Motorised curtains: which windows are worth it.

Motorised curtains used to be something you saw in hotel rooms and display homes. For an Officer or Pakenham project, assess the actual opening: its width, the curtain weight, the available power and whether the user can reach the controls. A high window and a heavy ground-floor curtain present different access problems.

A motor is not an upgrade that suits every window, though. It adds cost per window, needs power, and adds a part that can eventually need servicing. The sensible approach is to motorise the windows where it clearly helps and leave the rest on good manual tracks. This guide sets out how to tell the difference, and what to check so the system you choose actually works for the window.

Where a motor earns its place

Wide openings. A curtain across a stacker door or a full-width window wall is a long walk and a heavy pull, particularly when lined. Drawing it by hand also means pulling from the leading edge, which over time marks the fabric and strains the track. A motor draws the full width evenly every time.

Heavy curtains. Interlined and heavily lined curtains, the ones that do the most for warmth, are also the hardest to pull. Motorising them makes it much more likely they will actually be closed before sunset every evening, which is when they do their job. The thermal curtains guide explains why that timing matters.

Windows out of reach. Voids, raked windows, windows behind a bath, over stairs or behind a fixed bench. If reaching a curtain involves a step ladder or leaning over furniture, it will not be opened and closed as intended. A motor or, for moderate reach, a long wand, is the answer.

Schedules. Bedrooms that need to be dark at set times, rooms facing hot afternoon sun that should close before the heat arrives, and holiday or security routines where curtains open and close while you are away. Timers and scenes do this reliably.

Mobility and reach. For people with limited grip, shoulder problems or who use a wheelchair, a motor turns an awkward task into a button press. This is often the strongest reason of all.

Where it usually is not worth it

A small or standard window with a light sheer, drawn once a day by someone who can easily reach it, gains little from a motor. The same applies to curtains that mostly stay in one position, such as dress curtains either side of a window or sheers that stay closed for privacy. A good manual track with smooth carriers and a wand on the leading carrier costs much less and is almost as convenient. Spend the difference on a better fabric or lining where it will show and work. The pricing page shows how the options compare.

Motorisation also does not fix a poorly fitted curtain. A curtain that leaks light or heat at its edges will still leak when a motor closes it. Get the track position, length and returns right first.

How a motorised track works

A motorised curtain track looks much like a manual one. The motor sits at one end of the track, often at the end where the curtain stacks, and drives a belt inside the track. The belt pulls the master carrier, which is the carrier at the leading edge of the curtain, and the other carriers follow. For a pair of curtains that meet in the middle, the belt pulls both master carriers in opposite directions at the same time.

Most motorised systems are tracks rather than rods, and they take wave headings and sewn pleated headings. Wave headings work especially well because the carrier spacing is fixed, so the folds form identically each time. Eyelet and tab top headings are not suited to a motorised track. The heading guide covers what each heading needs.

Motors vary in how quiet they are and in how they behave when you pull the curtain by hand. Some systems have a powered touch-start feature triggered by a gentle pull. Manual operation during a power failure is a separate capability. For example, Somfy lists both Touch Motion and manual operation in its curtain-motor documentation. Check the exact model instructions rather than assuming either feature is present. Ask how the specific system behaves before you commit, because you will use that feature more than you expect.

Power options: battery, plug-in or hardwired

This is the decision that shapes everything else, and it is best made before anything is ordered.

Battery. A rechargeable battery attached to or built into the motor. A self-contained battery system can avoid new fixed electrical wiring, making it worth considering for an existing home. The trade-off is recharging. How often depends on the system, the curtain weight and how often it runs, and you need to be able to reach the charging point, which on a high window means a ladder unless the system has a remote charging lead. Some systems offer a small solar panel for charging.

Plug-in. A motor powered through an adaptor into an existing power point. No new wiring, but a cable runs from the motor down to the power point, so the power point needs to be close to the stacking end of the track and the cable needs to be neat and fixed. This suits a window with a power point conveniently placed below one end, and it is where many retrofits end up.

Hardwired. The motor is connected to fixed wiring, through a dedicated fixed connection, as specified by the manufacturer and electrician. A motor plugged into a ceiling socket is still a plug-in system, even if the lead is concealed. It is the tidiest result, with no visible cable and no charging, and it suits new builds and renovations where the ceiling is open or accessible. Adding a new power point or wiring connection is electrical installation work. Energy Safe Victoria's guidance is to engage a registered electrical contractor for electrical installation work, and a licensed electrician who completes that work must provide a Certificate of Electrical Safety. Keep that certificate with your house records. Curtain installers who are not licensed electricians should not be doing the wiring.

Controls and automation

Every motorised system comes with some form of control, and most offer several. A handheld remote is the basic option and is usually the one people use most. A wall switch near the door is useful in living rooms, so the curtains can be closed on the way past. Timers let curtains open and close at set times, which suits bedrooms and west-facing rooms. Many systems connect to a phone app or a smart home hub, and through those to voice assistants.

If you want the curtains to work with other devices in the house, check compatibility before ordering. Systems vary in which hubs and platforms they support, and some need their own hub. Keep it simple where you can. A timer and a remote handle most needs, and every extra layer is another thing to set up again after a router change.

Think about who else uses the house. A curtain that only opens through an app is frustrating for visitors, children and anyone whose phone is flat. A physical control, whether a wall switch, a remote or a gentle pull on the curtain, should always be available.

Weight, width and fixing

Every motor and track has a rated capacity, and the combination of curtain width, drop, fabric weight, lining and interlining has to sit comfortably within it. A long run of interlined curtain is a heavy load. An under-rated motor strains, slows and wears out early. We size the system to the finished curtain, not the other way round.

Fixing matters more with a motor, because the motor adds weight at one end and the track takes a pull each time it runs. Tracks should be fixed into the ceiling or wall framing, or into timber backing installed for the purpose, not held by plasterboard anchors alone. In an existing home, we locate the framing at the measure. Where there is no framing in the right place, the fixing plan changes before anything is ordered.

Split draw and one-way draw both work. A split draw, where the curtain parts in the middle, halves the stack at each side. A one-way draw sends the whole curtain to one side, which suits a door that opens from one end or a window with wall space on only one side. The sliding door guide covers stack and draw direction in detail.

Planning in a new build

If you are building, the cheapest time to prepare for motorised curtains is before the plaster goes on. Three things to organise with your builder and electrician at the framing stage: timber backing in the ceiling along each track line, so the track can be fixed securely anywhere along its length; a power point or connection in the ceiling at the stacking end of each track you might motorise, even if you install manual tracks first; and, if you want a recessed track or a pelmet, the ceiling detail for it. A recess can hide the track and reduce top gaps; its dimensions and the finished heading determine the result.

Ask for the cost of preparing power at framing stage and compare it with later access work. Adding it later means cutting ceilings or accepting a battery or plug-in system. If there is any chance you will want a motor on the main living door or a void window, plan the power now.

Mistakes and how to fix them

Motorised curtain questions

Sources: Somfy curtain motor data book; Energy Safe Victoria, Electrical workers.