The current (manual operated) honeycomb fan fold window treatments in my bedroom need replacing. 2 Windows: one (70 ¾ by 28 ?) faces west so I definitely want room darkening. The other (70 ¾ by 47) faces north so I figure just "regular" material. This is a retrofit and an ideal opportunity to upgrade to motorized shade control. Basically, this is the first of many projects to eventually transform my "dumb" home into a "smart" (automated) home.
What I've not been able to get my head around is difference between a (wall mounted) keypad control and a wall mounted pico remote control. I basically do NOT want a mobile control that gets lost so I waste way to much time looking for it. All controls will be wall mounted in place of or an addition to current boxes.
I am thinking the keypad is programmed for scenes (requiring a RadioRA2) and the remote can be used to control a single shade without a RadioRA2? But when I do eventually install a RadioRA2 controller, what happens to my pico remotes? Can they be eventually programmed like a keypad?
Either way, does one have to continuously hold down the (open/close) button to operate the shade, or can one just "trigger" an open/close by clicking the button (like the way garage door openers work) and the shade knows when to stop the open/close cycle?
I am a computer programmer by trade, and the whole programmed, automated house thing has intrigued me for many years. My last question, does the RadioRA2 include an astronomical clock for sunrise/sunset timings? It is pretty clear to me the Homeworks system does, but have not been able to definitively determine that RadioRA2 provides this feature as well.
(I have read through some of the documentation available on the web site, so if you can point me to document/page #, I will be glad to discover what I may have missed.)
Thanking you in advance for your help.
OC_Carl