If you were to ask which motor to use, in keeping with our desire to provide you with a quality solution, we would suggest Somfy. In our experience, Somfy is exceptional when it comes to reliability, support and service.
You need reliable motors
You don’t want to take callbacks for a failed motor, and if you install 50 motors over the next year or two….even more so!. It costs time and money to replace a motor. So the first thing when choosing a motor has got to be reliability. Both for you and your customer. We have had to return only a few motors over the last 3 years. That’s very good considering the number of motors we’ve sent out.
You need installation support
Sometimes, for whatever reason, motors can play up. Do you ‘reset’ the motor? How do you get it going again? Somfy support can be called while you or your installer is onsite and will step through the problem and solve it on the spot. We always provide their 1800 number with the Somfy motor because we feel this is invaluable service in case a problem arises.
You need a decent warranty
Somfy motors come with a 5 year warranty. If for whatever the reason, a motor does stop working, you need a simple approach to addressing it. We’ve found that you can install a chain control on the customers roller blind so they can continue to use the blind, and have us return (under warranty) the motor to Somfy. Somfy will test the motor and will either repair or issue a new motor. The only downside here is that the turnaround time from taking the motor from the customers home and returning a new or repaired one can be approx.. 3 weeks!
How noisy are they? We only supply the whisper quiet Somfy Sonesse 40 range, so there are no problems here. Compare these side by side other motors and you can tell the difference.
Use your phone to control your blinds ….awesome!
These days people are looking to remote control their blinds using their phone or iPad, and Somfy have such a product to fill this need. It’s called the Somfy Mylink.
Price might be an issue…
On the price side, there are a lot of cheap imported motors to compete against, and some come in at half the price of the Somfy. However you’ve got to realise that a Somfy motor is not in the same league as a cheap import. This is where you will struggle when quoting if your customer does not know the motors being proposed by a competitor, or they are on a tight budget.
Still need a cheaper alternative…
If you really need a cheaper motor, use the Somfy Tube motor. It has the same 5 year warranty and uses the same Somfy technical support which is a real plus. The Tube motor is noisier and has less features, but it does the job.
If that’s not good enough….then Somfy is not for you. But be warned! You get what you pay for.
We are always open to revising our view of other motors as we see and hear how they perform, so let us know.
