Talking about my automated Venetian blinds a friend wanted to do the same thing with his existing blinds. I recommended Hubitat C8 Pro and iBlinds. He is over 75, does not know much about computers, and will never have a GitHub account.
Will he - and I - regret this?
Any better options?
Unless you're willing to be on-call service for him, I'd say this isn't going to end well.
In this particular situation (window covering only), I'd recommend that your friend goes with a Lutron system... That would have bullet-proof reliability and little or no ongoing care-&-feeding to deal with.
The downside is (of course) cost.
That's a "buy all new Venetian blinds" option - correct?
I've never looked into it myself (way too pricey for my blood), but I think so -- I doubt they have any retrofit options, but maybe.
Some of the blinds have there own phone apps (most) and some can be installed into the Alexa / Google systems. Those would be good options.
I would like the google/alexa option for a senior since he will be able to control via voice on the app with a backup of the phone app.
PS - I am 77 years old, Does not add credibility; however, I did a CoPilot query and it generated the following:
a { text-decoration: none; color: #464feb; } tr th, tr td { border: 1px solid #e6e6e6; } tr th { background-color: #f5f5f5; }
| Brand / Product | Blind Type | Alexa | Google Assistant | Connectivity | Power Options | Key Strengths | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmartWings (Matter / Thread models) | Roller, Zebra, Cellular, Roman |  |
|
Matter over Thread / Ethernet | Battery, wired | Future‑proof, very stable, local control, Hubitat‑friendly | Modern smart homes |
| Yoolax Matter Motorized Blinds | Roller, Zebra | |
|
Matter (Wi‑Fi / Thread) | Rechargeable battery | Custom sizes, good blackout, no bridge | Bedrooms, living rooms |
| AprilSmart Motorized Blinds | Roller, Blackout | |
|
Wi‑Fi / Matter | Rechargeable battery | Multi‑ecosystem support, simple setup | Easy installs |
| KINCMO Motorized Blinds | Roller (Blackout & filtering) | |
|
Matter over Thread | Battery | Quiet motor, strong blackout, fast setup | Bedrooms, media rooms |
| HeyBlinds Motorized Blinds | Roller | |
|
Wi‑Fi / Matter | Battery / solar option | Good value, solar charging | Budget + convenience |
| Bringnox Motorized Blinds | Roller | |
|
Wi‑Fi | Battery / solar option | Affordable, quiet, no‑drill options | Renters |
| WEFFORT Motorized Roller Shades | Roller | |
|
Matter / Wi‑Fi | Battery | Ultra‑quiet, stable connection | Offices, bedrooms |
| Yoolax Wi‑Fi (non‑Matter models) | Roller | |
|
Wi‑Fi (Tuya‑based) | Battery | Lowest cost entry, easy voice control | Simple smart setups |
TL;DR: Definitely something you (and he) are likely to regret.
iBlinds retrofitting (putting motor into the canopy) can be a real pain depending on your blinds. For mine it is very difficult to get the motors in/out. He's going to have to remove & save (& remember where he saved) the wand hardware that most all blinds come with these days, in case at some point he wants to revert. Also, iBlinds don't have a very usable open/close option at the blinds themselves (in case of hub issues, power loss) so depending on his height and location of bilnds he could be stuck w/a house full of closed or opened blinds. Have to charge them regularly which means plugging in a long USB cable into a small spot on the blinds under the valence.
If I was 75 and automating blinds for the first time no way I'd choose a retrofit like iBlinds.
I'd point him at some integrated options (lots of "what blinds?" topics around here) so he can just hang the blinds and start using them. Most importantly don't get too involved or your on the stick for ongoing hub/HW support. 
To be honest, I have learned NOT to recommend any smart home stuff to "normal" people. They will only get frustrated.
Most people I know use Alexa and think they have a "smart home" already, and they have absolutely zero desire to try to learn any platform at all where they have to actually do anything on a computer with a keyboard and mouse.
When I had friends over in the past who asked me about my stuff, I'd show them some of my automations and tell them to get a Hubitat and learn it. Those who did usually gave up and went back to Alexa, because they never really wanted complex automation, they just wanted to say "Alexa turn on the light" and have the light turn on..
Yup. In addition, any recommendation carries the potential danger of having to debug/maintain it.
Just do not put all "old people" in the same box. I am 75 years old; I have been working with computers for over 55 years; I got my first personal computer in 1982. Over the years I have assembled several computers. I love thee Hubitat platform. However, I am not typical of many my age. I agree that Hubitat might not be the best home automation platform for "normal people", no matter what their age.
Switchbot makes a tilt starter kit that might get him hooked on home automation, or scare him off. 
Switchbot stuff is pretty good and can be integrated into HE down the road.
I had a similar thought.
“Does not know much about computers” is likely much more of a limiting factor for a system like Hubitat than his age alone.
Agree. These platforms cater too much to the technical segment. Until some sort of breakthrough with AI to take concepts of automation (in plain spoken words) and put those into working scripts in the platform this will never reach mass market. Most people I know don't want to be programmers and script writers. Imagine trying to explain why its good to Cancel Delayed Actions and use Cancelable Actions in some rules. Never going to happen for the other 90%.
I have been playing with AI of late to write some Hubitat apps for me and its impressive what those platforms can do. So I see it is a possibility to allow mainstream folks to have a guided conversation with an AI engine and get the scripts, config, and apps they want implemented. Maybe if the AI engines can setup the hub directly you won't even have to ask users to load this app, or that driver, or change these settings. It will go from idea to implementation on the target system with no user in the middle.....
I don't think most people have the ability to even describe properly what they want to happen, except for the very basic "turn on light when motion, turn off with no motion in 5 minutes".
I think the best indicator of general truly smart home acceptance are the number of posts that occasionally occur on the Community where there is a reference to a spouse or family that simply tolerates our best efforts to automate and simplify their lives. In the end it is a hobby. Costs less than golf Keeps old IT minds engaged.
I've passed on/installed retired routers to friends. Retired hubs go to eBay or live in a box in the closet. When I mention home automation friends eyes glaze over.
Me too! I started programming in FORTRAN in 1968. Still going pretty strong. I have a couple of Raspberry Pi running an Amazon token server (with help from many here), another running Flightradar24 and FlightAware, last week I set up my old Intel I9 9900K box to run Ubuntu / Ollama / Home Assistant / Montana / Piper / Whisper to support three Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition devices and my Hubitat. So, I did not mean to disparage everyone over 75 - just painting the complete picture. We used to share a general surgery practice back in the day.
Well why aren't you suggesting a C8-Pro and RPi-5 / Node-RED setup with bespoke nodes for controlling the blinds... ?
Can understand the other popular posts.... I am on the "it's too hard" bandwagon at the moment...
Never a given though.
The tech cliff as well as the logic cliff can both pose obstacles... Like others have already pointed out...
I'm 77 and also been programming for over 55 years.
I have 2 friends that I set up HE systems for. Neither of them are particularly tech minded. I maintain them even tho they are a couple hours away. Can do trouble shooting via remote admin. Never been much of a problem for over 2 years. If something should happen to me well then they are probably SOL.
Since the topic mentions normal person I assume that means we're not normal... which is probably correct. 
Download the Hubitat app
