Motorized Zebra Shades & Blinds

The appeal of a zebra shade is fine control: a little more view, a little less glare, full privacy after dark. Doing that by hand across several windows gets old quickly. Motorized zebra shades and blinds put those adjustments on a remote, a wall switch, your phone or a voice assistant, so you can set the bands across a whole room at once or put them on a schedule. Every shade here is made to the width and height you measure and shipped direct to you.

Choosing a motor for a zebra shade

The motor sits inside the roller tube, hidden by the cassette. We use the A-OK AM25 and AM28 series, and the right one depends on how you want to control the shade.

The standard battery motor runs from a remote on a rechargeable 2600 mAh pack. It reaches Alexa or Google Home through an RF hub, and it is the version that can be solar powered with a solar charger, useful on a high window. The Zigbee version connects to Alexa with no hub, but only through five Echo models: Echo Plus 2nd Gen, Echo Studio, Echo Show 10 3rd Gen, Echo Show 2nd Gen and Echo Show 4th Gen. Any other Alexa device still needs the hub. The Matter version connects directly to Apple Home through a HomePod and also works with Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings and Home Assistant. The AC plug-in motor runs on 100 to 240 V, needs no charging, and uses an RF hub for smart control. For a heavy or very wide shade, the 28 mm AM28 steps up to 1.5 newton metres of torque and a 3000 mAh pack.

The practical rule: Matter for an Apple home, Zigbee only if you own one of those Echo devices, and the standard motor with a hub for everything else.

What the motor adds, and the width it needs

Every motor stores six positions: an upper and lower limit plus four intermediate stops between them. On a zebra shade that lets you save the point where the bands sit just how you like them for daytime view and call it back with one press. The motor also has a tilt angle adjustment mode for zebra shades, set from the remote after the shade is hung. The six channel AC152-06 remote adds time control, so the shades can open in the morning and close at sunset without you.

A motor has to fit inside the tube, so a motorized zebra needs more width than a manual one. On the CB-235 cassette a motorized build starts at 20 1/8 inches wide, and on the CB-268 at 20 1/2 inches. The CB-268 tops out at 80 inches of drop, so choose the CB-235 for taller windows. For two windows side by side, two shades on one CB-268 headrail can share a middle mechanism, where one motor drives both shades in perfect sync.

Charging uses a 5V 1.0A charger and takes about four hours. Charge it at least six hours every six months, even if the shade has barely moved. When the battery runs low the red light flashes and the motor slows to short jogs, which is your cue to charge it.

Measuring, installing and setting it up

For an inside mount, measure the opening's width and height and send us the exact figures; the factory applies its own deductions for the tube, fabric and bottom bar. Check the width against the motorized minimum before you order.

The cassette hangs on two brackets. Drill with a 0.2 inch (6 mm) bit and set the screws at 1.1 inch spacing, using the drywall or masonry anchors that match your wall. Hook the valance groove onto the bracket latch, press it back until it clicks, and confirm the top and rear are both locked. Then pair the remote and set your limits. Set the upper and lower limits first, because the intermediate stops must sit between them. Each limit can be fine tuned once; after that a change means resetting the motor.

Order a zebra sample to check the bands in your own light, then send your measurements. Every motorized zebra shade is made to order and shipped direct.