Just received a mail from Serena today with subject "Limited Time Offer | Special savings for Serena customers"
A similar deal last year was open only for customers who already have a Lutron hub. This year, the offer has extended to all customers.
Now through May 31, 2024, receive a $100 per shade discount (valid on up to 3 shades, $300 max) at serenashades.com. To redeem, enter "SERENADIY2024" into the discount code field at checkout.
I currently have 4 of the Serena Shades by Lutron. Along with the Caseta switches, which can be controlled by the same hub, they've been rock solid. I've been waiting for a rare deal from Serena to buy a couple more shades.
https://www.serenashades.com/
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The one hiccup I had with Serena was with the first shade I bought. To measure the window width, I used a fancy laser measure. Turns out that beyond 40", the laser had poor calibration and overestimated the inside window width by about 3/16". The Serena shade arrived and was too wide. Thankfully, I removed the two optional plastic end caps, and then it fit perfectly.
For the rest of the shades, I learned my lesson. First, measure the inside window. Then, cut a few cardboard box pieces and tape them together to the measured window width. Lastly, hold that cardboard up to the window to double-check the measurement.
Using that method, my other shades were perfect width.
Height is easier cuz you can order 1" longer than needed and adjust the setting on the Serena.
The one hiccup I had with Serena was with the first shade I bought. To measure the window width, I used a fancy laser measure. Turns out that beyond 40", the laser had poor calibration and overestimated the inside window width by about 3/16". The Serena shade arrived and was too wide. Thankfully, I removed the two optional plastic end caps, and then it fit perfectly.
For the rest of the shades, I learned my lesson. First, measure the inside window. Then, cut a few cardboard box pieces and tape them together to the measured window width. Lastly, hold that cardboard up to the window to double-check the measurement.
Using that method, my other shades were perfect width.
Height is easier cuz you can order 1" longer than needed and adjust the setting on the Serena.
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Battery life - Serena wins
Automations - I have both z-wave shades and Serena Caseta shades integrated with Home Assistant. I do have the slightly pricier Lutron Pro hub that enables full control of Shades thru Hass. Bali Z-waves are the only z-wave devices with my local mesh that intermittently drop. Super annoying. Serena wins there
Build quality - Serena 1000% wins. My 6 Bali shades came via 4 separate orders spaced out across 18 months as we could afford it. For 3 of the 4 orders. Yes, you read that right - 75% of the orders, the shades arrived with issues opening/closing fully. Bali customer support immediately acknowledged the issue and sent replacements. Kudos to them on that. It just makes me wary now cuz I don't know how durable they'll be in the long term.
Installation - I hate hate hate hate the Bali brackets. If you have a 72" window and have to get 3-4 of those shitty metal brackets perfectly aligned, it annoys the hell out of me. Serena brackets are worlds better. The only consolation with Bali brackets is I kept telling myself that I was saving $500 vs Lutron haha
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We used to do a ton of little moves, but switched to just one "at 1pm" and a second "10 mins after sunset" since all the little movements didn't make that much of a difference and felt silly for our particular situation. Can confirm you can do what you'd like though!