Nationwide · Options & Automation
Your shade, on your schedule
Somfy-powered controls run every AJ Shades awning and screen, remote, app, voice, and sun-tracking schedules on the most proven automation platform in shading.
Prefer text? Text AJ Shades at (909) 325-3110
Our team has earned 605 five-star reviews.
Owned
Made
on awnings & screens
five-star reviews
CSLB #951583
A motorized awning without good controls is a sports car with a confusing dashboard, the capability is there, but you will not use half of it. That is why the control platform matters as much as the motor: it is the difference between an awning you extend twice a summer and one that quietly manages your comfort every day. Our systems run on Somfy drive and automation technology, the most widely installed shade-control platform in the world, chosen precisely because it disappears into daily life.
The philosophy is layered simplicity. The handheld remote handles everything most owners ever do: extend, retract, stop, and a favorite position that lands the awning exactly where you like it, no phone, no app, no Wi-Fi needed. One layer deeper, the app adds scenes and scheduling. One layer deeper still, voice control and smart-home integration tie the shade into the routines you already run. You adopt exactly as much technology as you want, and the remote always works regardless.
For homeowners nationwide, this is the feature that turns a purchase into a habit. The scheduled west-facing screens that drop at 2 PM every summer afternoon. The “good morning” routine that extends the awning with the coffee. The wind sensor that retracts everything while you are at work. Automation does not just add convenience, it multiplies how often the product earns its keep, which is the real return on a premium shade investment.
The control layers
Remote, app, voice, schedule
The remote: the ninety-percent interface
Ninety percent of daily use happens on the handheld remote, and it is designed accordingly: tactile buttons you can find without looking, a clear favorite-position button, and enough range to work from anywhere on the property. It pairs at the factory, your installer confirms it on the day, and it keeps working for years on a standard battery. Guests, kids, and grandparents all figure it out in seconds, there is no learning curve to clear.
The app: scenes and schedules from anywhere
The app is where the system gets intelligent. Build scenes, “evening” extends the awning and brings the LEDs to sixty percent, and schedule them against the clock or the sun. Check the awning’s position from the office. Hand temporary control to the housesitter without handing over a remote. The interface stays deliberately simple: the positions you use daily are big buttons, and the advanced automation sits one tap deeper for when you want it.
Voice and smart home: shade joins the routine
Through the major voice assistants and home-automation hubs, the awning and screens become part of the household’s existing routines rather than a separate system to manage. “Movie night” drops the screens and dims the lights. The “goodnight” routine retracts everything. Because the platform is the industry standard, compatibility is the norm, not a project, your dealer confirms your specific ecosystem during the consultation.
Automation that earns its keep
Schedules, sun tracking, and sensors
The highest-value automation is the kind you set once and benefit from for years. Sun-tracking schedules follow sunrise and sunset through the seasons, so the west-facing screens start dropping earlier as summer builds, no manual adjustment as the days lengthen. Timers handle the predictable rhythms: awning out for the morning coffee, screens down for the afternoon furnace hours, everything retracted for the night.
Sensors close the loop between the system and the weather. The wind sensor retracts the awning when gusts rise, whether you are home or not, the single most valuable automation for anyone who has ever left the awning out on a deceptively calm morning. Sun sensors extend the shade when the light hits a set intensity. Together, the system behaves less like a remote-controlled product and more like a thoughtful building: responding to conditions, protecting itself, and keeping the house comfortable without being asked.
None of this requires technical enthusiasm from the owner. The installer configures the schedules and sensor thresholds on installation day, tuned to the home’s orientation and the household’s routine, and walks you through the remote before leaving. Most owners touch three buttons for years, out, in, and favorite, while the automation quietly does the rest. That is the entire design goal: the technology serves the comfort, never the other way around.
Nationwide program
Configured at order, confirmed on install day
Controls are specified with your system at order time, remote style, app access, voice integration, wind sensor, and LED lighting all configured as one package. AJ Shades’ own installation crews serve Southern California, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, and everywhere else, a trusted local contractor installs your system to our specification, pairs every control, and walks you through the whole platform before leaving.
Motors are explicitly covered by our 15-year warranty on retractable awnings and motorized power screens, frames, hardware, motors, and fabric systems. The Somfy control ecosystem carries its own manufacturer support, and our technical team stands behind your local installer on any question for the life of the system. Text (909) 325-3110 or contact us with your project details and your city to talk through the control setup that fits your home.
Keep reading: LED lighting, wind sensors, power screens nationwide, the nationwide program, the dealer program.
Smart control questions, answered
What does 'Somfy-powered' mean for my awning?
Do I need a smart home to use the controls?
Which smart-home systems are compatible?
Can I schedule the awning and screens automatically?
What happens to the controls in a power outage?
Is the app complicated for non-technical homeowners?
How do controls get specified in the nationwide program?
Are the motors and controls covered by the 15-year warranty?
Free estimate • No pressure
Shade that runs itself.
Tell us about your project and your city, we'll configure the controls, the schedules, and the installation in your area.
Text AJ Shades
(909) 325-3110
Built by Family. Designed for Yours.
Owned
Made
on awnings & screens
five-star reviews
CSLB #951583