Project sunshades with solar motors? That's possible from now on!

Recently, an extensive article about our innovative BREL SMART BUILDING was published in Zonweringmagazine. You can read the article here:

BREL SMART BUILDING operates completely wirelessly

For years, there has been a fervent desire within the world of project sunshading: to operate completely wirelessly. The application of battery motors and solar panels within projects always encountered the same problem, namely control. BREL HOME went back to the drawing board and developed the BREL SMART BUILDING concept in-house. The trusted battery motor with solar panel, connected via an onboard SIM card. A close collaboration with Vodafone provided a new perspective on project sunshading. We speak with Michelle Termaat (officially account manager Smart Building since January 2025) about this development.

Smart technology with a solid foundation
“BREL SMART BUILDING builds on the success of the BREL HOME battery motor”, Michelle begins the conversation. “The connectivity in control has been expanded with an onboard 4G SIM card. So you have all the advantages of the already proven technology of our battery motors with solar panels, with the extension to control unlimited motors in a project. The SIM card is connected to the ‘central’, which ‘calls’ the motor after giving commands. That's the simple explanation. Of course, it's two-way communication. Via the SIM card, the status of the motor can also be requested.”

“Solar is new in the project market, 4G is unique”, Michelle says. “We are proud to say that this expansion was fully developed in Doetinchem and the motors for BREL SMART BUILDING are made in the Netherlands. This is a true BREL innovation.” That Michelle Termaat is the account manager for this new branch from January will not come as a surprise to regular customers of BREL HOME: she has been the trusted voice providing technical support from Doetinchem for years. “I grew up with sunshading and motors for sunshading from a young age. At BREL, I expanded my knowledge and I have a great love for the technology behind it. I can now beautifully use my enthusiasm for this new 4G expansion by advising project clients and helping them with their sunshading projects.”

Three ways of control
The new motors have three forms of control. These are firstly the trusted RF control, a radio signal, with which the motors communicate with the traditional wireless wall and handheld transmitter, then there is Bluetooth onboard, which allows communication with the motor from nearby via a laptop or app on the phone, and via the SIM card, which is accessed via the 4G network with a dashboard on the laptop. “That dashboard is the beating heart of the installation process. Central control via the Cloud is done with this dashboard, for individual control per sunshading, wireless wall and handheld transmitters can be used”, Michelle explains.

Anyone who wants to integrate project sunshading into an existing building management system can do so via an API (Application Programming Interface) in combination with the dashboard.

Advanced interaction with the weather
Although BREL is working on the development of traditional weather sensors that can be linked to BREL SMART BUILDING, Michelle recommends using the very advanced possibility to interact with the weather via the Cloud. She explains: “The system has a weather API. That means that information about local weather conditions comes in via the Cloud. The system anticipates the incoming data. Practically, this means that the sunshading is already sent up when bad weather is coming. With traditional sensors, that happens only when the bad weather has already arrived. That means the sunshading endures less. The motor also has a temperature sensor onboard, which can indicate when the sunshading should go down. At BREL SMART BUILDING, you never ‘bet on one horse’, the system always has multiple ways to communicate. BREL SMART HOME operates according to the applicable ISO standards for utility buildings.”

Frequently asked questions answered
Since the announcement of BREL SMART BUILDING, there have been a lot of questions about this system. “Understandable, because it's all new”, Michelle says. “One frequently asked question about the technology is what happens if the power goes out in a region. Not unthinkable in these current times. We can calmly say that of all project sunshading in such a powerless region, the BREL SMART BUILDING motors still work. The battery motors are not dependent on external power and the sunshading can still be operated with wireless wall or handheld transmitters.” A question often heard is about the subscription costs of the 4G SIM cards in the motors. “The registration of the subscriptions for the SIM cards is handled by BREL”, Michelle explains. “When purchasing the motors, the subscription costs for 1 year are included. After that, the end user pays the subscription costs per year to the installing sunshading company, which in turn settles with us. A plus point is that the sunshading company always stays in contact with the client. I advise to broaden it: close a multi-year maintenance contract for the motors and include the annual subscription costs in it.”

Suppose an end user no longer wants to pay the subscription costs, does the sunshading become unusable? “No, certainly not. However, the end user will miss the comfort of control via the Cloud. But the motors can still be operated via RF, with wireless wall and handheld transmitters.” Another question is how many motors can be applied simultaneously in a project. Michelle answers: “From one to infinitely many. The beauty is that each motor can be called up via the dashboard to read the status. The motor can tell if the sunshading is open or closed, the condition of the battery can be checked, how much power is left, and how much output the solar panel gives. Any irregularities that occur are fed back to the system. A step further is that predictive maintenance can be performed, as the system indicates in time when problems can be expected. Isn't that the dream of every facility manager?”

Getting to the table as early as possible
Michelle indicates that in her new role she especially wants to educate project sunshading companies, contractors, and subcontractors, advise them, and get to the table as early as possible with them in new construction projects. “We need to approach this smartly together. We are affiliated with Duurzaam Gebouwd. One of our goals is to establish and make sunshading known in the world of construction and renovation projects. In renovation projects, BREL SMART BUILDING is a very welcome innovation: without additional construction actions and without e-installation work, a renovation complex can be equipped with centrally controlled sunshading… that was simply not possible 5 years ago.”

The BREL SMART BUILDING motors officially bear the name ‘Penta motors’ and can be applied in screens, drop-arm awnings, external blinds, and with awnings. 

 

Read the full article from Zonweringmagazine here.