Installers reach for the AutoSun line when a shade sits where no electrician can run a cable. The Simu T3.5 ESP Hz 10Nm 12rpm 12V DC, Somfy reference 2009598, carries the top torque rating in that family. Two numbers settle whether it suits your shade. The motor lifts 10 Nm, and it needs a tube with an inner diameter of 1.57 in or more.
Shades the 10 Nm T3.5 drives
Somfy lists this motor for exterior solar screens and for interior window coverings. The 10 Nm rating takes a wider or heavier fabric than the 3 Nm and 6 Nm versions of the same T3.5 ESP Hz motor. Picture a patio solar screen on a 40 mm tube, or an interior roller shade on a drop long enough that a smaller motor would labor at the bottom of travel. The 12 rpm speed buys that lift. A tall screen takes longer to run down than it would on a 23 rpm T3.5, and the motor carries the extra fabric weight the whole way.
Power comes from a 12V DC battery. That one fact shapes the rest of the install. No line voltage goes near the shade, so you can set a screen on a pergola post, a garden wall, or a free-standing cabana frame and still drive it from a handheld transmitter. Somfy built the AutoSun system around that idea, and the T3.5 ESP Hz sits at the center of it.
Verified specs
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Torque and speed | 10 Nm at 12 rpm |
| Model designation | T3.5DC ESP HZ 10/12 C1M/1 |
| Power supply | 12V DC |
| Power draw | 30 W running, 0 W standby |
| Rated current | 2.4 A |
| Control | Simu Hz radio, 433.420 MHz |
| Range in open field | 492.15 ft |
| Limit switch | Electronic, 36 turns of travel |
| Head type | Round |
| External diameter | 1.42 in |
| Minimum tube inner diameter | 1.57 in |
| Motor length | 18.66 in |
| Cable | 3.28 ft black lead with a Molex connector |
| Protection rating | IP 44 |
| Operating temperature | -4 F to 140 F |
| Applications | Exterior solar screens, interior window coverings |
| Certification | CE |
| Warranty | 5 years from Somfy |
Two figures in that table carry more weight than the rest. The 0 W standby draw matters on a battery system, because a motor that sips current between runs stretches the days between charges. The 492.15 ft open field range gives you room to stand well back from a courtyard screen and still reach it.
Tube, crowns and the R8 adaptor plate
The motor body measures 1.42 in across, and Somfy sets the minimum tube inner diameter at 1.57 in. A Somfy T3.5 38mm round tube (9001495) is the native match, and the T3.5 crown and drive set for that tube seats the motor at one end and carries the idler at the other. Use T3.5 class crowns and drives on this motor. A 50 mm LT50 crown will not seat on a T3.5 head, and forcing one risks the limit mechanism.
The round head needs a mount that accepts it. The Somfy R8 adaptor plate (9012258) gives the head a flat bracket face, which helps when you fix the shade to a pergola beam or a square tube frame rather than to a standard headbox. Check the clear space inside your bracket pocket against the 18.66 in motor length before you cut the tube. A tube cut to the shade width without allowance for the motor head and the idler leaves you short.
Hz radio control and pairing
The receiver sits inside the motor and listens on 433.420 MHz. Nothing wires to it for control, which is the point of an AutoSun shade. You hold a Simu Hz transmitter, press the programming sequence, and the motor answers with a short jog. Somfy states that Somfy RTS controls work across the Simu Hz motor range, AutoSun included, so a site already running RTS keeps one remote family across both.
Electronic limits set from the transmitter. The motor counts 36 turns of travel, which covers a long drop on a 40 mm tube. Set the up limit first, run the shade down to the sill, and store the bottom position. Changing a limit later takes the same sequence, with no need to reach the motor head once the shade hangs.
Battery, solar panel and charging
The motor lead ends in a Molex connector that plugs straight into the AutoSun power kit. The Somfy Simu 2.2 Ah NiMH AutoSun battery (9020635) comes in an aluminum case with a 0.6 m cable, which mounts out of sight above a headbox or behind a fascia. An AutoSun solar panel keeps that battery topped up through the season. Aim the panel at open sky with no overhanging eave shading it through the middle of the day, and the pack holds charge on its own.
Winter storage and a shaded north elevation both call for a mains top-up. The Somfy Simu Battery Charger V2, NiMH US kit (9029465) handles that. Keep one in the van. A screen that sat idle through a cloudy February runs again within hours of a charge, and you avoid a service call over a flat pack. Confirm the connector on the battery and panel you receive matches the connector on the motor lead before you cable the shade in place.
Install notes an installer asks about
Mount the motor so the lead exits toward the battery, and leave slack at the head. A 3.28 ft lead reaches a battery sitting above the shade or beside it, and a tug on a tight cable at the Molex joint is the failure nobody wants to diagnose from a ladder. The IP 44 rating covers splash and spray from any direction, which suits a covered patio or a pergola screen. A fully exposed wall with no overhang asks for a drip loop in the cable run.
Operating range runs from -4 F to 140 F. A screen on a south-facing stucco wall in Phoenix and a pergola shade in a Minnesota winter both sit inside that band. Balance the fabric roll before you set limits, because an off-center roll on a 40 mm tube loads one bearing harder and shortens the run between charges.
Order the Somfy Simu T3.5 ESP Hz 10Nm 12rpm 12V DC AutoSun radio motor (2009598) when the shade needs more lift than a 6 Nm T3.5 gives and the site offers no power. Pair it with the 9001495 tube and the T3.5 crown and drive set, add the 9020635 battery and a solar panel, and keep the 9029465 charger on hand for the cloudy weeks. Somfy backs the motor for five years.
FAQ
What tube does the Simu T3.5 ESP Hz 10 Nm motor fit?
The motor body measures 1.42 in across and Somfy sets the minimum tube inner diameter at 1.57 in. A T3.5 38mm round tube (9001495) with matching T3.5 crowns and drives is the native fit. Larger LT50 class crowns will not seat on the T3.5 head.
How far does the Hz radio reach?
Somfy publishes 492.15 ft of open field range on 433.420 MHz. Walls, metal fascia and glass cut that figure in practice. A courtyard or patio screen sits well inside the range from a handheld Simu Hz transmitter, with no control wiring run to the shade.
Does this motor need a solar panel?
The motor runs from the 12V DC AutoSun battery (9020635). A solar panel keeps that battery charged through the season, which is the point of the AutoSun system. The Battery Charger V2 US kit (9029465) gives you a mains top-up for winter storage or a shaded elevation.
Which Somfy remotes control an AutoSun motor?
Somfy states that Somfy RTS controls work across the Simu Hz motor range, AutoSun included. A site already running RTS transmitters keeps one remote family across the wired and solar shades, with the receiver built into the motor on 433.420 MHz.
Shade Motors Direct is an authorized source for genuine Somfy motorized window shade, blind, and drapery parts.
