Automation Plettenberg Bay
Somfy motors. App control from anywhere. Sun, wind, and rain sensors that respond before you do. Automation engineered for holiday homes, coastal conditions, and the way life works in Plett.
Plett is a holiday town. Properties sit empty for weeks and the weather shifts fast. Automation closes the distance between you and the house.
Looks lived in from the road
Roller, honeycomb and venetian blinds on battery or hardwired motors. Timed schedules open at 7am and close at 6pm so an empty house keeps a routine.
UV, salt air, temperature swings
Somfy tubular motors made for exterior conditions, one remote across the patio or linked to the central system.
Retracts itself at 35 km/h
Folding-arm and louvred awnings are motorised as standard on most installations. A wind sensor retracts the awning when wind exceeds the set threshold; a rain sensor closes louvre blades.
Ask who will set the sensor thresholds for your exposure and who you phone from Johannesburg when something needs adjusting. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings has been on the Garden Route since 2010, installs both Somfy and MotionBlinds, and Duncan programmes every Plett system on site, from Beacon Isle beachfront to sheltered Goose Valley.
Somfy and MotionBlinds automation for Plettenberg Bay holiday homes, designed on site and programmed before we leave.
Plett automation consultation: WhatsApp Duncan on 079 523 5407
You are in Johannesburg. The Plett house is empty. A storm is building on the coast. Your phone buzzes: awning retracted, blinds closed, sensors active. You do nothing.
Plett is a holiday town. Properties sit empty for weeks, sometimes months. The weather shifts fast. A south-easter can go from nothing to 60 km/h in twenty minutes, and a retractable awning left extended in that wind will not survive.
Manual blinds and awnings only work when someone is there to operate them. In a town where half the houses are occupied for fewer than a hundred days a year, that is not enough. Automation solves the problem that Plett creates: distance between you and your property.
Wind sensors retract awnings before damage occurs. Sun sensors adjust louvre angles as the day moves. Timed schedules open and close indoor blinds so the house looks lived in from the road. And app control means you can check, adjust, or override from wherever you are.
Holiday home security. Timed blind schedules are one of the simplest and most effective ways to make an unoccupied property look occupied. Blinds that open at 7am and close at 6pm every day create the appearance of routine activity. Combined with security shutters, this is a common configuration for Robberg Ridge, Beacon Isle, and Goose Valley holiday homes.
Roller blinds, honeycomb blinds, and venetian blinds can all be fitted with battery-powered or hardwired motors. Battery motors require no electrical work and are ideal for retrofitting existing blinds in holiday homes. Hardwired motors are specified for new builds and renovations where cabling is accessible.
MotionBlinds offers a wireless system that connects directly to your home WiFi. No hub required. Each blind is controlled individually or grouped by room through the MotionBlinds app. Somfy motors integrate with the Somfy TaHoma hub for centralised control across blinds, awnings, and other connected devices.
Outdoor roller blinds and screen mesh systems use Somfy tubular motors built for exterior conditions. These motors are rated for the UV exposure, salt air, and temperature variation that Plett delivers. A single remote can control multiple outdoor blinds across a patio, or they can be linked to a central system.
Retractable folding-arm awnings and louvred awning systems are motorised as standard on most installations. Wind sensors are strongly recommended for Plett. A sensor-equipped awning retracts automatically when wind speed exceeds a set threshold, typically around 35 km/h. This protects the fabric and mechanism without requiring anyone to be present.
Louvred awnings use motors to tilt the aluminium blades. A rain sensor closes the louvres when it detects moisture. Combined with a wind sensor and app control, the system manages itself entirely.
Comparison
| Product | Motor Type | Control Options | Sensors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roller blinds (indoor) | Battery or hardwired | Remote, app, voice, schedule | Light sensor (optional) |
| Honeycomb blinds | Battery or hardwired | Remote, app, voice, schedule | Light sensor (optional) |
| Venetian blinds | Hardwired | Remote, app, voice, schedule | Light sensor (optional) |
| Outdoor roller blinds | Somfy tubular (hardwired) | Remote, app, schedule | Wind, sun |
| Retractable awnings | Somfy tubular (hardwired) | Remote, app, schedule | Wind, sun (strongly recommended) |
| Louvred awnings | Integrated motor | Remote, app, schedule | Wind, rain, sun |
| Security shutters | Somfy (optional) | Remote, app, schedule | Timer only |
“Most of my Plett automation clients are managing the house from Gauteng or the Cape. They want to know the awning retracts when the wind picks up, the blinds open in the morning, and everything closes at night. Once I set up the sensors and schedules, they stop thinking about it. That is the point.”
Duncan Kane Founder, Custom Blinds. 20 years experience.
Somfy TaHoma connects blinds, awnings, and shutters into a single app. From there, you can create scenes (all blinds up at sunrise, all down at sunset), link to Google Home or Amazon Alexa for voice control, and set geofencing triggers that adjust blinds when you arrive at or leave the property.
MotionBlinds integrates directly with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa without a separate hub. For Plett holiday homes, the WiFi-direct approach is often simpler because there is one less device to maintain remotely.
Both systems work over standard WiFi. No proprietary wiring. No specialist electrician required for battery-powered indoor blinds. Hardwired motors for outdoor products and awnings are connected during installation.
Duncan visits your property and assesses every window, door, and patio opening. He recommends which products benefit from motorisation (not everything needs a motor) and which sensor configuration suits your exposure. Beachfront properties on Beacon Isle need different sensor thresholds to sheltered homes in Goose Valley.
Motors and sensors are installed at the same time as the blinds or awnings. If you are retrofitting automation onto existing manual blinds, Duncan checks compatibility first. Most modern roller and honeycomb blinds can accept motor inserts without replacing the entire unit.
Programming happens on site. Duncan configures schedules, sensor thresholds, app connections, and voice assistant pairing before he leaves. You get a walkthrough of every control method. If you are not in Plett on installation day, remote programming is possible for most Somfy and MotionBlinds systems.
Yes. Both Somfy TaHoma and MotionBlinds apps give you full control from anywhere with an internet connection. You can open, close, and schedule blinds remotely. This is the most common use case for Plett holiday homeowners.
Yes. A wind sensor sends a signal to the motor when wind speed exceeds a set threshold. The awning retracts automatically within seconds. This protects both the fabric and the mechanism. In Plett, where the south-easter can escalate quickly, sensors are strongly recommended on all retractable awnings.
In most cases, yes. Modern roller blinds and honeycomb blinds can accept battery-powered motor inserts without replacing the entire blind. Duncan checks compatibility during the consultation. Some older or non-standard systems may need a full replacement.
Battery-powered indoor blinds continue to operate normally. Hardwired motors on awnings and outdoor blinds have manual override options. Somfy motors include a manual crank or override key for emergency retraction.
Yes. Somfy (via TaHoma) and MotionBlinds both integrate with Google Home and Amazon Alexa. MotionBlinds also supports Apple Home directly; Somfy does through TaHoma for io-homecontrol motors only, not RTS. Voice commands like “close the bedroom blinds” or “retract the patio awning” work across all platforms.
It depends on the number of blinds, motor type (battery vs hardwired), sensor requirements, and hub configuration. Battery motors for indoor blinds are more affordable than hardwired systems. Duncan provides a detailed quote after the site visit.
Custom Blinds® is the Garden Route’s trusted automation and motorisation specialist, established in 2010 and serving Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, George, and surrounding areas. We manufacture Custom Lifestyle Awnings™ and outdoor shading systems in our Knysna workshop and manufacture our Custom Lifestyle Shutters™ range in Cape Town. Also available: automation in Knysna. Other recommended Plett services: Plett hub · blinds · shutters · security shutters · awnings · louvre awnings · outdoor blinds · Roller Blinds Plett · screens · shadeports
Part of the Custom Blinds automation range for the Garden Route.
Duncan visits your property, assesses every opening, and recommends the right automation for your lifestyle and budget. No obligation.
Send rough sizes, a photo or two of the opening and anything you already know. We come back on fabric, system and pricing, usually within one working day.
We have what we need to start on your assessment. Expect a reply on the number you gave, usually within one working day.