I can’t stand it anymore. Our cheesy metal-slat blinds are ugly and they’re falling apart. Although half of our house is glass – the side facing the St. Croix River – we have to keep the blinds down because the sun ruins our furniture and art. And since our panes (and pains!) are huge – as large as 6 foot by 8 foot – the blinds are too heavy to open and close, so the cords are all broken.

Furthermore, we feel every wind blast thanks to 1950 windows, leading to electric bills that run as much as $800 in the winter, despite keeping the thermostat at an uncomfortable 62 degrees.

Lutron has the quietest motorized drapes on the market, and the most options for fabric – even more so after CEDIA 2009. The Sivoia QS Wireless shades would work wonders in our nearly-impossible-to-retrofit house. During CEDIA, Lutron demonstrated how motorized shades can be used for energy management (pictured).

Somfy recently announced the ILT Z-Wave interface, so presumably it can be operated by the very inexpensive Wayne-Dalton HousePort that I am about to check out. Somfy also has the new Sonesse 50 ILT motor, each of which has a unique network address for selective control of individual motors.