I just had 3 Bali roller shades installed today. I was able to get them to connect with my Hubitat. The problem I am running in to is setting the "close" position or what Bali calls the lower limit.
These roller shades were made so they are just a little bit longer than the length of my windows so when I hit the close button, the shade isn't hanging right before the window sill but instead resting on the window sill and not pulled taught.
I've set the Set Position paramenter but everytime I click save it gets erased. Is that intended?
I tried everything in the Generic Z-wave shade driver but no luck. Any one have any ideas?
I also installed the Springs Windows Fashion Roller Shade driver via Hubitat Package Manager. In there I am running in to the same problem as above. I do set where I can set a Preset level which works when I hit Preset but not close.
I also tried to setup a Simple Automation Rule but the shades that are using the Springs Windows Fashion Roller Shade driver doesn't appear. Is this intended? How do I setup automation for this driver? Essentially all I want is the roller shade to go up at 10am and down at sunset (or sunset +30 minutes).
I have Bali layered shades using the Springs Windows fashion sheer shade driver so similar but not the exact setup you have. Do your instructions say anything about setting the upper and lower limits? You should be able to program that with the remote (assuming they came with yours). You don't want to rely on automations to control the upper/lower limits. Once the limits were set, I paired with my hub and use automations to open and close at sunset/sunrise. Within rule machine actions you want to select 'activate scenes, adjust shades/blinds or fans', then 'set shade/blind position' and then you should be able to select your blinds. And if yours are like mine, you'll also want to pair the remotes with Hubitat and then associate them to the blinds so you can retain functionality of the remotes. Your instructions should have details about how to associate the remotes to the blinds.
I didn't get any remotes. I think I purposely didnt order them becasue I was going to use Hubitat to control them or the Bali app with their gateway. Either that or I was told I couldnt get a remote since I'm getting the gateway hub. Is there no way to set the limits directly on the roller shade itself?
Aslo, what is the difference between rule machine and simple automation? I've only used simple automation. I was able to create and install the rule machine to lower and raise the roller shades. How do you set them to open and close on sunset/sunrise?
With Rule Machine, I was able to set the action to a postition versuse open/close so I dont actually have to set a lower limit although i want to so I may go back to Lowes to see if I can order a remote.
I think its stupid that you cant set an upper or lower limit directly from the roller shade with the button you use to set the device in to inclusion mode.
You will have to get the basic Bali two button remote to set the upper and lower limits of each shade.
I just got a Hubitat hub and I’m about to start getting my 7 Bali shades setup and then shared over to Apple Homekit. This should be fun!
I actually got this to work without having to buy a remote.
- Install Hubitat Package Manager
- Install Springs Window Fashions Roller Shade v1.1.0 (driver) via Hubitat Package Manager.
- Install Rule Machine.
- Create two separate rules (Raise Shades & Lower Shades) for Rule Machine.
- Set level to 3 in Lower Shades rule.
I don't think I've had to manually lower the shades only raise the shades (sometimes) so buying the remote wasn't worth it to me.
I have a bunch of these. I got remotes for each 'group'. Generally, I attempt to allow automated devices a manual alternative if the hub goes bad. In this case, the remotes can set the limits of the shades (you can't do it on the device or in hubitat (other than set it to go to a lower/upper limit within rule engine). The remotes can also be paired with z-wave AND still control the shades directly via RF (or whatever they use).
So yeah, get a remote of you can. It will help manage/setup the roller blinds and if in a bind with your hub. control them directly.
Old thread, but some good news.
The Z-Wave shades also support Bluetooth.
You can download the Bali App (" Bali Motorization") and set the upper and lower limits from the app. No remote control required.
The app also gives you the ability to apply firmware updates as they release them.
I can now control my shades from both my Hubitat hub and the app.
I purchased my shades in 2024 -- I don't know if this works with older shades, but worth a try.
Marc
I tired last night but it wanted me to connect the iOS app to the Bali gateway.
I don’t think I can have the shades connected to my Hubitat and Bali gateway at the same time.
When you bought the shades, did they advertise they were both Bluetooth and z-wave?
The app said it started supporting Bluetooth in 2022 which is when I got mine but must of been right before they started incorporating Bluetooth with them.
Do you have the shades connected to the Bali Hub? If so, you might try disconnecting / excluding them from the Bali hub and powering down the Bali hub to see if that makes a difference.
As you pointed out, it could also be that your shades don't have Bluetooth...
Marc
So my current problem is that my shades are currently connected to my Hubitat and I can set upper /lower limits.
The way I get around this is by setting the lower to 97% instead of 100% on the automation. Not the end of the world but I would like to properly set it. I believe I can if I purchase a remote.
Also, I have no way of updating the firmware yet I never thought of updating it till your post.
So having to exclude them from my Hubitat then include them to the Bali hub, set the limits and firmware then exclude from Bali gateway and include to Hubitat is a lot of work. Would be nice if I could have the shades connect to both the Hubitat and Bali gateway at the same time.
Yes, that would be a lot of work and not something I would suggest. My shades seem to support connecting to 2 z-wave networks simultaneously, and based on what you wrote, I thought you had them connected to both your Bali Hub and Hubitat hub.
Does your Bali App already have your Bali Hub configured? If so, you might want to try removing the Bali Hub from the App, power it down to see if the app will then support a direct connection between your phone and the shades...
Marc
I did some more digging, and this was a misunderstanding on my part. Z-wave devices cannot join multiple Z-wave networks.
The shades can connect to both my Hubitat Hub and a remote at the same time, but the remote is connecting to the shade via BT, not Z-Wave.
So in my original setup:
- Z-Wave: The remote and the shades are both connected to Hubitat by z-wave.
- Bluetooth: The remote and the shades are connected to each other by BT.
In one of your early posts you stated:
I didn't get any remotes. ...Either that or I was told I couldnt get a remote since I'm getting the gateway hub
If they did tell you that, then my hunch is that when you ordered your shades, the shades were able to support either Z-Wave or BT, but not both...which is the same conclusion you came to on your previous post.
If this is true, I don't think getting a remote would help you.
Glad that the work-around via rule-machine is solving your problem.
Marc
I feel like they asked me if I wanted a remote but I said no because I figured why spend the extra money on the remote when I am never going to use it because the shades would always be controlled through my Hubitat.
After the shades were installed I did some research and I feel like what I found said the remotes operated via Z-wave and not Bluetooth but that was in 2022 so I could be wrong.
Bali Remote Manual Look at page 30, left hand side. Says the remote is z-wave but I’m going to assume it is like you previously said. It’s either I use the remote or a gateway/hub not both.
@kvtobola I understand that your shades are connected to your Hubitat Hub.
Is your Bali hub powered up and/or does the app have any awareness of your Bali hub?
Marc
