Clean motorised curtains are decided before the ceiling closes
Motorised curtains (電動窗簾) open and close on a motor, a horizontal motor running along a track, or a tubular motor inside a roller blind, and “smart” is just an app-and-voice layer added on top. They also remove the dangling cord, which is a genuine child-safety gain. But whether they look built-in or bolted-on comes down to one thing: what your renovation reserves for them before the pelmet and ceiling are boarded up. Get the box, the power and the track right now, and the rest can follow anytime.
Three drive types, and which need renovation
| Drive | Power | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Wired motor | Mains, or low-voltage via a transformer | Steadiest and quietest, best for heavy or wide drapes, needs concealed power + a pelmet, so it’s a renovation-only decision |
| Battery / rechargeable tubular | USB-C recharge every few months | No first-stage electrical work, suits tenants and occupied flats; keep the charging lead reachable |
| Clip-on curtain robot | Battery | No renovation at all, drives existing curtains on their existing track (fits only certain profiles, one panel per unit, a weight limit, and a running sound) |
The pelmet (curtain box) is a depth problem
The pelmet has to swallow the track, the wave-folded fabric, the motor head and a safety margin, so the mechanism’s own ~10–12 cm is never enough on its own.
- Single motorised layer: pelmet ~18 cm deep.
- Double layer (sheer + blackout on a twin track): ~25–35 cm.
And measure to the box, not the glass: extend the pelmet and track about 15–20 cm beyond the window opening on each side, so a drawn curtain actually blocks the side light instead of leaking it around the edges.
What to leave in place at first-fix
For a wired motor, the electrician should leave power as a capped cable, not an exposed socket, tucked into the pelmet on the correct side for the motor, decide the motor side first, because the cable exits at that end. Watch the cable length (some kits ship only about 2 m of lead), and leave a route to isolate and service the motor that the joinery won’t seal shut. Miss this window and the clean wired option is effectively gone; you fall back to a battery motor.
One coordination step people forget: before the track is fixed, square it off against a window-type air-conditioner, the way the window sashes open, and any removable insect screen, or they foul each other after fitting.
Sizing and control
Match the motor’s torque to the fabric: heavier, wider or taller curtains need more. A standard motor drives up to about 2.5 m; beyond that you’re into heavy-duty motors and mid-span support, and it’s wise to keep a track within about 6 m. On control, decide the household’s ecosystem (Apple Home, Google, etc.) before buying the motor so you don’t end up buying a bridge afterwards, and keep a simple physical wall switch as an offline fallback for when the network drops.
How Primeworks handles this
We reserve the pelmet depth, the concealed power and the track routing at first-fix, sized to the curtains you actually want, single or double layer, and coordinated against the AC and window openings so nothing clashes later. Whether you fit a wired motor now or a battery one down the line, the box and the wiring are ready, and the curtains read as part of the architecture rather than an afterthought.