Blinds & curtains that work with Home Assistant
Waking up to curtains that open themselves is the smart home's best party trick, and you don't need made-to-measure motorised blinds to get it. Retrofit robots from SwitchBot and Aqara motorise the curtains and blinds you already own, while Matter-over-Thread and Zigbee options integrate with Home Assistant fully locally. We note hub requirements and battery life on every card — both vary more than you'd think.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make my existing curtains smart without replacing them?
Yes — curtain robots like the SwitchBot Curtain 3 and Aqara Curtain Driver E1 clip onto your existing rail or rod and physically pull the curtains along it. Fitting takes minutes, no tools, and they work with pencil-pleat and eyelet curtains alike. Solar panel add-ons remove the recharging chore.
How do smart blinds connect to Home Assistant?
Three routes: Zigbee devices (Aqara, Zemismart) pair into Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA; Matter-over-Thread devices (Eve MotionBlinds, SwitchBot's newer gear) join the native Matter integration; and Bluetooth devices like older SwitchBots reach Home Assistant through a Bluetooth proxy. All three are local — no cloud round-trips before your blinds move.
Are automated blinds worth it for energy saving?
In the UK, genuinely yes: closing blinds and curtains at dusk measurably cuts heat loss through glazing (the Energy Saving Trust puts curtains' benefit at up to several percent of heating cost), and automating it means it actually happens. Pair with a sun-position trigger to close blinds on hot south-facing rooms in summer, too.