller blinds here in the U.K. so he’s correct with his use of language!