The first day we toured our new home, we immediately fell in love with the giant wall of windows that spanned from the kitchen to the dining room. It was such a unique feature that you typically don't find in newer homes. It wasn't until we moved in that we quickly realized this feature that we loved so much was letting an extreme amount of heat and sun through. The evening sun shines right through them making it unbearably hot in the summer months. Even in the winter, when the heat is nice for a change, the glare was making cooking and eating dinner unenjoyable. We added curtains to deter some of the nasty glare, but the heat was still causing problems and high energy bills. Every day, around 3pm, we would manually slide the curtains closed and in return wouldn't be able to see out the gorgeous windows for the remainder of the evening.
I spent months researching window covering options that could handle the size of the windows, keep the heat and glare out, and of course would not break the bank. It sounds easy, but I assure you it was very time consuming. THEN, I came across Somfy! We contacted a local retailer to install Somfy motorized solar shades, which keep out 90% of UV rays. The solar shades can easily be opened and closed with a remote, however with
Somfy MyLink the shades become fully customizable. The MyLink app allows you to control your Somfy-powered products from your phone or tablet from anywhere! Just wait friends, it gets better! You can also connect it to your smart device like Alexa. What's easier than saying "Alexa open my blinds?"
The blinds are solar powered, so there's no need for wires or electricity. One of the things we love most about the solar shades is the fact that even when they are closed we can still enjoy the view! Somfy doesn't just offer motorized shades, either. They also provide motorized curtains, awnings, projection screens, and more.
Before Somfy, every morning and afternoon we were sliding the curtains (that often got stuck) back and forth to try to keep the glare out. You could feel the heat blaring through the windows (even with the curtains closed) and straight into the house, causing our AC to run all day and making our energy bill sky high. Now, with the convenience of Somfy, we simply customized a schedule for our blinds to automatically rise in the morning and close in the afternoon before the hot sun and harmful UV rays can make their way in. We can even alter the schedule so they rise later on the weekends!
Now, I can cook and relax at the dining room table without being uncomfortably hot or having the sun shine straight into my eyes. If you have been in the market for high quality window coverings that will reduce energy bills, keep the heat and glare out, and not obstruct your view, save yourself a lot of time and research and check out Somfy. You won’t be disappointed!