Cassette awnings hide everything. The fabric rolls into a sealed housing, the arms fold inside it, and the motor disappears with them. The Somfy Orea RTS 535A2 Motor (1038173) is the motor Somfy builds for that platform, rated at 35 Nm and controlled over the RTS radio so no signal wire runs to the housing.
Somfy carried this motor under legacy reference 1037522 before renumbering it. A dealer working from an older quote or an existing awning will see that number on the paperwork, and it points at the same motor.
Orea is a platform, not a motor size
Somfy names Orea for the cassette awning system rather than for the tube. The motor mounts inside a cassette housing built by the awning fabricator, and the crown, drive, and bracket hardware belongs to that cassette rather than to Somfy's standard LT50 accessory range.
That distinction changes how you order. On a bare tube roller shade you pick a crown and drive from the tube profile. On an Orea cassette the fabricator has already specified the mounting hardware, and your job is to confirm the motor reference matches what the cassette was built around.
Somfy positions Orea for both pre-construction and post-construction work, so the same motor turns up on a new build where the cassette was designed into the elevation and on a retrofit where a complete awning arrives as an assembly.
Torque, projection, and what 35 Nm covers
A lateral arm awning loads the roller differently from a shade. Folding arms carry spring tension, and that tension works against the motor through the whole extension. Projection drives the load more than width, because arm geometry changes the moment at the tube.
Somfy's 535A2 designation reads as 35 Nm at 20 rpm, the same torque band as the Sunea 535A2 that covers open and semi-cassette frames. That rating suits most residential lateral arm units. Heavier commercial frames move up the range, and the awning fabricator publishes a motor recommendation per frame that outranks any general guidance.
At 20 rpm the awning extends at a pace that lets the arms deploy in sequence. A faster motor snatches the fabric on the way out.
Verified specifications
| Torque | 35 Nm (310 in-lb) |
| Speed | 20 rpm |
| Power supply | 120V AC, 60 Hz |
| Cable | 3-wire |
| Control | RTS, built-in receiver, 433.42 MHz |
| Platform | Orea cassette awning |
| Legacy reference | 1037522 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Torque and speed follow Somfy's 535A2 designation and the store's verified spec set. Somfy's own product page for 1038173 lists the motor as built for cassette awnings and confirms RTS control and TaHoma compatibility without publishing a full spec table for this reference.
Three wires and no signal run
The RTS receiver sits inside the motor. That leaves a 3-wire connection carrying line, neutral, and ground, and nothing else reaches the cassette.
On an awning that matters more than it does on an interior shade. A cassette mounts to a wall or a soffit, often above a patio, and every additional conductor is another penetration to seal and another thing to service from a ladder. Power arrives once and the radio does the rest.
Limits get set from the handheld with the installer standing on the ground. Somfy's electronic limits hold through a power cut, so an outage does not send anyone back up to reprogram the closed position.
Remotes and wall controls
A Somfy Situo 1 Channel RTS Pure Remote (1870571) programs the motor and then becomes the owner's handheld. On a patio with a single awning that is the whole control layer.
Clients who want something fixed by the door take the Somfy Maintained Rocker Switch Kit with Standard Plate in White (1800342), which fits a standard plate and pairs to the same motor. Both live on one awning, since the motor accepts several RTS transmitters.
Adding a TaHoma hub later brings app control, sun and time scheduling, and voice to the same motor. Somfy lists the Orea RTS as TaHoma compatible, so the shade hardware does not change when a client decides to automate the patio.
Wind sensors belong on this motor
An awning left extended through a gust loses fabric, arms, or the frame. Somfy's Soliris sun and wind sensors run on the same RTS platform as this motor and retract the awning automatically when wind reaches the threshold set at the sensor.
Owners rarely ask for a wind sensor on the quote and ask for one after the first storm. Price it in from the start on any exposed elevation, and set the threshold low for a cassette awning that a homeowner cannot crank in by hand.
Sun sensing earns its place on a west elevation. A Soliris head extends the awning when the sun crosses the threshold and retracts it when the light drops, which keeps a patio usable through an afternoon without anyone reaching for a remote. Pair the sensor to the motor the same way a handheld pairs, since both speak the same RTS radio.
Ordering
Confirm the motor reference against the cassette the fabricator built, then order the Orea RTS 535A2 (1038173) with a transmitter for the owner. Cassette mounting hardware comes from the awning system rather than from the standard LT50 accessory range, so check that with the frame supplier before the install date.
Questions we get on this motor
What is the difference between Orea and Sunea?
Both carry the 535A2 designation at 35 Nm. Orea is built for cassette-integrated awning systems where the motor mounts inside a fabricator's housing. Sunea covers cassette, semi-cassette, and standard frames and offers a crank manual override head. Pick by the frame the awning arrives on.
Does the Orea RTS 535A2 need a control wire?
No. The RTS receiver sits inside the motor, so the only run to the cassette is 120V power on the 3-wire cable. Limits get set from the handheld remote, and the motor accepts several RTS transmitters, which lets a handheld and a wall switch share one awning.
What does legacy reference 1037522 mean?
Somfy carried this motor under 1037522 before renumbering it to 1038173. A dealer working from older paperwork, or servicing an awning installed several years ago, will see the earlier number. Both point at the same Orea RTS 535A2 motor.
Can I add app and voice control to an Orea awning later?
Yes. Somfy lists the Orea RTS as TaHoma compatible, so adding a TaHoma hub brings the app, sun and time scheduling, and voice assistants to the motor already in the cassette. The awning hardware stays as installed and the existing handheld keeps working.
Shade Motors Direct is an authorized source for genuine Somfy motorized window shade, blind, and drapery parts.
