Leafi, a Canadian smart home technology company, has released a device that converts horizontal tilt-wand blinds into smart blinds in minutes, providing a cost-effective, simple alternative to most automated blinds on the market.
The Nova smart device attaches to the headrail of a set of horizontal blinds without the need for tools or technological know-how. The Nova uses an adapter connected to a small motor that replaces the traditional wand that you twist to open and close the blinds. It was designed as a mass-consumer product, but the automated system offers accessibility benefits to wheelchair users with limited grip strength or who can’t easily reach the wand due to height or furniture placement.
Once you install the Nova, you can control your blinds with the Leafi app on iOS and Android devices, or hands-free with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. The Nova can be programmed for daily schedules, different activities, and to work in unison with additional Nova devices. The Nova has a rechargeable battery that can last up to a year.
The Nova is available for $125 for one device but can also be purchased in bundles at a discount. For more information about the Nova, please visit the Leafi website.
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Would be nice if they had control options that didn’t require a spies-on-you-phone or monitoring by a surveillance service… Why can’t we get control by our OWN computer, located in OUR home….
There are solutions that don’t require cloud services and work with smart home solutions you can host on your computer like home assistant. Look for „Switchbot Blind Tilt“ and similar products.
Probably because most people don’t have the know-how or equipment to set up Home Assistant on their own local server.
Well, probably not, probably so they can sell data they collect from sending device info through their servers.
But yeah, I hear ya. We use the hubspace lights in the house, and while they have an integration with Home Assistant, it’s still web-based not truly home network based.
I could see a good solution being requiring these companies to offer the inter-operability so that integrations with Home Assistant could be written. But that’s me daydreaming…
The Switchbot Blind Tilt does the same thing and is less than half the price. It also comes with a solar panel so you’ll never have to take it down and recharge the battery. I have one on windows that face north, south, and east. The south and east facing ones consistently have 99-100% charged batteries and the north facing one has never dropped below 80% charged battery despite not getting direct sunlight.