Battery motors are easy to fit and keep going in a blackout; wired motors never need charging. Here is how to decide for each window in your home.
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A battery curtain motor is the easy start: nothing is drilled for power, it suits rented homes, and it keeps working in a blackout. A wired motor is the long-term answer for heavy, wide or hard-to-reach curtains, because nobody has to charge it. Between the two sits a plug-in motor that runs from an adapter in a socket you already have. The right choice is usually different for each window in the same house. The smart home hub shows how curtains fit with the rest of the home.
Shops and installers use "wireless", "rechargeable", "USB" and "wired" loosely, so it helps to sort motors by where their energy comes from on an ordinary day.
Battery and plug-in motors are often the same product used two ways. Mains motors are a different product and a different kind of job.
| Battery | Plug-in to an existing socket | Mains-wired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work at the window | Fit the motor or driver only | Fit the motor and route a thin lead | A power point at the head of the window |
| Who does the power side | No electrical work | No electrical work if the socket already exists | An electrical contractor registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga |
| Charging | Needed from time to time | Not needed | Not needed |
| During a power cut | Keeps working on its remote or button | Stops until power returns | Stops until power returns |
| Looks | Nothing trailing | A lead down the side of the window | Hidden if the power point is concealed |
| Suits | Rentals, light to medium curtains, windows far from sockets | Bedrooms with a socket near the window | Heavy, wide or high curtains; renovations |
A battery motor's life between charges is not a fixed number. The maker of one popular clip-on driver says it depends on the curtain's weight, the length of the track and the friction along it. A light bedroom curtain on a short, smooth track will go much longer between charges than a lined blackout pair across a wide sliding door.
How often it moves matters as much. Published battery figures assume light use; one maker's roller blind figure is based on a single up-and-down movement a day. Schedules that open and close the curtain several times, or a sensor that closes it whenever the sun hits the glass, use the battery faster. Two practical ways to stretch it:
This is the question that settles most battery decisions. A motor at the top of an ordinary bedroom window can be reached from a step stool and charged in place with a power bank. A motor at the top of a double-height living room window cannot, and taking it down every few months soon becomes a chore nobody does.
Before choosing battery, picture who will charge it and how. If the honest answer is "nobody, until it stops", choose plug-in or mains for that window. Very tall windows are covered in more detail in the high windows guide.
A plug-in motor gives most of the convenience of mains without any electrical work, as long as a socket already sits close to the window. The adapter goes into that socket and a thin lead runs up the side of the frame or behind the curtain stack to the motor.
It works best where the lead can be hidden: a bedside socket next to a bedroom window, or a socket behind a full-length curtain on a side wall. It works badly above a picture window or a sliding door in the middle of a wall, where the lead would cross bare paint. Use a cable clip or a slim trunking strip along the frame, and keep the lead well clear of the curtain so it is never pulled.
Mains motors make sense when the curtain is heavy, the span is wide, the window is hard to reach, or several windows are being motorised at once and nobody wants a charging round. They also make sense during a renovation, when the ceiling and walls are open and a concealed power point at the curtain box is straightforward to plan.
Any mains electrical work, such as a new power point, a change at the distribution board or a hardwired switch that needs new wiring, must be done by an electrical contractor registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga.
For smart switches and anything wired into the mains, we supply the devices and set up the app, and the switch or wiring work is done by an electrical contractor registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga that we coordinate. If you are renovating, the smart home pre-wiring guide lists what to run before the ceiling closes. In a condo, check with the management office before any wall or slab is chased for a new point.
Power cuts are where battery motors quietly win. A battery motor keeps responding to its remote or button when the electricity goes off. Plug-in and mains motors stop where they are until the supply returns.
There is a catch for all three. The app and voice control depend on the WiFi router and any hub, and those go off in a blackout unless they have backup power. The guide to smart homes in a power cut covers keeping the router and hub alive. Whatever you choose, find out how the curtain can be moved by hand when the motor cannot.
For tenants, battery is usually the only sensible option. It needs no work on the landlord's walls, and it comes down and goes with you when you move. A plug-in motor is the next step if a socket happens to be in the right place.
For owners, the choice is about how long you will stay and how many windows are involved. A single bedroom curtain is fine on battery for years. A whole living room of wide, heavy curtains is the case for mains. In a high-rise, the condo smart home guide explains what usually fits without upsetting the management.
Most homes end up with a mix. A typical split looks like this:
| Window | Usual choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bedroom with a socket beside the window | Plug-in | No charging, lead hidden by the curtain stack |
| Bedroom with no socket nearby, easy to reach | Battery | No electrical work; charge from a step stool |
| Wide living room sliding door, heavy blackout pair | Mains, or two battery drivers | Weight and width drain a single battery fast |
| Double-height window | Mains or plug-in | Nobody can reach it to charge |
| Rented condo, any window | Battery | Leaves the walls untouched |
| Roller or zebra blind | Battery chain driver or battery tube motor | Covered in the roller blind motor guide |
Battery is not a dead end. If a battery driver works well on a window but charging becomes tiresome, many models can simply be moved to plug-in power with the right adapter. If you are planning a renovation within a few years, it can be sensible to ask for a capped power point at each curtain box while the ceiling is open, even if you start with battery motors.
Whichever power type you choose, a motor that keeps stopping short is usually a track or limit problem rather than a power problem; see the curtain motor stops halfway guide.
We install battery and plug-in curtain motors and drivers, set them up in your app, and plan with you which windows suit which type. We do the smart device, app and low-voltage side of the job. For windows that need mains motors, we can coordinate an electrical contractor registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga for the power point.
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