Apollo Electric Roof Lantern Blinds

Watch the Apollo in action

Watch this short video of the Apollo electric roof lantern blind in action!

Apollo Cassette Boxes

The Apollo is our only battery-powered system. Within its limitation of 2m wide and less than 2.5m long it will give a good cloth finish without any visible cords. It boasts a symmetrical look with easy to clean cassette boxes at both ends. Inside the cassette boxes, the engineering brilliance of the Apollo Electric Roof lantern blind is hidden away from dust, flies and view allowing it to blend into your lantern’s upstand. (White is standard but any RAL colour can be offered).

At one end of your Apollo roof blind is an 85mm² cassette headbox depending on the length of your upstand. Unlike pleated blind systems that concertina at one end gathering dust, your chosen Apollo fabric is always protected when not in use. At the other end of your blind is the symmetrical tension box. This contains two tension springs that provide the power to keep your chosen fabric taut via hidden white nylon cords. These constant tension springs average a combined tension of 8kg, however, these springs lose power as the fabric is deployed from a combined 10.4kg to 6.4kg.

Apollo Side Channels & Shelving

The Apollo electric roof lantern blind has slimline side channels 28mm wide supported by the 50mm shelving. They play an integral part in the ‘no visible wires’ Apollo electric roof lantern blind system. The 1.5mm nylon cords used to withstand the power of the 4kg tension springs are hidden inside both side channels. The zipper ribbon technology is welded to the edges of your chosen blind fabric creating a very strong join. The zipper ribbon is securely held and prevented from being pulled out of the channels. It allows the blind to run freely and quietly along these channels whilst returning the fabric squarely onto the motor tube every time it is used.

The shelving is a critical part of the Apollo roof blind system. The powder-coated L-angle profiles allow the electric roof lantern bind to sit squarely within your opening even when your lantern opening is not truly square (after the final skim your lanterns opening is rarely truly square) It also ensures there is no light ingress around the sides. The shelving at both ends is 170mm. This allows the Venus slimline hem bar to disappear above the shelf at both ends keeping a uniform look with just the fabric on show. For smaller Apollo roof blinds there is an option for 80mm shelving. The side shelving supporting the systems side channels are a slim 50mm.

Apollo Hem Bar & Crush Brush

The Apollo slimline 35mm hem bar has been designed to perform and not simply look good. It is suitable to withstand the 8kg of tension applied to it by the Venus electric roof blind allowing for elegance within small to medium-sized roof lanterns. When considering more powerful roof blind systems this slimline hem bar would no longer be viable.

The grey fuzzy brush on the end of the Venus Slimline hem bar is also known as the Crush Brush. It creates a seal between the hem bar and the tension box when your blind is closed. It also allows it to close quietly to avoid the sound of metal on metal. Grey is standard but sometimes black is used when maximising room darkening. White is only permitted when using a white screen fabric as it lets considerably more light transmit through it.

Apollo SOMFY Motors

Not all SOMFY motors are equal and can be used in our specialised roof blinds. Due to the power created by the Apollo electric roof blind, only a motor with sufficient torque can be selected. This allows your blind to defy gravity and travel horizontally at a controlled speed whilst maintaining tension on the fabric.

The Apollo Electric Roof Lantern blind uses a SOMFY Radio Transmitted Signal (RTS) motor as standard. This allows you to control your blind using a remote-control handset or remote-control wall switch. The Apollo SOMFY RTS motor is compatible with the SOMFY Tahoma Switch which offers a simple gateway to smart living.

Alternatively, hardwired Somfy motors can be used on request which will allow compatibility with existing home automation systems such as Lightwave, Control-4 & Luxon

Apollo Solar Panel & Lithium-Ion Battery Stick

The Apollo solar panel is very discrete sitting on top of the motor headbox. It’s only 6mm thick, 470mm long and 60mm wide and facing towards your roof lantern. The 3.2W solar panel captures the sun’s light, converting this energy into electrical energy to charge the Somfy battery stick. The battery stick is designed for high temperatures and stores the electrical energy ready to supply the Apollo Somfy low-consumption motor. As energy is used the solar panel will top up the battery stick as required.

The solar panels supplied for the Apollo electric roof blind are designed for low-light environments including Scandinavia. The solar panel system with a battery stick can open and close your electric Apollo Roof blind once a day for up to 45 days in complete darkness. The solar panels are very efficient, so as long as they are in the light, not necessarily direct sun, the blind will function fine.

Solaye Sunshadow N 1% (Tight Weave) 3000mm Wide

This screen fabric has a very tight weave lending itself to roof lantern blinds requiring nighttime privacy, winter insulation and high levels of TV glare control

Lighter colours also offer good heat rejection.   

Strong, stable and in wide width it offers your Apollo roof lantern blind a seamless finish designed for longevity at high tension.

Solaye Sunshadow HT 1% (White Yarn) 3000mm Wide

This white-backed fabric range has a higher heat gain rejection than counterpart colours whilst still offering glare control when needed.  The colour side faces into the room whilst the white side faces up towards your lantern offering higher heat reflection.

Strong, stable and in wide width it offers your Apollo roof lantern blind a seamless finish designed for longevity at high tension.

Metallised Heat Rejecting Fabric 2400mm Wide

This metallised fabric has unrivalled heat rejection.

If your living space suffers from excessive heat gain then this fabric is a great consideration for your Apollo Large electric roof lantern blind.  The composition of the fabric means you have excellent heat rejection in all the colours and the glare control always remains the same.   White fabric in this range will not get the typical lightbox effect experienced with some of the fabrics in the portfolio such as the Solaye Sunshadow 3000HT White Yarn.

PVC Blackout (Glass Fibre Core) 3000mm Wide

The blackout range allows ultimate room darkening for bedrooms, cinematic TV rooms or simply because your bi-folds or sliding doors already offer high levels of light.

Winter insulation is a given with this fabric range with summer heat gain reduction best achieved with the lighter colours. 

The PVC range gives a false ceiling effect making it very popular. 

Touch Control (Radio Technology RTS)

The standard Somfy motors for the large Apollo electric roof blinds use radio technology.  This enables you to have a choice between a remote handset or a wireless wall switch included in your investment

A simple press of a button on your chosen remote control device sends out a radio wave signal to operate your roof lantern blind.  You don’t even need to point the handset at your roof blind.  The radio waves are omnidirectional and operate to a range of over 15 metres in any direction.  

Somfy radio technology utilizes a rolling code with 16 million combinations to ensure that RTS communication is both safe and secure.    This ensures that your controls will not interfere with other radio-controlled products in your home or adjoining neighbours.  

Somfy Tahoma Switch - Timers, Sensors & Voice Control

The Somfy Tahona Switch puts you in control of your Apollo electric roof lantern blind whether you are home or not.   With the ability to control your Apollo roof blind from anywhere in the world through the Tahoma App on your smartphone or tablet.

The Somfy Tahoma offers your roof lantern blind intelligence so that you get the very most from your investment.   Let Tahoma take control while you and your family focus on enjoying life.

Tahoma’s Timer settings can automatically open and close your roof blind at pre-set times.   Natural light in the morning for breakfast but closed in the evening for cosy family time.  

In addition, the Sunis IO Sensor can talk to your Tahoma.  If there is too much direct light passing your lantern your roof blind fabric will close.  This intelligence ensures that when you get home your living space has been kept cool from the summer heat without you having to give it a second thought.

This is a must for customers who are concerned about the fading of their wooden flooring and furnishing from sun damage.

Still not impressed?  The Tahoma is compatible with third-party devices such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant & Apple Homekit to allow you and your family to use voice control to operate your blind