As a homeowner who’s always on the lookout for ways to enhance my living space, I recently decided to upgrade my window treatments with the Graywind Top-Down Bottom-Up Zigbee Blinds. These blinds promise independent control of both the top and bottom rails, offering unparalleled flexibility in how I manage natural light in my home. After some research, I decided to integrate them into my existing Home Assistant setup using the ZHA integration with a SkyConnect dongle.
The initial setup was straightforward—the blinds appeared in Home Assistant as a roller shade cover. However, I quickly realized that the default configuration only allowed me to fully open or close the blinds, which didn’t utilize their full potential. I wanted to replicate the functionality of the included Graywind remote, which lets me independently adjust the top and bottom rails.
After some digging in the Home Assistant community forums and documentation, I discovered that it was possible to split the blinds into two separate cover entities within Home Assistant. This involved editing the device configuration to recognize both rails as individual devices. The process was a bit technical, but with some trial and error, I managed to set it up successfully.
Now, I can independently control the top and bottom rails, creating custom light patterns throughout the day. This integration has been a game-changer for how I manage natural light in my home, and I’m thrilled with the results. If anyone else is looking to achieve similar functionality with their Graywind blinds, I’d be happy to share more details or troubleshoot any issues they might encounter. Happy automating!