Electric Curtain Tracks - A Beautiful and Functional Interior Accessory
In our homes, almost everything is powered by electricity now. Lighting, heating, water heaters, blinds, windows, doors, and even fire in the form of automatic fireplaces. However, when we want to open or close a curtain, we still do it manually. Yet, operating a curtain manually can often be unnecessarily difficult due to its placement, for example, if it's behind a sofa. The solution is actually very simple, and thanks to motorized curtain tracks, you can have it too. Today, we will take a look at this amazing interior accessory.
Beautiful Curtains with Perfect Functionality
Our customer prepared a wonderful combination of natural furniture colors with subtle curtains in their interior, operated by electric curtain tracks. Before installing the electric track, a standard, manual rail was in place. Since it was not possible to pull additional wiring in this project, the customer opted for a battery-powered electric track, which is incredibly easy to install, even though its price is higher due to the battery. Naturally, it was necessary to order the correct rail size before installation, which was not a problem since the customer had all the dimensions measured out.
Motorized Tracks Are a Great Solution for Large Windows
Electric curtain tracks go best with large windows. That was also the case with this project, which features windows 3.5 meters wide and a secondary corner window measuring 3.5 + 1.7 meters. The customer also decided to cover the track itself with a black aluminum fascia, which gave the interior a very interesting depth. Of course, to make this fascia fit well, it was necessary to incorporate black patterns and accessories elsewhere in the interior, for instance on the lamps or pillows. Because the windows are large and let a lot of light into the house, a second track—this time a manual rail—was added for sheer curtains. In such a combination, the heavy curtain ensures light reduction when you want to darken the room, while the sheer curtain provides privacy and a gentle window overlay. If you also like the curtain fabric itself, the material used here is Wisdom 12, which resembles traditional linen shirts.
How a Motorized Curtain Track Works
Check out this short demonstration of how an electric curtain track works to get a better idea.
What an Electric Curtain Track Looks Like
On elektricke-garnize.sk, you will find several types of electric rails. Essentially, it is always the same rail; the only variation is the motor used. Tracks with MioDecor Comfort or Somfy motors are available. The tracks can be controlled via a wall switch, an app, a remote control, or the Touch Motion function, where you simply pull the curtain gently in one direction and the motor finishes the movement automatically.
The rail itself is around 3.5 cm wide and high, so it is not bulky at all. It can be installed on the ceiling or on the wall using "L" brackets. Customers very often ask us why the motor sticks out downwards and whether it will be visible. However, this is an issue that solves itself as soon as you hang the curtain on the track. The curtain is hung in such a way that its last hook attaches behind the motor. The motor is thus hidden behind the fabric, and to see it, you would have to pull the curtain away.
In this installation, the Comfort60 battery-powered electric rail was used, which has the best price-to-performance ratio when it comes to battery-operated tracks. It can be controlled via a remote, and thanks to its upgraded build quality, it can handle curtain weights up to 90 kg and comes with a 4-year warranty.
How to Control a Battery-Powered Track
A battery-powered electric track can only be controlled via a remote control or the Touch Motion function. However, if it were a hardwired rail, the option to control it via a wall switch and a Smart Home system would be added.
For MioDecor electric tracks, two versions of RCS remote controls are available, differing mainly in design. Each version offers controllers for one, seven, or 16 tracks. Our customer chose the RCS 7 LUX remote control, configured so that channel 1 controls one track, channel 2 controls the other, and channel 3 operates both simultaneously.
Battery for the Electric Track
As I mentioned, pulling new wiring was not possible in this project, which is why battery-powered tracks are used. Of course, the ideal way is to prepare a hardwired power supply, as a wired track is cheaper and eliminates the need to charge batteries (about twice a year with one cycle per day). The track simply requires a 230V power supply (live, neutral, and earth), or if you want to use a wall switch, a 5-core cable from the switch.
However, if a battery is required, it can be placed near the ceiling or, as in this case, down behind the curtain for easy removal when charging is needed. Again, the battery and cable are hidden by the curtain fabric. Admit it, you haven't even noticed it in any of the pictures so far, right? :)
How Much Space Does a Curtain Track Require?
We frequently get asked how wide the track is because customers want to know how far from the wall to install it. This question is actually somewhat beside the point. The track itself is 3.5 cm wide, but for the curtain to move freely, it requires more space than just the rail itself. Imagine that a full curtain, which normally covers a 4-meter window, suddenly opens and stacks on one side. The curtain fabric itself needs enough space so that it doesn't rub against anything and, more importantly, so it doesn't drag the sheer curtain along with it. And this is exactly what dictates how large the recess/pelmet for the track needs to be.
In the following diagram, you can see that the recommended distance of the track from the wall is 5 cm, and another 5 cm should be free of obstacles, meaning we need a total of 10 cm. However, be careful if there is a radiator or another obstacle near the wall. In that case, the 5 cm distance applies from the furthest protruding point, usually the radiator valve. If you don't follow this, the curtain might get caught on the radiator. And trust me, that is not pleasant. The other 5 cm is also important so the curtain has clearance on the room side. So, if you have a sofa there, for instance, it will need to be moved slightly.
The second diagram shows the distances when two tracks are used. Once again, you can notice that the width of the rail itself doesn't matter here; only its centerline does. If you plan to have two rails behind each other, it is important to follow the single-rail rule, just multiplied for each rail. So, 5 cm of clearance on each side of every rail. For two rails, we therefore need a space of 20 cm. Naturally, this is the ideal distance. If it cannot be accommodated, you simply have to accept that the curtain might occasionally catch on obstacles while moving.
With curtain tracks, it's also important to factor in a 1.5 cm gap from the side walls. This margin is there so the aforementioned last curtain hook can wrap behind the motor.
You can also check this out in the photos to get a better idea.
Where Are Electric Curtain Tracks Suitable?
Because they have a motor, electric curtain tracks are, of course, more expensive than classic manual ones. For this reason, they aren't suitable for absolutely everywhere. However, there are very clear scenarios for which an electric track is absolutely perfect. For inspiration, here are a few situations:
- For very long windows where pulling the curtain manually is tedious. An electric track can be up to 12 meters long.
- For curtains that are difficult to reach, such as those behind a sofa or similar obstacles.
- For places where we need regularity, for example, automatically opening the curtain in the morning and closing it after sunset.
- For large glass-walled rooms, which are very modern today. The electric track can act as overheating protection by closing the curtains during heatwaves.
- For houses with a large number of windows, as you can open/close all of them with a single click.
- For ultra-modern Smart Homes, where everything should run beautifully, smoothly, and mostly autonomously.
How Much Does an Electric Track Cost?
As I mentioned, an electric rail is more expensive than a manual one. It requires a motor, a belt, higher quality runners, and so on. However, its price can often be surprisingly reasonable. If you are looking for the absolute best price, the Comfort35 electric track is available starting at €260. It has a 2-year warranty and can be ordered in lengths up to 6 meters. Our top seller, however, is the Comfort90 electric track, which starts at €360, features an extended 4-year warranty, and can be made up to 12 meters long, or even curved. Prices naturally increase with length, as the length directly impacts the amount of material used. You can easily select the length you need on our e-shop, and the price will be calculated instantly.
In our catalog, you'll also find tracks with Somfy Glydea Ultra RTS or Somfy Glydea Ultra WT motors, available with both 35e and 60e motors. However, due to the more expensive motors, these tracks fall into a higher price bracket. We therefore recommend Somfy tracks mainly where Somfy exterior blinds are already in use. In such cases, the curtain tracks can also be integrated into the shared Somfy TaHoma switch system.
When calculating the total price, it is crucial to factor in the cost of the curtain itself. The situation isn't as simple as just throwing up a curtain from Jysk or IKEA. For it to look truly great, the curtains must be custom-made. It is also important to remember that a curtain, even when closed, must have nice, even folds. Therefore, the required curtain width is calculated as track width x 1.6. For a 3-meter track, the curtain fabric needs to be 4.8 meters wide. If this is ignored and you use a 3-meter wide curtain, when closed it will look like a bedsheet hanging on a clothesline. To get to the point, when you take all this into consideration, you end up with a curtain measuring 4.8 x 2.5 m, meaning around 12 m2 of material is used, along with roughly 40 meters of stitching and 50 Microflex hooks. All of this means that the price of the curtain can end up being higher than the price of the track. This is especially true for BlackOut curtains or when using premium fabrics. To give you an idea, the price of the curtain shown in the photo, tailored for a track 3 meters wide and 2.5 meters high, is €430 incl. VAT.
You can find all products at elektricke-garnize.sk