Short answer: The Somfy screen motor is the Maestria 50 RTS, Somfy's first motor built for zip screens. It drives exterior solar screens and retractable insect screens at 10, 25, 35 or 50 Nm on 120V AC, with an RTS receiver in the head, obstacle detection on zip screens and automatic fabric tension. Take the torque from your screen maker's motor chart.
An exterior screen asks more of a motor than an awning or an indoor roller shade. The fabric edge rides in a side guide, wind presses on the panel, and the hem bar has to land tight on the sill so insects stay out. Somfy answered that job with one dedicated family, the Maestria 50 RTS, and gave it four torque points on the same LT50 body.
Screens the Maestria 50 RTS runs
Somfy built the Maestria to motorize exterior vertical screens of any type, and its brochure names zip screens and standard screens. Screens with locks qualify too when the lock uses an external mechanical device. The motor works with rail guides or cable guides. Somfy's product records for the four US references list two applications: exterior solar screens and retractable insect screens.
The motor sits inside the screen's roller tube in the cassette, and a 10 ft SJTW cable brings 120V AC to it. Your screen fabricator supplies the tube and cassette. The Maestria brings the drive and the control logic that protects the fabric.
Four torque points on one LT50 body
The digits in each model code carry the torque, so a 525A2 delivers 25 Nm and a 550R2 delivers 50 Nm. The three lighter references turn at 20 rpm. The 50 Nm motor slows to 14 rpm, which gives a heavy zipped edge time to feed into its track.
| Somfy reference | Torque | Speed | Price (Oct 22, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somfy Maestria RTS 510A2 (1134082) | 10 Nm (89 in-lb) | 20 rpm | $422.15 |
| Somfy Maestria RTS 525A2 (1134083) | 25 Nm (221 in-lb) | 20 rpm | $453.21 |
| Somfy Maestria RTS 535A2 (1134084) | 35 Nm (310 in-lb) | 20 rpm | $494.75 |
| Somfy Maestria RTS 550R2 (1134095) | 50 Nm (443 in-lb) | 14 rpm | $527.33 |
Shared figures across the range, from Somfy's product records: 120V AC at 60Hz, 433.420 MHz RTS radio with 12 channels, 656.2 ft open field range, 0 W standby draw, IP 44 and a 5 year Somfy warranty.
Torque on a zip screen comes from fabric weight, zipper friction in the guides, cassette drag and wind on the panel face. Width alone does not settle it. Screen manufacturers publish a motor recommendation per frame size, and that chart outranks any rule of thumb. Our guide to sizing a Somfy motor walks the torque math if you build your own screens.
Obstacle detection, back release, fabric tension and limits
Somfy built the Maestria's protections around the ways zip screens fail. On zip screens, the motor detects an obstacle and stops, whether the screen travels up or down. Somfy states that the motor tells an obstacle apart from wind, gusts included, so a breezy afternoon does not read as a blocked screen. A chair left under the drop line is the everyday case.
Back release comes next. After the motor detects an obstacle, it releases its brake so it does not hold the fabric under strain against whatever stopped it.
Fabric tension is the long game. Zip fabric relaxes and tightens with the seasons, and a fixed bottom limit that sealed in spring can leave the panel loose by summer. Somfy's automatic limit setting adjusts to keep the fabric tension constant, which protects the screen over years of use and keeps the edge seated in its guide.
Installers get three limit setting modes: automatic, semi-automatic and manual. Somfy completes automatic setting in two steps, and manual mode suits a screen whose hard stops sit somewhere other than the finished position. The step-by-step sequence for each mode lives in the motor's install guide in our Somfy spec and install library.
Tube, crown, drive and bracket
The Maestria shares the LT50 platform with Somfy's Altus and Sunea exterior motors, so LT50 crown and drive sets and LT50 brackets fit it. Somfy publishes a 1.85 in (47 mm) minimum tube inside diameter for the 525A2 and the 550R2. Measure the inside of the existing tube before you order, and match the crown and drive pair to its profile. A 70 mm octagonal tube takes the LT50 70 mm crown and drive set.
Somfy lists a star head on the 510A2, 525A2 and 550R2. The Somfy LT50 Star Head Motor Bracket (9410651) is the plate cut for that head. Check the head on the 535A2 you receive before you drill, and fasten the bracket to structure, since it carries wind load as well as motor torque.
Replacing an older screen motor? Read the reference off the old motor's label first. Our guide to the Somfy motor label shows where the torque and speed sit.
Remotes and sensors Somfy pairs with the Maestria
The RTS receiver lives in the motor head, so the screen needs no separate receiver. Somfy's brochure names these controls for the Maestria 50 RTS:
- Telis RTS handheld remotes in 1, 5 or 16 channels. The Somfy Telis 4 RTS Patio Remote (1810645) runs five screens or groups from an outdoor-rated housing.
- The DecoFlex WireFree RTS wall switch, such as the Somfy DecoFlex 5 Channel RTS WireFree Wall Switch (1810813), for a fixed control by the patio door.
- The Smoove 1 RTS surface-mounted wall switch.
- The Eolis RTS wind sensor, the Sunis WireFree RTS sun sensor and the Ondeis WireFree RTS rain and sun sensor.
For wind, the Somfy Eolis RTS Wind Sensor 24V DC Kit (9012499) reads wind speed with an anemometer and ships with its own transformer. It retracts screens that are already closed once the wind passes your threshold, a different event from an obstacle in the travel path. For rain, the Somfy Ondeis WireFree RTS Rain and Sun Sensor (9019617) pairs to the motor the same way a remote does. Our guide to Somfy awning sensors covers placement and thresholds.
A TaHoma hub layers app control and voice scenes over the same RTS radio, with no change to the screen hardware.
Power and circuit notes
The Maestria runs on line voltage, 120V AC at 60Hz. Each motor ships with a 10 ft SJTW three-wire cable, so plan the outlet or junction box within that reach before the cassette closes. Somfy rates the 510A2 and 550R2 as Class I, so the ground conductor does real work.
Current climbs with torque. Somfy publishes 1.1 A for the 510A2 and 2.1 A for the 550R2. Six 550R2 screens closing together on a wind command draw 12.6 A, close to the limit of a 15 A branch circuit, so split large banks across circuits or stagger their schedules.
Somfy lists a 4 minute thermal time on the 510A2 and 550R2 and an operating range of -4 F to 158 F. Back-to-back test cycles on commissioning day can trip the thermal cutout. Let the motor cool and it resumes.
Comparing the Maestria with a general exterior motor? Our Somfy awning and exterior screen motors collection lists the four Maestria references beside the Altus and Sunea motors that share their LT50 hardware.
Sources: Somfy Maestria 50 RTS brochure (service.somfy.com); somfysystems.com product records for 1134082, 1134083, 1134084 and 1134095; Somfy press release "Somfy introduces the ultimate motor solution for exterior screens with Maestria 50 RTS" (Feb 22, 2018).
Frequently asked questions
Which Somfy motor runs a zip screen?
Somfy built the Maestria 50 RTS for zip screens and calls it its first motor dedicated to them. It comes at 10, 25, 35 or 50 Nm on 120V AC with an RTS receiver in the head. Obstacle detection and automatic fabric tension protect the zipped edge, and the screen maker's chart sets the torque you need.
Does obstacle detection replace a wind sensor?
No. Obstacle detection stops the motor when something blocks the screen's travel, and Somfy states it can tell an obstacle from a gust. A wind sensor such as the Eolis RTS retracts a screen that is already down once wind passes your set threshold. An exposed patio benefits from both features working together on the same motor.
Can one remote run several Maestria screens?
Yes. Each Maestria remembers 12 RTS channels, and you can pair the same remote channel to several motors to move them as a group. The Telis 4 RTS Patio Remote gives five channels, enough for five screens or five groups. A TaHoma hub adds schedules and phone control and keeps the remotes you already paired.
Will a Maestria fit my existing screen tube?
Check the tube inside diameter first. Somfy publishes a 1.85 in (47 mm) minimum for the 525A2 and 550R2, and the motor takes LT50 crown and drive sets and LT50 brackets. Match the crown and drive pair to the tube profile, read the torque off your old motor's label, and confirm the head type before ordering a bracket.
Shade Motors Direct is an authorized source for genuine Somfy motorized window shade, blind, and drapery parts.
