Technical Details
The battery has a fully charged voltage of ~4.2V, and has a nominal voltage of ~3.7V. For a full charge ensure that the battery is charged with the external charger for at least 8 hours with the battery in the ON (I) position. A full charge should last about 5-6 months via average use of iblinds. The battery for iblinds is polled once every 12 hours to save battery life. Refreshing in hub controller apps independently refreshes the battery level and does not reset the poll schedule.
Battery Troubleshooting
The battery life of the iblinds device is a grand total of 6-8 months, which is amazing if you think about it. However, there are times when the battery runs out before it’s supposed to. While not normal, it is something that can happen. Here are some ways to prevent and/or fix this issue:
- Check your Z-Wave controller for how often it is polling iblinds. If it’s polling more than three times a day, reduce it to once or twice a day. That will keep it from “waking up” iblinds too much, making the battery last much longer.
- Make sure you’re not using it too much. We know it’s fun to be able to move your blinds without having to get up and do it manually, but excessive use drains the battery. If it’s automated, try to make sure it’s only opened/closed when the sun is rising or setting, and make sure nobody in the house is opening and closing the blinds frequently.
Solar Not Keeping Battery Charged
Solar power is a very clean, near limitless source of electricity. The solar panel you set up with the iblinds device is a great example of that, keeping the device powered indefinitely. However, on the off chance that it does run out of power, then something may be wrong with the positioning of the solar panel. Here are a few solutions that may help:
- Does your window have a solar screen? While this may be a very useful thing to have in your home normally, the solar panel may not be getting the sunlight it needs even if it is positioned correctly. Unfortunately, other than moving the solar screen, there’s no real way to prevent this.
- How did you hang up the solar panel? If it was with the hangars included, then please make sure it is low enough. If your window has a bit of roof over it on the outside, make sure that the charger is positioned where sunlight is hitting most.
- The changing of seasons changes the position of the sun, so moving from one season to another may change where you need to put the charger. When this happens, it’s a simple fix of moving it to a new position. If it has been charging this whole time, then the battery should have plenty of power for you to take some time to figure out a good position for the panel.
If those do not help, and the battery continues to have a very short life, then please contact support@myiblinds.com