How to Schedule Your Motorized Blinds to Follow the Sun

Sunlight is wonderful, until it blasts through a west-facing window at 4 PM and turns the living room into a solar oven. “Follow the sun” scheduling solves that problem. Motorized shades adjust on their own throughout the day, tracking the sun’s position to keep your home comfortable, your floors fade-free, and your energy bill in check.

Here is how to set it up in four steps.

What “Follow the Sun” Scheduling Actually Means

The concept is straightforward: window coverings move in sync with the sun rather than sitting in one fixed position all day. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of residential window coverings stay in the same position every single day. That is a huge missed opportunity for energy savings and furniture protection.

A typical follow-the-sun schedule looks something like this. Morning: blinds open to let in warm, soft light. Midday: blinds partially close to filter harsh rays and block peak UV. Afternoon: blinds close on sun-facing windows to block heat gain. Evening: blinds open for ambient light, then close fully at sunset for privacy.

Over a full year, that kind of consistent management adds up to real savings on cooling and heating costs, plus significantly less UV damage to hardwood floors, rugs, and upholstery.

Step 1: Connect Your Blinds to an App or Hub

Most motorized shades at Blindsgalore connect via Bluetooth to a companion app on your phone. Open the app, add your blinds, and name them by room or window orientation (“South Living Room” or “West Bedroom”). Naming by direction makes scheduling by sun position much more intuitive.

For deeper automation, pair your blinds through a smart home hub like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Apple HomeKit. A hub gives you more flexibility for complex routines and room-level grouping. Compatible smart hubs at Blindsgalore include the Connector Smart Hub, Levolor InMotion, Bali Gateway, MotionBlinds, and Smart Blinds hubs. Integrations extend to Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Siri Shortcuts, Control4, IFTTT, and Savant.

For a detailed Alexa walkthrough, see Alexa Smart Blinds Setup: Step-by-Step Guide.

Step 2: Set Time-Based Schedules

Once connected, navigate to the scheduling or automation section of your app. Most systems let you set specific open and close times, tie schedules to sunrise and sunset (which auto-update with the seasons), and assign different schedules to different rooms or windows.

For a follow-the-sun approach, focus on which windows face which direction. South-facing windows get the most consistent sun exposure and benefit from a midday partial close. West-facing windows need afternoon coverage. East-facing windows can stay open later into the morning before closing.

A practical starting schedule:

• East windows: Open at sunrise, close by 10 AM during summer, stay open longer in winter for passive solar warmth.
• South windows: Open in the morning, partially close by noon, fully close during peak heat in summer. In winter, keep open during sunny hours for free warmth, then close at sunset to trap heat.
• West windows: Open in the morning, close by 2 PM in summer to block intense afternoon sun. Adjust timing by 30 to 60 minutes as seasons shift.
• North windows: Generally, the least sun-exposed. Light-filtering shades can stay in a fixed position or follow a simple open-at-sunrise, close-at-sunset routine.

Step 3: Use Scenes for Whole-Home Control

Rather than setting up each blind individually, create “scenes” that move multiple blinds at once. A “Midday” scene might close south and west windows to 50% while leaving north-facing ones fully open. An “Evening” scene could open everything for ambient light before sunset, then close all blinds at dusk for privacy.

Smart home hubs make scene creation simple. A voice command like “Hey Google, activate Afternoon Mode” can position every blind in your home at once. Both Alexa Routines and Google Home routines support “away” modes that randomly adjust shades to simulate occupancy when nobody is home, which is a nice security bonus.

For more on how motorized shades work behind the scenes, check out How Do Motorized Blinds Work.

Step 4: Adjust for Seasons

Sun angles change significantly between winter and summer. A summer afternoon schedule, when the sun sits high and hot, will look different from a winter one, when lower sun angles mean more glare at unexpected times of day. Revisit your schedule when the seasons shift and tweak timing by 30 to 60 minutes as needed.

Most apps tied to sunrise and sunset data handle the bigger shifts automatically. The manual tune-ups are just small refinements. A good habit is reviewing your automation every quarter.

The Real Benefits of Following the Sun

• Energy savings. Blocking direct solar heat gain during peak hours reduces the workload on your AC significantly. Cellular shades with motorization add insulation on top of scheduling, helping in both summer and winter.
• UV protection. Fabrics, hardwood floors, and artwork fade with prolonged UV exposure. Keeping roller shades or solar shades closed during peak UV hours shields furnishings without blocking the view entirely.
• Natural light, managed. Following the sun does not mean blocking it out. A well-designed schedule lets soft morning light in, filters harsh midday glare, and welcomes warm evening light before closing up for the night.
• Privacy on autopilot. No more forgetting to close the blinds when it gets dark. The schedule handles it.
• Safety. All motorized window treatments are cordless by design, eliminating dangling cord hazards for homes with children and pets. For more on battery care, see Guide to Motorized Shades Battery Life and Maintenance.

Our Guarantee

At Blindsgalore, every purchase is backed by our 30-day guarantee, with free exchanges on up to four windows per household. Custom shades can be shipped out in as little as 5 to 7 business days, and shipping is free across the continental U.S. Call (877) 702-5463 with questions.

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