Automated sun protection: how to keep your home cooler during heatwaves

Motorised window coverings – like roller shutters, venetian blinds external screens and blinds – can help you better insulate your windows to prevent heat gain. Even better news? Automated solutions are changing the game to make your motorised sun protection smarter and more efficient during heatwaves – and all year.

A Cooler Home, Effortlessly

In summer, your windows act like radiators. They absorb the sun’s heat, locking it inside your home – creating a kind of furnace. Every m² of window directly exposed to sun emits 500W of power, which is a lot of extra heat. By automating your motorised roller shutters or external venetian blinds, your home is better equipped to face heatwaves – keeping it from 4°C to 7°C* cooler.

Tailoring Automation to Your Home

Automation ensures your sun protection is always in the best position at the right time, even when you’re out or busy doing something else. Given that each home is different, and we don’t all have the same requirements, it’s important to choose the right equipment and kind of automation for you.

Keep Your Home Cooler During Heatwaves with Amy® sun protect io

Amy® sun protect io works as a wall switch but does so much more. It makes your motorised Somfy sun protection smart by choosing the right moment to lower it before the room gets too hot – for simple native automation. Embedded with an indoor temperature sensor and onboard intelligence, the smart device anticipates and caps heat peaks for a more comfortable indoor temperature during heatwaves. Simply activate the ‘sun protect’ function and forget about it.  

Optimise Your Comfort & Energy Efficiency at Home, All Year

With TaHoma® switch, access advanced automation, all year round. Somfy’s smart home solution and app manage your connected Somfy devices, so you can take advantage of all the benefits of connectivity while increasing thermal and visual comfort, as well as making energy savings. Simply press a button, tap your TaHoma® app (iOS and Android) or make a simple voice command to control all your equipment, together or individually.

You can programme ‘scenes’ based on your routine or plans for the day. These automated scenarios unlock the full potential of your smart home equipment. Drawing on different data, including from Amy® sun protect io, the intuitive, pre-set, customisable Thermal Comfort scene automates your window coverings according to your devices, the season and time of time. They automatically adjust to the right position, at the right moment, even when you’re away from home.

You can get even more from your pre-set Thermal Comfort scene by adding more data with the sunlight sensor built into the RS100 solar panel or an outdoor sensor, such as Sunteis® io – which will be launched in autumn 2024. When combined with a connected sun protection system, they increase precision to further enhance your thermal and visual comfort. You decide whether you want more visual comfort - more daylight to see better – or more thermal comfort – block more sunlight to further reduce the room temperature – with 5 different levels of protection.

Improved Comfort and a Lower Environmental Impact

As temperatures rise, it can be tempting to turn to air conditioning to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. However, although A/C units are good at keeping the temperature down, they consume a lot of energy making them expensive to run – as well as increasing greenhouse emissions. Automated roller shutters – and other kinds of automated sun protection like blinds – provide a simple, energy-efficient alternative for a cooler home, reducing A/C use by up to 70%**.

The Right Kind of Automation for You

With an ever-wider choice of motorised products powered by automated solutions, you can now customise your approach based on your needs and priorities. So, you enjoy increased thermal comfort and energy efficiency during heatwaves and every day of the year.

*Maximum temperature compared to a house not equipped with sun protection. TBC study for the French Building Federation: Analysis of the energy contribution of roller shutters normative & regulatory study, 2010.

**Compared to manual solutions. Somfy simulations implemented with the support of Carbone 4. Depending on a house’s size, geolocation, year of construction, window equipment (roller shutter, EVB), 2021.