With the SwitchBot Curtain you can motorize your curtains, which you can then operate remotely through its internet connection. It sounds like something for a smart home for extremely lazy people, but such smart curtains can be very practical. You can read it in this SwitchBot Curtain review.
SwitchBot Curtain
Price €58.37 (single starter pack), €108.28 (double starter pack), €32.98 (Hub)
Website www.switch-bot.com
8 Score 80 
- Pros
- Useful application for vacation
- Easy installation
- Negatives
- Hub required for automation and remote control
- Engine not very powerful
There’s a lot of nonsense going on in smart home products, from solutions to problems that don’t exist like smart kettles to marketing nonsense like energy saving with your smart thermostat and burglary protection thanks to a camera doorbell. Which immediately creates a bridge to these smart curtains. Because here is the practical hook, because the curtains are of added value when you go on holiday, are often away from home or have a holiday home. Closing your curtains at night and open during the day can make it harder for potential burglars to determine when you’re home or not.
However, there is nothing wrong with comfort and convenience as the raison d’être for your smart curtains. The SwitchBot Curtain ensures that your curtains close at set times, can be linked to other smart home products to create certain ‘scenes’ or, if desired, can be opened and closed via voice control.
Old curtains smart
The advantage is that you do not have to replace your old curtains or curtain rails for the installation of the SwitchBot Curtain. This can simply be done on the existing curtains and rails. The SwitchBot Curtain is available for rod, U and I rails. In my case, I tested the SwitchBot Curtain on U-rails. On the manufacturer’s site you can see exactly which dimensions of your rails the SwitchBot Curtain fits.
In my case, U-rails. The package contained neatly interchangeable parts, so that you can place the device exactly on your curtain rails. After all, the robot must not sit too tightly in the rails, because otherwise it cannot make its sideways movement.
Hang SwitchBot Curtain
So you put the robot on your curtain rails, past the first hook. When placed, it pushes the end of the curtain to the left or right to open and close the curtains. The robot makes this movement by means of a thick wheel against the rails. On the sides you click two attachments against the robot. These attachments have two small (non-motorized) wheels that hang in the curtain rails. This hanging is not something you should be afraid of: it is also easy without technical or curtain knowledge.
Depending on your curtains in the window, you will need one or two SwitchBots. If you have one curtain that opens to the left or right, then one device is enough. Do you have two curtains that you close towards the middle? Then you will have to buy two.
It’s a good thing that you hang the device so easily. Because of course they need energy from a battery to do their job. The battery life of course depends on how often the curtains open and close. You charge the battery via the USB-C port on the device. There is a fairly long cable in the box, but chances are that you have to remove the SwitchBot Curtain from its curtain rails to charge it. You can also buy a solar panel charger that you place on the SwitchBot Curtain. A smart solution, of course, for a device that hangs in front of the window.
Connecting your smart curtains
When you have the SwitchBot in the curtains, you can connect it via the app (iOS and Android). Pairing is also easy: start pairing mode via a button on the device and go. Then you calibrate your curtains: with an arrow to the left and to the right you determine the closed position and the open position. Unfortunately an account is required.
From now on you can open and close the curtains in the app with the push of a button. In my case, the SwitchBot Curtain went off with difficulty: the curtains in front of my window are long and therefore quite heavy. In addition, the right curtain also had to make a bend. But it did work.
Configure SwitchBot Curtain
In the app you can further configure the SwitchBot Curtain. For example, you can choose the silent mode if your curtains are a bit lighter and run smoothly through the rails. You can enable a light sensor mode that opens and closes the curtains based on the light. Or have this done at regular intervals, although the former is of course so nice with the days getting longer and shorter in the summer and winter.
You can of course also use the app to manually close the curtains. Or connect multiple curtains and divide them into multiple rooms. Other SwitchBot equipment, such as a smart thermostat, can also be added in the app. Configuring and operating via the app is done via Bluetooth as standard. So you have to be physically nearby to make a connection.
Connectivity options
Switchbot also offers other accessories. For example, there is a remote control that connects you to the curtains, so that you don’t have to look for your phone or tablet to close the curtains. There is also a Hub (€ 33,-) available, allowing you to connect the SwitchBot Curtain to your wireless network. You can also remotely control your curtains and link cloud services to the curtains so that they really form part of your smart home. If you want to automate your curtains with so-called ‘scenes’, you will have to purchase the Hub.
Conclusion: Buy Switchbot Curtain?
The SwitchBot Curtain is not a smart home product that solves a problem that does not exist. If you are away from home a lot, it certainly benefits from opening and closing the curtains remotely (don’t forget to also purchase the SwitchBot Hub). For those who have a weakness for automating the house, the SwitchBot Curtain is a nice gadget that works well. Provided your curtains don’t weigh too much.
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