Every Somfy motor speaks one control language, and it cannot be changed after you buy. Choosing that language is the first and least reversible decision in a motorization project, so it is worth understanding the four options before you look at torque, tube or fabric.
RTS — the wireless default
RTS (Radio Technology Somfy) is a one-way 433.42 MHz radio protocol, and it is what most Somfy motorized shades, blinds and awnings in North America use. The motor needs power, but no control wiring at all: you pair a remote or wall switch to the motor by putting the motor into programming mode, and the two talk directly.
Range is roughly 65 ft through normal residential construction, less through masonry or metal stud walls. Because RTS is one-way, the motor does not report its position back — a remote tells it to go up, and it goes up, but nothing confirms it arrived.
RTS is the right answer for retrofits, for single rooms, and for any job where running control wire is impractical. It has the widest accessory range by far: Telis and Situo remotes, DecoFlex and Smoove wall switches, Chronis timers, and Eolis and Soliris weather sensors. See the full RTS range.
Zigbee 3.0 — two-way, and app-native
Zigbee 3.0 is a two-way mesh protocol. The motor reports its actual position back, so an app shows a shade at 40% because it is at 40%, not because that is the last command sent. Each Zigbee device also relays for its neighbors, so coverage grows as you add motors rather than shrinking.
Zigbee motors pair directly to Ysia remotes with no hub at all, or join a TaHoma switch mesh for scheduling, scenes, Alexa and Google Home. The TaHoma switch also speaks RTS, which is what makes it the practical bridge for a house that already has a decade of RTS shades and is adding a new run.
Choose Zigbee when position feedback, app control or voice control matter, or when the project is large enough that mesh coverage beats point-to-point radio. Browse the full Zigbee range.
SDN / RS485 — wired and addressable
Somfy Digital Network is the hardwired, addressable system for commercial glazing and large residential facades. Every motor gets an address on an RS485 bus and reports its position, its limits and its faults back to the controller. Nothing depends on radio, which is exactly the point in a building where hundreds of motors must be commissioned, documented and serviced years later.
SDN needs real infrastructure: 24V power panels, distribution enclosures, plenum or non-plenum bus cable, DecoFlex digital keypads, and the RS485 commissioning tool to set limits and read addresses. That cost only makes sense at scale — but at scale, nothing else is comparable.
Standard wired — 3-wire and 4-wire
Standard wired motors have no radio receiver at all. A 4-wire motor takes line, neutral, up and down from a dry-contact switch or a relay module. A 3-wire RTS motor has the receiver built in but still runs on line voltage.
Wired motors are the least expensive per unit and the most dependent on the electrician. They suit new construction where the control wiring is going in anyway, and situations where a third-party automation system will drive the shades through relays. A plug-in RTS receiver can add radio to a wired motor later, and the URTSI II bridges third-party automation into RTS.
Choosing between them
A short version: retrofit one room, choose RTS. Want app control, voice control and real position feedback, choose Zigbee. Commercial facade or anything above roughly thirty motors, choose SDN. New construction with an automation contractor already pulling wire, standard wired is worth pricing.
The one rule that matters more than any of this: controls only drive motors that speak the same protocol. A Ysia Zigbee remote will not operate an RTS motor, and an RTS remote will not operate a Zigbee motor, no matter how many times you try to pair them. Every product listing states its protocol — check it before ordering the control layer.
Once the protocol is settled, the next question is torque. See How to Size a Somfy Shade Motor.
