QMotion Fabric Selections for Your New Orleans Property

Often families become pre-occupied with the way their curtains look, including the pattern, color, and style. However, there are other aspects to consider, including the openness factor, UV-ray prevention, and material quality. These properties will help your family save energy and still allow you to enjoy the beauty of your shades. Read this fabric selection guide to get a better understanding of all the items to consider when you purchase motorized shades for your New Orleans, LA home.

SEE ALSO: 3 Reasons Motorized Shades are Worth Your Investment Fabric Types Solar shades are commonly used to block out the sun’s UV rays to protect furniture and keep the home cool. They can reduce your cooling costs during the year by keeping out the heat and also lessen your need for artificial lighting. QMotion has a new fabric type called KOOLBLACK, which is a dark fabric that reflects the sun’s rays instead of absorbing them. By reflecting the light, the KOOLBLACK shades reduce heat gain and save energy. They also give you more visibility so you can see outside. KOOLBLACK shades are ideal for work environments and for the home too.

Fabric Color Light fabrics are ideal for common areas, like living rooms and kitchens. They reflect a high percentage of light to keep out heat, while still preserving natural light to reduce the need for artificial light. Dark color fabrics don’t let as much light in through the window but increase the exterior visibility during daylight hours. So if you want to see outside, pick a darker color fabric. Dark fabric colors are ideal for media rooms or home theaters to reduce glare on the screen as well. They can also be used in bedrooms to ensure privacy.

Openness Factor The openness factor refers to the tightness of the weave of your shade fabric, which determines how much you can see through it. A blackout shade, for example, would have an openness factor of 0% because you can’t see anything through it. Sheer fabrics, on the other hand, let you see outside, but the tradeoff is that they let more light and heat inside your home. If you choose a shade with an openness factor of 1%, 99% of the UV light is blocked. Though it will be harder to see out of them you will conserve more energy. If you pick a sheer fabric, keep in mind that people may be able to see inside your home at night. So when you get started choosing your motorized shade fabric, make sure you take the openness factor into account.

Dual Shades Yes, there are many different types of shade fabrics, but you don’t necessarily have to choose just one for every room. Double roller applications let you have the benefits of both shade types – sheer and blackout. Hit your remote control or button on your mobile app and the blackout shade will drop down for a movie. Then, later on, change it and lower the sheer shade so you can read a book in a bright, sunlit room but still stay cool.

Everything you need to know about motorized shades and automated lighting

 It’s getting warmer in Louisiana and it might be time for some smart home spring cleaning. Though smart home technology is a significant upfront investment, it can truly pay off in the long run: You’ll see excellent returns via economic and energy savings to justify the cost. Not to mention you’ll enjoy these features as soon as we install them. Today, we’ll specifically discuss motorized shades, automated lighting and outdoor updates.

 Are you ready to freshen up your Baton Rouge, LA, home for spring? Keep reading to see our suggestions that enhance your home’s aesthetic while saving you money.

SEE ALSO: 3 Smart Lighting Control Benefits That Might Surprise You 

Motorized Shades

We can’t think of a more stylish, customizable example of conserving resources than motorized shades. You conserve resources just by changing your drapery -- and we’ll help you find the color, texture and fabric that matches your home. Read this blog for a comprehensive list of QMotion designs that Acadian Custom installs!

Make life easier around your New Orleans home with new automation technology

 As more and more technology finds its way into our lives, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all the different devices in our homes. Our TVs, speakers, computers, gaming consoles, phones, tablets and even some appliances are all smart devices now, delivering a constant stream of notifications, feedback and information.

What if there was a way to link devices into one cohesive network you could control simply from one device anywhere in your home? This is the promise of home automation, particularly smart home control. With the right smart home control system, simplify everyday chores around your New Orleans home and enjoy a more relaxed, more comfortable lifestyle.

Here are five devices that can be linked to a control system to give you control over your home technology again.

SEE ALSO: Home Automation System Trends to Watch for in 2019 

MOTORIZED SHADES

Adjusting your home’s shades may not be a physically daunting task, but it is time-consuming. Motorized shades can be controlled remotely from your bed or couch, so you don’t have to get up to adjust them all the time. You can also program your shades to adjust themselves automatically based on a premade schedule or by following the sun’s path through the sky.

Lighting Plays a Vital Role in Employee Morale and Efficiency

Designing a successful office space is all about finding every way possible to improve your employees’ efficiency, morale and productivity. Every day there's an innovation promising to revolutionize office design, whether it's an open workspace, standing desks, or fitness centers. It's a focus mostly on real estate rather than the environment that results in missing the obvious. As companies try to think outside the box, they often ignore one vital component: lighting.

During your office design, it's essential to consider what kind of lighting you're providing for your staff. Using inadequate lighting can result in fatigue, discomfort, and overall discontent. A lighting control solution in your Baton Rouge, LA space needs to be able to meet all your employee's needs without resulting in high energy bills.

Solutions that let you efficiently manage artificial and natural light will result in happier, more efficient employees and improved productivity for your business.

SEE MORE: 3 Ways Conference Room AV Makes Meetings More Productive

Enhancing Your Artificial Lighting

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy, an improved lighting control system results in less absenteeism, better product quality and less turnover within your company. Having the ability to manage lights through dedicated touchpads, sensors and timers will significantly affect your employee productivity while cutting down on energy bills.

What is the magic that makes home automation work so spectacularly?  Well, it has about as much "magic" as Disney's Magic Kingdom does.  In other words, its really huge amounts of science, engineering and technology operating at breathless speed!

If you've ever seen a home automation "control system" at work, its all "oohs and ahs!"  Maybe it works like this:

You press a button that you named "Good Morning."  At that one touch, your bathroom vanity lights and heater turn on to a pre-set level just right for you, your dressing room light turns on, shades slowly rise to let in morning light, interior lights gently fade on, your preferred morning show turns on so you can catch your favorite music or else the morning headlines and your security system is disarmed so you can step out onto the back patio without having to squint at a keypad.

What's going on here?  The brain of the control system (the CPU) recognizes the button you pressed and instantly processes complex commands to activate specific strings of code simultaneously to each of the sub-systems (lighting, climate control, motorized shades, security, etc.) telling them what to do nearly instantly.

Now each manufacturer of their respective systems provides an app for their product.  But consider the following.