Lutron Serena Smart Wood Blinds review: the price of convenience

When it comes to smart home gadgets, there are the simple, basic things that most people start with, such as smart light bulbs, smart outlet, or a smart lock. Each of these can be purchased for a relatively low price and installed in just a few minutes. Then there are the advanced smart home gadgets: things like smart sprinkler systems and comprehensive surveillance systems. These are more expensive and more challenging to install.

Smart window screens and blinds sit somewhere in the middle. They are expensive, sometimes horrible, but installation is simple and straightforward. They are not as directly beneficial as a smart light, and they will not save you money on your energy bills like a smart thermostat, but they can make your day a little better day in and day out, especially if your window fixtures are hard to reach.

We looked at Ikea’s smart windows last year, but they are limited to turning on or off all the light – you can not let in more or less light when the sun changes. They are also only available in specific sizes, which may or may not fit your windows. Lutron’s new Serena Smart Wood blinds, on the other hand, can be adapted to the size of your windows and offer more control. Like other horizontal slatted blinds, the Serena Smart Wood Blinds can be adjusted to let in different amounts of light throughout the day. But instead of pulling on a cord, you can use a small remote, like Lutron’s smartphone app, or even your voice to control them.

Or, best of all, you can let them run automatically. By giving the app access to your location and telling you in which direction your window is pointing, the blinds will automatically open at sunrise and close at sunset. They will also adjust their position throughout the day to minimize glare and maximize the natural light in the room. You can even enable a “Fade Fighter” feature that adjusts the tilt to minimize fading on carpets, furniture, or artwork near windows.

I have been testing the Serena Smart Wood Blinds in the kitchen for the majority of the summer and although they are excessive and unnecessary, they turn an everyday and often boring experience into a pleasure. The blinds are already partially open and let light into the room when I go into the kitchen in the morning to make coffee and breakfast. Halfway through the day they are fully open, allowing all the light into the room. And then at night, just as the sun goes down, the blinds close completely for the night.

Thanks to this fully automated feature, I rarely used the remote, app, or even voice commands to control the blind. On a few occasions I wish the blinds were fully open sooner than they would normally do that themselves, but other than that it has been quite a set and kind of experience forgotten.

Great is the engine that opens the blinds and closes very quietly – I can only hear it when I stop what I am doing and specifically listen to it. The blinds I tested are powered by eight D-cell alkaline batteries – you can also opt for an AC adapter if you order the blinds for permanent power. Lutron says the batteries last two to five years with typical daily use.

Installing the blinds is the same process as any other wooden slatted blind and, as long as you have the right size, it only takes a few minutes to finish. Lutron does not sell these off the shelf – each set is custom fitted to your window and takes about two weeks to reach you, so it’s important to measure once, twice and probably a third time to make sure you get the just right.

If you just want to use the remote to control the blinds, you can connect it directly to them, but if you want to use the app, Alexa, the Google Assistant, or the automated features, you also need to have the Lutron bridge install and configure on your home network. This of course introduces a different level of cost and complexity to the mix, but the hub can be used to control Lutron dimmers, switches and other devices.

I warned above that the biggest hurdle for the Smart Wood Blinds is their cost, and this is by far the worst thing about them. Prices start at $ 599 – the blinds that fit my single, 65-inch-wide kitchen window came in at just over $ 800 including the distance. I’d already set up a Lutron bridge, but if you do not, that’s another $ 80 you should spend. Furnishing my entire home with these blinds would easily count in the thousands of dollars, and is much more expensive than comparable manual for wooden blinds that I can buy from my local Lowe’s or Home Depot.

There are a few other strange limitations, such as the fact that they work with Alexa and the Google Assistant, but not Apple’s HomeKit or Samsung’s SmartThings, both of which are supported by other Lutron products. As I mentioned earlier, I did not find much use for the voice controllers, but if you wanted to set up an automation via HomeKit or SmartThings to close the blinds when you leave the house, you do not have the option to do so,

Finally, while the opening and closing of the wooden slats is driven by the motor, raising and lowering the blinds to open or close the window behind them is still a manual process. You can lift them in part and they will hold their position and the automatic functions for checking the slats will still work. There is also no way to open or close the slats without the remote controls, app or voice. That may make it a little confusing for guests to serve them.

Still, despite its steep cost and limited platform support, the Smart Wood Blinds are among the most comfortable smart devices I have used in years. They are easy to install, instant to use and reliable to the point where I just forget about them as I continue my day. Many smart home gadgets overpromise and underperform, but the Smart Wood Blinds behave exactly as you expect them to. You just have to pay a lot for that privilege.

Photography by Dan Seifert / The Verge