This £90 curtain closing gadget stops my hysterical dogs barking at the postman
There's a window in my stairway that keeps my two dogs entertained for hours. They sit on the landing while I'm hard at work in my office and watch the world go by.
But every now and again something might happen they feel they need to tell me about. It might be the arrival of the postman, or one of my neighbours getting a delivery or, perish the thought, a cat might nonchalantly stroll by.
Obviously, they are always keen to report these events by barking their heads off. And if I'm in the middle of a phone call or a Zoom meeting that's really not ideal.
I always like to turn to technology to solve life's little problems, and I've been using a brilliant gadget from SwitchBot for a year or so to close up the curtains at the touch of a button. And now there's a new version.
Picture the scene... I'm in the middle of a phone call, Albert, the neighbour's cat, is sniffing at my privet hedge. My dogs Rupert and Honey are apoplectic with rage and the noise of two hysterical dogs is unbearable.
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But I press a button on my desk and, within seconds, the curtains on my stairway window close. The dogs let out one more grunt of frustration and then settle back down to blissful silence.
It's worked really well for months, but the nice people at SwitchBot invited me to test the latest version of their motorised curtain device - the Curtain 3 - and I absolutely had to give it a go.
I'll talk you through how they work. Each motorised unit clamps on to your curtain pole, or locks in to your curtain rail, and uses rubber wheels to propel itself along the track, pulling the curtain along with it.
If you have two, one for each curtain, they'll pair up and work together to bring your drapes to just the right point at which your window is fully sealed off. And then they'll drag them back to the point at which they're fully open.
If it sounds simple, that's because it is. There's no wiring, no drilling, and you won't need to be a DIY god, they just clamp on and away you go. SwitchBot reckons you can install them in 30 seconds. I'm not so sure about that, but it's honestly a doddle.
The previous devices I'd tested, the Curtain 2, worked very well, but I had a few issues. Firstly, the bots themselves were a bit noisy. It's fine for my landing curtains, but I also tested them in my bedroom and it's not the most relaxing sound.
Secondly, while the battery life was good, recharging them was a bit of a fiddle. I also found I had to recalibrate them quite often, to ensure they met perfectly in the middle. This is due to the rubber wheels slipping a bit and losing their place over time.
Happily, though, SwitchBot has solved all of these issues with the latest versions. The rubber wheels have a lot more grip and calibration is so much easier thanks to two innocuous little magnets that guide the devices to their stopping point.
The new bots are so much quieter now, which is very welcome. And as for charging, there's now redesigned solar panels which you can attach to the devices on rigid bars to keep them facing towards the light.
The previous SwitchBot Curtain devices did have solar panels available, but they just plugged in rather than mounted solidly, and it was very hard to get them to stick to the curtains.
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This meant they either had to just dangle and swing around, or I had to give up and charge the bots myself from time to time.
The new solar panels have solved this completely. I've yet to see how they perform in the depths of winter, but I haven't had to worry about battery life at all during the summer and autumn months.
To control the bots, you can either use your smartphone, buy an inexpensive remote control from SwitchBot, or link it to a hub and control it through your smart speaker. SwitchBot was one of the early adopters of the Matter ecosystem, so integrating it into your smart home setup is a doddle.
However, I've still found the best way for me to open and close the curtains is with SwitchBot's natty little remote control, which can be configured through the app. As soon as the postman appears on my driveway, I can just tap the button on the remote, the curtains glide to a close, and the barking quickly subsides.
I can even, if I want to get really clever, link it up to a SwitchBot thermometer and set it to close the curtains as soon as the temperature in my house reaches, say 24C. But for now, just being able to put the dogs off their barking fit is absolutely wonderful.
Barring a few niggles, there wasn't a lot to dislike about the previous Curtain-openers, but SwitchBot has listened to its customers, gone back to the drawing board, sorted out the small issues people were having, and launched a new product that aims to be perfect.
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