Somfy has unveiled the Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree Zigbee Drapery Motor, a battery-operated drapery solution engineered for both new builds and retrofit projects.
Powered by a removable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery and operating on the Zigbee protocol, the motor eliminates the need for prewiring, which, according to Somfy, makes it ideal for both new construction and retrofit builds.
“We developed this solution to enable curtain automation in environments where power cabling was not initially planned or integrated into the original design,” says Amit Parpani, Somfy senior product marketing manager.
“With the [Glydea ULTRA 50], the major advantage for integrators is that the motor automatically sets its limits, eliminating manual calibration and reducing setup time.”
Glydea ULTRA 50 Core Features
According to Somfy, the motor supports track lengths up to 36 feet and can traverse up to 110 pounds of fabric, meaning the motor can support some sizeable custom window treatments.
Integrators can also customize setpoints via Somfy’s TaHoma pro app, which can be enabled via touch motion and/or third-party control systems.
Somfy also states its compact size, and quiet operation allows it to blend in better with drapery systems such that it does not detract from interior design of the room itself.
Drapery Underrepresented in Mix of Shading Solutions
As motorized shading has grown in popularity within the CI channel, drapery continues to be an undersold segment of the category with wire-free solutions remaining underrepresented on projects compared to hardwired shades.
Still, as per CE Pro’s Shading Controls Deep Dive last year, integrators remain optimistic on the segment, expecting battery-powered solutions to have grown 1% – 10% this year.
Wire-Free vs. Wired Interest
A solid chunk of that optimism may fall in line with the general growth of the category, however, as hardwired projects were expected to grow roughly 6% as well. Still, there are elements that may point to wire-free solutions receiving some extra attention.
New home production, while not dead in the water, has slowed down considerably, with retrofit work comprising roughly 50% of all integrator revenue for residential projects.
Additionally, as clients have become more cost-conscious in certain areas, the ability to offer more cost-effective, retrofit solutions to balance more extensive, hardwired solutions being used elsewhere on projects is slowly becoming more valuable in proposals.
Where to Get a Hands on Look at the Glydea ULTRA 50
The Glydea will be one display at booth #3412 during the 2025 CEDIA Expo, where it will make its channel debut. Additionally, while at the show, Somfy will be showcasing its existing wired shading motors the Sonesse 30 PoE and the Sonesse 40 PoE.
Like the Glydea, both motors are designed to drastically reduce labor and installation time while making it easier for them to be integrated into smart home control platforms, albeit with a hardwired connection.
Additionally, while at the show, Somfy will be hosting a PoE commissioning challenge, which will pit integrators against one another to see who can integrate a Sonesse motor into a control system the fastest.
