Celebration in Doetinchem: the battery motor is 12½ years old!

BREL HOME looks back, from prototype to standard choice of the trade

Zonweringmagazine publishes a nice article in its second edition about the journey BREL HOME has made in 12.5 years.
Time flies… The battery motor with solar panel is indispensable in our sector. Every self-respecting motor brand has the battery motor with solar panel in its program. The trade has now adopted this drive as a standard choice. Almost 85% of the home and garden screens and shutters go to the consumer with this ingenious way of driving. Twelve and a half years ago, the battery motor was on the drawing board at Reinoud Arts. Together with Erik Budding, he made a decision: we are going for it. We take the reader back in time.

The introduction of the battery motor in indoor shading

Within the evolution from manual operation to motor operation, a real revolution took place. One where Reinoud Arts and Erik Budding were at the forefront. We are talking about the grand introduction of the battery motor in indoor and outdoor shading and shutters. Those who know the history of BREL will understand why these two pioneers were perfect for this. As an independent and self-developing supplier of drives and controls, they were able to create the necessary space to perfect battery technology for outdoor applications. A bold step that turned out very well.

Reinoud explains: “Our plan to motorize indoor shading arose from the possibility of battery motors. The indoor shading industry had been struggling for years with the motorization of indoor shading. This was because installers for indoor shading did not like working with electricity. Usually, an electrician was called for the connection. As a result, the price of motorization became unintentionally very expensive. By using battery motors, there were no wires anymore, and the installation became even simpler than manual operation. This was related to the phenomenon ‘Child Safety’ in manual operation, which required extra actions.” The installers could easily set up a small battery motor using a remote control. “This suddenly made everyone dare to sell it, and thus the price became much more attractive because the risk was smaller.”

The BREL MLE35-10 battery motor is the most delivered variant for screens and shutters.

Erik Budding: “As developments followed each other, motors with more power also came so that we could equip outdoor shading with battery motors.”

Reinoud Arts: “As the cradle of domestic battery technology, we found a battery motor for articulated arm awnings indispensable in our program.”

And then it was the turn of outdoor shading…

The use of a solar panel for indoor shading was available from day one, we learn. Erik explains: “Everyone demanded that we could deliver a solar panel, but no one sold one because it came on the inside of the glass, and this is very ugly. As developments followed each other, motors with more power also came so that we could equip outdoor shading with battery motors. However, for outdoors, it is no problem at all to use a solar panel. People find this a very acceptable product, which gives the product a sustainable appearance.”

Battery motors have proven to be a catalyst for embracing app control.

‘We approached customers whom we were almost certain would find this an exciting development’

Pioneers sought pioneers

You can develop so much technology, but if no one wants to apply it, it would be pointless. Fortunately, Erik and Reinoud were not alone in their pioneering work. “The battery motors for indoor shading were already accepted in the window decoration world. The world of outdoor shading was much more conventional,” Erik continues. “The question that arose for Reinoud and me was ‘how do we get the trade to try this brand-new technology? We had nothing to gain from ‘wait-and-see’ types. We approached customers whom we were almost certain would find this an exciting development. That was a success. We are still very grateful to the co-pioneers who believed in our technology, saw a future in it, and trusted us enough to dare it. In the same breath, the consumers should also be mentioned, who in turn gave the dealer the confidence to apply this technology to the facade. Yes, those were quite exciting times.”

Battery motors were a catalyst for home automation

The battery motors with solar panels have worked as accelerators in embracing home automation. Reinoud explains: “The threshold to use the motors with our wifi hub was low, not least because we kept the accessories affordable. We have lived with the idea for more than 10 years that everything should be able to happen with an app, so it is completely logical that you also want to control your shading, shutters, and window decoration with your phone or tablet. Our battery motors already had a radio-controlled, bi-directional control from the start. Setting up on the wifi hub is simple, the operation of the app is very intuitive. Indeed, the battery motor has worked as a catalyst for the mass adoption of home automation.”

The BREL HUB-03 wifi solution for app control of motors.

‘In the 12½ years that the battery motor has existed, BREL HOME has seen half a million battery motors go to the consumer via manufacturers and dealers’

Articulated arm awnings also perform well on battery motors

With the introduction of the battery motor with solar panel for articulated arm awnings, BREL HOME has once again broadened the market. How was this heavier battery motor received? Erik answers: “That introduction was a bit slower. On the one hand, because we needed more time and more tests to come to a workable motor, on the other hand, because the trade has to get used to the idea that something colossal like an articulated arm awning can work without 230V. But here too: long live the pioneers among the dealers. It's just a matter of doing it. Let's be honest, the most unsightly thing about an articulated arm awning on 230V is that cable that has to go through the wall to the inside. Consumers always accepted that as a necessary evil, but now that it is no longer necessary, it seems logical to me that the battery motor with solar panel is applied. Whether we will experience a shift from alternating current to direct current in the future as was the case with shutters and screens, I doubt it.” Reinoud adds: “For BREL HOME, it was also a matter of ‘noblesse oblige’. As the cradle of domestic battery technology, we found a battery motor for articulated arm awnings indispensable in our program.”

The evolution at its peak: control of shading from mono-command to voice command, via Amazon Alexa, Siri, and Google Home.

Next step: projects

BREL HOME is not standing still and has now announced that the battery motor is also becoming available for projects. “Range is a problem in projects; a facade must be able to be controlled from a concierge lodge,” says Reinoud. “By collaborating with Vodafone Business, we now have an IoT solution (internet of things) in our motor head, namely a SIM card that connects to the control software via the GSM network. We are now in the rollout phase, and it looks very promising.”

There are other things in prospect, such as motors that fit within the brand-new MATTER protocol. The solar panels are also subject to evolution, and work is being done on a new solar panel for battery motors for indoor shading. For outdoor applications, solar panels with a white frame are now available. One thing is clear: BREL HOME has paved the way for the battery motor with solar panel with courage. This has secured them a permanent place in the history books of the shading world. In the 12½ years that the battery motor has existed, BREL HOME has seen half a million battery motors go to the consumer via manufacturers and dealers. “We just keep counting,” says Erik in conclusion. “Of course, we remain sharp and will continue to innovate, but the product is a lasting phenomenon.”