Here’s a new product in development that I really like called Jalousier. Now in crowd-funding on Indiegogo, Jalousier is a simple, yet brilliant concept. It allows independent and group remote control of your Venetian blinds from a Smartphone app, via WiFi or Bluetooth. It also allows you to program the blinds to open, close, or tilt the slats automatically, as a response to light levels and temperatures –  both inside and out.

For example, when you’re trying to cool your space on hot sunny days, you wouldn’t want the sun blazing in and superheating the cool air from your air-conditioner. Kind of counter-intuitive, but we all do it. In the winter the opposite is true: think of getting into your car when it has been parked in full sun on a frigid day: it’s toasty in there! Why not let the sunlight heat your space instead of fossil fuels?

You might say that the Jalousier is a mere front-end of more sophisticated window treatment control systems, such as Lutron’s Sivoia , but at $89/ea., the price is a deal you can’t refuse. What’s more, you don’t need an electrician to install it. The device is a two-piece system composed of a photovoltaic sensor that clips on to the top rail of the blinds, and connects to a motor  that moves the blind control strings using a pinch roller system, or pulley-system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g127DgyYmEM

There are a couple of obvious great benefits to this device:

• You can manage and optimize of heat-gain and heat-loss in your space, which will translate into energy savings. Developers claim that on average these savings may be $350/yr, depending on where you live.
• According to the developers, on average, Venetian blind owners waste 3 days adjusting their blinds every year. Imagine what better ways to devote your time than futzing around with awkward string-pulleys.
• It’s a fraction of the cost of more costly systems, yet it has virtually all the same capacities and features.
• Saves you the trouble of having to draw the blinds after you flip a light switch after dark
• It’s smart and sleek looking
• Minimize snarls and the time it takes to undo them. Note, if you buy cheaply made rickety Venetian blinds, – I mean Home Depot, or Lowes and such, the  snags and snarls typical of such low-end blinds will inhibit your Jalousier system performance (pearls on swine).

See the pitch, and a vidoe about how it works, here

Remember, if you like this product, and might want to buy one, you’ve got to kick-in for the funding on their Indiegogo page