Motorized blinds in Dubai, a motor in place of the chain
A motorized blind is a blind raised and lowered by a small motor in its roller tube or headrail, so it moves from a remote, a wall switch, your phone or a timer.
Curtains Express makes the blind, fits it and installs the motor, from Dooya or Somfy. On a roller blind, a wired Dooya motor is AED 700 and a wired Somfy from AED 950, on top of the blind.
AED 880 a blind
A roller up to 2 m² on a wired Dooya motor, fitted and programmed. Remote extra.
Usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead. The blind carries our two-year warranty, and the motor its maker's: two years from Dooya, five on a wired Somfy.
The motor priced up front
The Dooya and Somfy prices for a roller are on this page, and every quote names the motor going into each blind. You agree the full figure first; only then is anything made.
Power settled at the visit
There's no walk-in counter, so someone comes to you. At each window they find where power can reach the headrail, and tell you whether a roller would be better off on a battery.
Motor claims through us
The blind has our two years, the motor its maker's. A motor that stops working while it is covered is our problem to take up with Dooya or Somfy: you ring us, and we replace it.
Motorized blinds, in short
- A motorized blind is a blind raised and lowered by a motor in its roller tube or headrail. Electric, automatic, smart and remote control blinds are the same thing, and motorised is the British spelling.
- Curtains Express fits Dooya and Somfy motors to blinds. On a roller blind, a wired Dooya motor costs AED 700 and a wired Somfy from AED 950, fitted and programmed.
- A motorized roller blind starts at AED 880, for a blind up to 2 m² on a wired Dooya motor. A 2 × 3 m roller comes to AED 1,240 on Dooya or AED 1,490 on Somfy, before the remote.
- Every blind we make can take a motor, panel blinds included. Only a roller blind can run on a battery; every other motorized blind is wired, and needs power at its headrail.
- A motorized blind is worked by remote, by a wireless switch on the wall, through Smart Life or TaHoma on a phone, by Alexa or Google Assistant (Siri too, on Somfy), and on timers set in the app.
- A motorized blind is made as large as the same blind without a motor, up to 280 cm wide for a roller. Glass wider than that is split into two or more blinds, a motor in each.
- Motorized blinds are usually fitted within about a week of your go-ahead. The blind carries our two-year warranty; the motor two years from Dooya, or five on a wired Somfy.
Only after curtains, or curtains as well? Our motorized curtains run on the same two makes, so one remote can work a room's curtains and blinds together when they share a brand.
Motors we install
What motorized blinds cost in Dubai
A motorized blind is priced in two parts: the blind, on its own area, and a motor for each blind. A roller blind starts at AED 90 per m² in sunscreen, blackout or translucent fabric, with a 2 m² minimum and the headrail and fitting included. The motor goes on top: a wired Dooya at AED 700, or a wired Somfy from AED 950, fitted and programmed. Remotes are extra.
Price a motorized roller
- Area
- 150 cm × 200 cm = 3 m²
- Blind
- 3 m² × AED 90 = AED 270
- Motor
- Dooya wired = AED 700
AED 970
A roller blind with its motor, fitted and programmed. Glass wider than 280 cm is made as two or more blinds, a motor to each. A larger Somfy motor, a battery motor and remotes are priced at the visit.
What moves the figure:
- The motor
- On a roller, a wired Dooya is AED 700 and a wired Somfy from AED 950. Somfy's motor is matched to the blind's size and weight, so a large, heavy roller can need a stronger one, which costs more. A battery motor, Dooya or Somfy, is priced at the visit.
- The blind
- Roller blinds cost AED 90 per m² in any of their fabrics. Our other blinds keep their own rates, and their motors are priced at the visit.
- Width
- The widest single roller is 280 cm. Wider glass is made as two or more blinds side by side, and each one has its own motor.
- Controls
- Each remote is extra, and so are a switch on the wall and the hub a Somfy app needs.
- Height
- Glass that needs scaffolding or a platform to reach, such as a double-height window, costs more to fit.
Three windows priced the way the calculator prices them, with the motors fitted and set up and the remotes left out:
- A small bedroom window: a 120 × 150 cm roller is 1.8 m², charged as the 2 m² minimum, AED 180. With a wired Dooya motor: AED 880.
- A 2 × 3 m window: 6 m² of roller, AED 540. With a wired Dooya: AED 1,240. With a Somfy Optuo 40 RTS: AED 1,490.
- Living-room glass 400 cm wide and 280 cm high: two rollers of 200 × 280 cm, 5.6 m² each, AED 1,008 for the pair. With two wired Dooya motors: AED 2,408.
Measuring is free. A WhatsApp message with each window's width and drop gets you a figure back; no blind is cut until you have said yes to the full price, motors included.
Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay are all taken, and Tabby or Tamara will split the total into instalments. Every blind's own rate is on our price list.
Every blind we make, and the motor it takes
The blind decides the motor. Only a roller can run on a battery; every other blind is wired.
| Motor | Power | Widest blind | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roller | Dooya or Somfy | Wired or battery | 280 cm |
| Faux wood | Dooya or Somfy | Wired | 250 cm |
| Roman | Somfy | Wired | 280 × 300 cm |
| Bamboo | Somfy | Wired | 200 cm |
| Zebra | Dooya | Wired | 280 cm |
| Aluminium venetian | Dooya | Wired | 280 cm |
| Honeycomb | Dooya | Wired | 200 cm |
| Vertical | Dooya | Wired | About 4 m |
| Panel | Somfy | Wired | 4 m |
The widest blind is the same with a motor as without one. On a roller the motor is priced on this page; on every other blind, at the visit, on top of that blind's own rate.
Battery or wired: what powers each blind
Every motor needs power at one end of its headrail. Where it comes from is settled at the measuring visit, and it is far simpler to sort out while a ceiling is still open than once it is painted.
Dooya or Somfy, on a blind
We fit both. On a roller or a faux wood blind you choose; on the rest, the table above shows which make the blind takes. The two differ in price, warranty and app.
Choosing for a whole house? Match the brand to any motorized curtains already there, and a single remote or app runs both.
A remote, a switch, an app or a timer
Every motorized blind starts with a remote. The others are added as a room needs them, and each is priced on top.
A remote
A single-channel remote runs one blind. A multi-channel one gives each blind a channel, plus one that moves a whole row together, so five rollers across a balcony wall come down on one press.
A wireless wall switch
It mounts beside the door with no cable run to it, which suits a meeting room or a child's room where a remote goes missing. The smart version connects to Wi-Fi, so the blinds answer to the switch and the app alike.
Your phone
Dooya blinds join the Smart Life app over Wi-Fi, and Somfy blinds join TaHoma through its hub. We set both up on fitting day.
Your voice
From the app the blinds link to Alexa or Google Assistant, and Somfy's to Siri as well. That link is made from your own phone, since the assistant signs in to your own account.
A timer
In the app a blind can come down at a set time, or follow sunrise and sunset. West-facing sunscreen rollers can drop before the afternoon sun reaches the glass, and a bedroom's blackout roller can go up when the alarm does.
Works by voice with
Google Assistant
Siri
Book a free measuring visit
Tell us which windows, roughly how wide, and whether the ceiling is still open. Someone comes to you, anywhere in Dubai, finds the power for each headrail and prices every motor before anything is made.
Where a motor is worth having
High and double-height glass
A blind whose chain would hang out of reach, over a staircase or across glass two floors high, is the plainest case for a motor. Glass that needs a platform to reach costs more to fit, and that is priced at the visit.
A row of blinds on one wall
Balcony glass in a tower often takes four or five rollers side by side. Worked by hand they end up at five heights; on one channel they move together and stop level.
Bedrooms
Dubai's summer sunrise comes well before six, so a blackout roller that stays down until its timer raises it at seven lets the daylight wake you instead.
Children's rooms
A motor takes the chain away altogether, rather than holding it taut against the wall, and the remote can live on a high shelf.
Sliding doors
A vertical blind across a villa's sliding doors can run on a wired Dooya motor, drawing the louvres back to one side at a press when the doors are in use.
Offices
On a long run of office glass, a switch by the door sets every blind at once and a timer brings them down before the sun reaches the desks. The rest of a whole-floor job is on our office blinds page.
A motor or a chain?
A motor changes how a blind moves and what it costs. It changes nothing about the light the blind lets in.
| Motor | Chain | |
|---|---|---|
| How it moves | Remote, switch, app, voice or a timer | By hand, at the window |
| What it adds | A motor for every blind | Nothing: the chain is included |
| Several blinds | A row moves on one press | One at a time |
| Glass out of reach | Worked from the floor | A long chain, or a ladder |
| In a power cut | Battery rollers carry on; wired ones wait | No difference |
| Upkeep | Charging, on a battery roller | None |
On a small window within reach that you set once a day, a chain does the same job for less, and we would rather say so.
What a motor leaves as it was
Light round the edges
Motor or not, a roller hung inside the recess lets a sliver of daylight past at both edges. On a blackout roller, side channels close it, fitted on request and priced at the visit; our blackout blinds page shows each fit and the light it lets past.
What the fabric does
Sunscreen is woven to 1, 3 or 5% openness: a lower number trades some of the view for less glare. At night, with the lights on inside, a sunscreen roller still lets the street see in, and a motor doesn't change that.
The size
A motorized blind is made in the same sizes as the manual one: up to 280 cm wide for a roller, 250 cm for faux wood, and about 4 m for a vertical. A wider window is made as more than one blind, a motor to each.
Adding a motor to a blind you already have
Often it can be done. Send photos of the blind, its headrail and its brackets on WhatsApp first. If the blind and the parts are compatible, we fit a motor to it; if they aren't, we tell you before anyone comes out, and price a new motorized blind instead.
The power question is the same as for a new blind: a wired motor needs a supply at the headrail, and only a roller can take a battery.
Motorized blinds in tower flats and villas
What people ask about motorized blinds
How much do motorized blinds cost in Dubai?
A motorized roller blind starts at AED 880: a blind up to 2 m² at AED 90 per m², plus a wired Dooya motor at AED 700, fitted and programmed. A 2 × 3 m roller comes to AED 1,240 on Dooya, or AED 1,490 on a Somfy Optuo 40 RTS. Remotes are extra.
On our other blinds, the blind keeps its own rate and the motor is priced at the measuring visit. Send the sizes on WhatsApp for a figure.
How much does a motor add to a roller blind?
AED 700 for a wired Dooya motor, or from AED 950 for a wired Somfy, per blind, fitted and programmed. Somfy matches the motor to the blind's size and weight, so a large, heavy roller can need a stronger one that costs more. A battery motor is priced at the visit.
Are motorized blinds worth it?
For glass you can't reach, a run of blinds you'd otherwise have to set individually, or a bedroom that should open on a schedule, yes. For a small window within reach that you open once a day, a chain does the same job, and the motor's cost buys little you would notice.
Are electric blinds the same as motorized blinds?
Yes. Electric, automatic, smart and remote control blinds are all blinds moved by a motor, and motorised is the British spelling. “Smart” usually means the motor is in an app too, which is what lets a blind keep a schedule or take a spoken command. American shops sell them as motorized shades.
Do motorized blinds need wiring?
Every type but the roller does. A wired motor takes power at the headrail, so a supply has to reach the top of the window, which is simplest before a ceiling is closed. A roller blind can run on a Dooya or Somfy battery motor instead and needs no wiring.
Can you motorize my existing blinds?
Often, yes. Send photos of the blind, its headrail and brackets on WhatsApp first. If the blind and the parts are compatible we fit a motor to it, and if they aren't we say so before anyone comes out.
Which blinds can be motorized?
All of ours. The brand follows the blind: on a roller or faux wood you choose between Dooya and Somfy, a roman, bamboo or panel blind is Somfy, and a zebra, vertical, aluminium venetian or honeycomb blind is Dooya. A roller is the only one that can run on a battery.
Do motorized blinds work with Alexa or Google Home?
Yes, once they are in the app. Dooya blinds reach Alexa and Google Assistant through Smart Life, and Somfy blinds reach Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri through TaHoma. We install the hub and the app; you link the assistant from your own account.
Is Somfy or Dooya better for blinds?
Dooya, if the price matters most: AED 700 on a roller against Somfy's AED 950 and up, with a two-year warranty. Somfy, if you want the five-year warranty on a wired motor, a motor sized to a large blind, or Siri. For a whole house on one app, match the brand to the curtains.
What warranty do motorized blinds have?
The blind and the motor are covered separately. We cover the blind for two years. Dooya covers its motors for two years, and Somfy a wired motor for five. A claim on the motor still starts with a call to us: we take it up with the maker and replace the motor.
How wide can a motorized blind be?
As wide as the same blind without a motor: 280 cm for a roller, a zebra or an aluminium venetian, 250 cm for faux wood, 200 cm for honeycomb and bamboo, 280 × 300 cm for a roman, 4 m for a panel blind and about 4 m for a vertical. Anything wider is split into side-by-side blinds, one motor apiece.
Can one remote run my blinds and curtains?
Yes, when they are the same brand. Somfy blinds and Somfy curtains pair to one remote and one TaHoma app; Dooya blinds and curtains to one remote and Smart Life. A house with both brands needs a remote for each.
Send the sizes for each window
Call or WhatsApp with each window's width and drop, the room it is in, and whether there is power near the top. We will come back with a figure for the blinds and their motors.