06 / 06
Case file
Motorised building-envelope openings — automatic rolling shutters, motorised skylights and retractable roof glass, and façade and ventilation openings — scheduled, scene-aware and integrated with the wider automation system.
| Aspect | Off-the-shelf | Engineered approach |
|---|---|---|
| Drive sizing | Generic motor | Drive sized to the leaf weight and span, holding position rather than re-zeroing on every press |
| Safety | Open-loop operation | Obstruction-stop, fail-safe interlocks and a manual or battery-backed override for power cuts |
| Control | Separate remote for the roof | Commissioned onto the same backbone as lighting, shading and climate scenes, with weather-triggered open/close |
Educational comparison of design rigour — not a statement about any specific installer.
/ The discipline, in detail
How we approach motorised shutters & skylights.
The openings in a building's envelope are usually the last things to go automatic, long after the lighting and shading inside have. We motorise rolling shutters, skylights, retractable roof glass and façade vents so they answer to the same scenes and schedules as the rest of the building — a Welcome scene that lifts the shutter and opens the morning vents, a Goodnight state that secures everything to a known position, a weather trigger that closes a skylight before the rain reaches it. Motors are specified to hold position rather than re-zero on every press, and openings are coordinated with the architecture so the install reads as part of the building, not a retrofit bolted to it.
We coordinate the mechanical opening, the motor and the control layer as one engagement — drive sizing to the leaf weight and span, service-access and manual-override provision, and the safety interlocks an automatic opening needs so it stops on obstruction and fails to a safe state. Rain, wind and sun-load sensing closes or opens the envelope on conditions rather than on someone remembering, and the whole set integrates with the lighting, shading and climate scenes on the same backbone so there is no separate remote for the roof. Every project is commissioned against a written sequence and handed over with named scenes, an override the operations team can reach, and a maintenance note for the moving parts.
On record
Every motorised shutters & skylights engagement is documented end-to-end — design, programming, commissioning, calibration — and handed over with the files our successors would need if we were never to return.
/ Where we deploy this
Active across 4 sectors.
Shutters & Skylights is rarely a standalone brief — it sits inside a wider sector practice with its own codes, expectations and operating rhythm.
/ Sister services
The rest of automation.
A serious brief usually crosses two or three of these. Read across the discipline — we deliver them as one contract.
- 01
Home & Office Automation
One press. The whole space responds.
Lights, climate, blinds, audio, cinema and security — orchestrated by a single Rako, Fibaro or KNX backbone and controlled from a touch panel, voice or a discreet keypad on the wall.0 - 02
Lighting Automation
Light, tuned to the hour.
Dimmable, scene-based, daylight-aware lighting on Rako, Fibaro, KNX or DALI — programmed to the rhythm of the room rather than the switch on the wall.1 - 03
Smart Control
One panel. The whole building.
Touch panels, keypads, voice and mobile control surfaces — Rako, Fibaro Home Center and KNX — engineered as the single, learnable interface to everything else we install.2 - 04
Drapery & Shading Control
Daylight, on a quiet motor.
Motorised curtain tracks, roller and roman blinds, sheer-and-blackout double-rolls, and external louvres — silent, scheduled, scene-aware and integrated with the rest of the home or building.3 - 05
Architectural & Façade Lighting
The building and the grounds, after dark.
Façade graze, in-grade uplights, linear coves, water-feature lighting, drive and pathway detailing, tree uplights and perimeter flood — engineered, programmed and night-commissioned on one Rako control surface.4
/ Integration with
How shutters & skylights talks to the rest.
A serious deployment of this system rarely operates in isolation. The disciplines below most commonly share its cabling pathways, its controller logic, and its cause-and-effect matrix.
Home & Office Automation
One press. The whole space responds.
Lights, climate, blinds, audio, cinema and security — orchestrated by a single Rako, Fibaro or KNX backbone and controlled from a touch panel, voice or a discreet keypad on the wall.Lighting Automation
Light, tuned to the hour.
Dimmable, scene-based, daylight-aware lighting on Rako, Fibaro, KNX or DALI — programmed to the rhythm of the room rather than the switch on the wall.Drapery & Shading Control
Daylight, on a quiet motor.
Motorised curtain tracks, roller and roman blinds, sheer-and-blackout double-rolls, and external louvres — silent, scheduled, scene-aware and integrated with the rest of the home or building.
Engineering toolkit
Tools to scope this work
Calculators and reference checkers we use ourselves to sense-check the engineering before any drawings change hands.
- BMS · Energy
Energy & Efficiency Estimator
Adjust building variables and see indicative energy and CO₂ savings (kWh) for a BMS-driven energy upgrade plus daylight-harvesting LED retrofit. Conservative; defensible in a first conversation.
kWh · CO₂ savedOpen - AV · LED
LED Wall Size Calculator
Direct-view LED wall sizing across Samsung, LG MAGNIT, Leyard, Absen, Unilumin, Panasonic, Delta, Christie and Barco. Cabinet count, native resolution, brightness adequacy, power and weight — with pitch-vs-distance honesty and camera-refresh flags. Sources cited per model.
9 brands · pitch-awareOpen - AV · Projection
Projector Throw Calculator
Engineering-grade throw distance calculator across 15 brands and 51 verified models — Sony, JVC, Epson, BenQ, LG, Optoma, ViewSonic, Panasonic, Barco, Christie, Hisense, Samsung, XGIMI, Formovie, AWOL Vision. Searchable picker, throw range, lens-shift envelope, viewing distance, pixel density, feasibility flags and a custom-throw fallback. Sources cited per model.
15 brands · sourcedOpen
/ Frequently asked
Motorised Shutters & Skylights — what buyers ask first.
Will motorised shutters and skylights work with our existing automation?
Yes — the envelope openings are commissioned onto the same control backbone as the lighting and shading, so they answer to the same scenes, schedules and keypads rather than a separate remote. Where a system is already installed we integrate at the controller; on new builds we coordinate the cabling and motor positions with the architect before finishes go on.
What happens to a motorised skylight in bad weather or a power cut?
We specify rain and wind sensing so a skylight or roof opening closes automatically when conditions turn, and we engineer obstruction-stop and a defined fail-safe position so the opening settles safely rather than unpredictably. A manual or battery-backed override is provided so the envelope can still be operated during a power outage.
· Begin
Begin a
motorised shutters & skylights
brief.
Tell us about the building, the timeline, and what success looks like a year after handover. We will reply within two working days with a written response, not a sales pitch.