LA architecture keeps building windows nobody can reach. Clerestories in the mid-centuries, double-height glass in the hills, transoms over every slider in every remodel: beautiful, bright, and completely impractical to operate by hand. Motorization is how those windows become usable, and it's quietly become the most-requested upgrade across our LA window treatment projects. Here's how we do it and when it's worth the money.
When motorization earns it
Four situations, in descending order of certainty. Unreachable glass: if operating a shade requires a ladder, it will never be operated, and a motor is the difference between a working window and a fixed one. Banks of windows: five shades across a great room wall want one button, not five chains and a morning routine. Daily light management: west-facing rooms that need shades down at 3pm and up at 6 run beautifully on a schedule that never forgets. And accessibility: for anyone with limited reach or mobility, motorized shades turn a daily frustration into a non-event. If your situation isn't on that list (one reachable window, adjusted occasionally), we'll say so and spec a cordless lift instead.
The systems we install
We build on two motor platforms, both proven across thousands of installations industry-wide. Somfy is the category's household name: an enormous motor range from whisper-quiet bedroom rollers to heavy drapery tracks, mature app control, and the widest third-party integration. Rollease Acmeda runs a close second with excellent battery motors and clean, compact hardware we often prefer on smaller shades. Which one lands on your windows depends on shade type, size, power situation, and what your smart home speaks; that's an engineering choice we make per project, not a package deal. Both motorize nearly everything we sew: rollers, zebras, romans within weight limits, and drapery on traversing tracks.
Smart home integration
Both platforms bridge into Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa through their hubs, and into the professional systems (Control4, Savant, Crestron) that run larger LA homes. In practice that means scenes and schedules more than voice tricks: shades that track the sun across the afternoon, a "goodnight" that drops every bedroom shade, a media room that darkens when the projector wakes. Our job is matching the motor spec to the system you already own so the shades show up as first-class citizens in it, not a second app you resent.
Battery or hardwired
The honest LA answer: battery, most of the time. Rechargeable motors install in existing homes with zero drywall work, hold a charge for months of typical use, and top up from a USB charger on a pole. Hardwired makes its case in three places: new construction and gut remodels where walls are open anyway, very tall installations where charging access is genuinely awkward, and large multi-shade projects where never thinking about batteries is worth the electrician. If you're building or remodeling right now, tell us before electrical rough-in; conduit placed this month costs almost nothing compared to the retrofit version.
What it costs
A motorized shade is the same custom shade plus a motor, control hardware, and more careful installation engineering, so it carries a real premium over the manual version of itself. What softens the number: shades grouped on shared controls cost less per window, battery motors skip electrician costs entirely, and the measurement and installation are free like everything we do in LA and Ventura counties. The free consultation produces a per-window itemized quote, and it's the only number worth trusting; motorization pricing from a chart ignores everything that actually determines it.
Recent motorized projects
The shape of the work, from recent months: a Sherman Oaks mid-century with six clerestory rollers on a sunrise-sunset schedule, windows that hadn't been operable in years. A Pacific Palisades great room with 14 feet of motorized ripple fold drapery on a Somfy track, moving wall to wall on one button. And a Beverly Hills media room where blackout rollers drop with the first frame of the movie, which is exactly the kind of trick that sounds gimmicky and gets used every single night. More finished work is in the gallery.
Frequently asked questions
Are motorized shades worth it?
For three kinds of windows, unambiguously: glass you can't reach (clerestories, transoms, double-height walls), banks of multiple shades you'd otherwise adjust one at a time, and any window you find yourself adjusting more than twice a day. For a single reachable bedroom window, honestly, a cordless lift does the job for less. Motorization is the rare upgrade people use more after the novelty wears off, because schedules quietly take over the work.
How do motorized shades work?
A slim motor lives inside the shade's roller tube or headrail, invisible from the room, and turns the shade with more precision than a hand on a chain. You command it from a remote, a wall switch, a phone app, or a smart home platform, and shades can move individually, in groups, or on schedules. Position memory means a tap sends the shade to your preferred stopping point, the same every time.
How much do motorized shades cost in Los Angeles?
Motorization adds a per-shade premium over the same shade with a manual lift, and the shade itself still prices by fabric and size, so the honest answer arrives after a free measurement rather than from a chart. The premium buys the motor, the control hardware, and a properly engineered install. Two cost truths worth knowing: banks of shades sharing one remote or hub cost less per window than scattered singles, and motorizing during initial installation is far cheaper than retrofitting later.
Do motorized shades need power, and what about battery versus hardwired?
Every motor needs power; the question is where it comes from. Battery motors use a rechargeable pack hidden in or near the tube, install anywhere with zero wiring, and want charging roughly once or twice a year in typical use. Hardwired motors draw from low-voltage or line-voltage wiring and never need attention, which makes them the right call in new construction, remodels with open walls, and tall installations where reaching a charging port defeats the purpose. In existing LA homes, battery wins most of the time on simple economics.
Can motorized shades work with HomeKit, Google Home, or Alexa?
Yes. The Somfy and Rollease Acmeda systems we install connect through their hubs to Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, and integrate with professional systems like Control4, Savant, and Crestron for whole-home projects. That enables voice control, scenes (movie night drops the media room shades), and schedules tied to sunrise and sunset. Tell us what your home already runs at the consultation and we'll spec motors that join it rather than fight it.
Can you motorize existing shades?
Sometimes, and we'll tell you honestly when it's not worth it. Retrofitting depends on the existing shade's tube size, weight, and condition; some rollers accept a new motorized tube cleanly, while older or lightweight hardware can't carry a motor's torque. When the retrofit math turns ugly, replacing the shade with a purpose-built motorized unit often costs similar money and works better for a decade longer. A photo of your current shade and headrail is usually enough for a preliminary answer.
Can motorized shades be operated manually if the power fails?
Battery-powered shades keep working through a blackout, which is most of the answer in practice; the motor runs on its own pack, not the house. Hardwired shades pause where they are until power returns, and some motors offer manual-override options. The realistic worst case is a shade waiting out an outage in place, and after years of LA installs we've yet to meet the blackout that made this the problem people worry it will be.