Smart Curtains and Blinds: Motorisation Options and What They Cost

A motorised track replaces your existing curtain track with one that has a built-in motor, which usually means removing your current curtains and rehanging them on the new track. A retrofit motor unit, on the other hand, clips onto or drives your existing track without replacing it, which is faster to install and cheaper, though it isn't compatible with every track profile.

Cost is per window or per track length, not a flat home-wide number — a wide living-room track with heavy curtains needs a stronger motor than a bedroom window, and that shows up in the quote. Roller and Roman blinds use a different, generally lower-cost motor mechanism than curtain tracks, so mixing curtain and blind automation in one home is priced as two separate line items, not one.

Motor noise level matters more for bedrooms than living rooms — it's worth asking specifically about decibel rating if quiet operation at night matters to you. Manual override (being able to pull the curtain by hand without fighting the motor) is a feature some low-cost motors skip, and it's worth confirming before installation, not after a stuck curtain during a power issue.