Hunter Douglas has announced the availability of Aura Illuminated Shades for the custom integration channel at CEDIA Expo 2023. Aura Illuminated Shades define a new category of shading products with a three-in-one design meant to deliver a customized experience to elevate mood and ambiance in a connected home.
Aura Illuminated Shades feature a traditional-looking front shade, a reflective room-darkening liner, and ambient illumination via programmable LED that are designed to work in tandem.
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Natural light and systems that emulate it can have a positive impact on well-being, sleep quality, and productivity, but designing spaces with natural lighting comes with challenges. UV rays can damage interiors and furnishings, while excessive incoming light can be blinding and cause harsh glares, impeding comfort. Smart shades have gained popularity for their ability to optimize sunlight and create a harmonious balance with homeowners’ circadian rhythms.
Aura Illuminated Shades enhance the benefits of smart shades by blending motorized shade smart functionality with a design that delivers “daylight” on demand. The built-in LED feature serves as a secondary light source that mimics natural incoming light at the window. This feature allows homeowners to control natural and artificial light, providing precise, comfortable illumination at any time and extending light into early morning and evening hours.
“At CEDIA Expo 2022, our exclusive preview of Aura Illuminated Shades generated remarkable interest as integrators sought unique, personalized solutions for lighting design, wellness and routine,” said Scott Stephenson, senior director of product, global motorization, at Hunter Douglas. “With wellness and control remaining top-of-mind at this year’s event, we are excited to officially roll out Aura and help integrators push the boundaries of what designing with lighting and shading can achieve.”
Aura Illuminated Shades incorporate a parabolic reflector and a reflective liner to evenly disperse the LED light from top to bottom, while a diffuser prevents hot spots. Users can control and customize color temperature from 2200K to 6500K and brightness from 0% to 100%.
The result is reminiscent of daylight shining through a traditional shade: a soft, uniform glow beautifully diffused through textured fabrics. The tunable white lighting supports routines and comfort. For example, slowly waking to a gentle, sunrise-simulating radiance; energizing with midday luminance; creating a comforting radiance on a gloomy day; adding light to a windowless space; or setting the perfect ambiance for entertainment.
When the LED feature is powered off, Aura functions as a traditional shade and offers the same benefits that homeowners expect from their smart shades: customized style, comfort, convenience, energy efficiency, wellness, privacy, and accessibility benefits. The room-darkening element of Aura’s design blocks out most light and is a perfect solution for media rooms, living rooms that double as entertainment spaces, and bedrooms. However, Aura can transform lighting anywhere needed in the home.
Aura Illuminated Shades are complemented by the reliable, scalable, two-way communication capabilities of PowerView Gen 3 Automation. Well-suited for new builds and renovation projects, Aura is also eligible for automation with PowerView+, a premium low-voltage hardwired power solution featuring an ultra-quiet motor.
After installation, homeowners can use the PowerView App to personalize scenes and schedule automations that create desired moods in their space at any time they choose. Users can also transform the ambiance on command through the PowerView App, Pebble Remote, voice commands, or via a smart home system.
Aura is available with some of the most popular Hunter Douglas shade styles, including Vignette Stacking Roman Shades, Sonnette Cellular Shades, and Designer Roller Shades, which are customizable by a variety of fabric options to suit the aesthetic needs of any space.
Visit Booth 3147 to experience Aura Illuminates Shades at CEDIA Expo 2023 and connect with the Hunter Douglas team in Booth 2947 to hear more about the Hunter Douglas portfolio and PowerView Gen 3 Automation. To learn about the Hunter Douglas Custom Integrator Program, visit www.hunterdouglas.com/custom-integrator-program.
