In 2016, the Danish manufacturer of roof windows, VELUX, announced a collaboration with Apple. This collaboration should lead to the Velux product being compatible with HomeKit. In July 2018, VELUX ACTIVE was available to control VELUX roof windows, roller shutters and sun protection systems.
As owners of countless VELUX Integra roof windows combined with solar panels, we had long wanted a more innovative solution. The originally included disappointing remote controls to open the windows, so our expectations were relatively high when we ordered the VELUX ACTIVE kit.
Velux - installation
Unfortunately, the installation is not very user-friendly, but it is better than the previous KLR 200 Control Pad. The Apple iOs application often hangs or does not find windows at all. It is nice that Siri also works with the Homekit and the Apple Watch. The best thing about the whole thing is that we can now remotely operate or lock the windows.
Unboxing the product shows the following components:
The Climate Sensor will measure temperature, humidity and CO2. There are also switches to manually open or close the VELUX windows, roller shutters and sunscreens.
The Departure Switch is used for manually securing the VELUX windows, roller shutters and sunscreens. The same function is available in the app.
The gateway connects wirelessly to the internet and allows operation outside the local network.
Due to Velux’s quasi-monopoly on roof windows, the company has to be inventive, which can take time. While other companies have already been mixing up the market for years with similar intelligent home solutions, it takes longer with Velux. This complaint also includes their customer service, which relies on telephone calls or even sends letters (!) instead of e-mails.
We are happy that we can now operate the windows from anywhere. Still, we would like a more straightforward operation, cheaper pricing and better advice about the functionality.
We have arrived at the age of Metaverse, and Velux might like to hire some technology geeks to launch Velux 2.0 with their insanely good roof windows.
One Response
I recently tried out the Velux Active App for controlling my Velux skylights and I have to say, I was quite disappointed. The app was not very user-friendly and I found myself struggling to navigate through its various features.
One of the major issues I faced was with the app’s connectivity. It frequently disconnected from my Wi-Fi network, which made it difficult to control my skylights remotely. Additionally, the app seemed to have trouble communicating with my skylights even when I was in close proximity to them.
Another issue I had with the app was with its limited functionality. While it did allow me to control the opening and closing of my skylights, it lacked some basic features such as the ability to set a timer or schedule for my skylights to open or close automatically.
Overall, I would not recommend the Velux Active App to anyone looking for a reliable and user-friendly way to control their skylights. The app’s connectivity issues and limited functionality make it a frustrating experience to use. Hopefully, Velux will work on improving the app’s performance and adding more features to make it more useful in the future.