Somfy Simu T5 50Nm Wired Motor Fit and Torque Guide

The Simu T5 50Nm 12rpm 120V (2000653) sits at the heavy end of the Simu T5 wired range. It delivers 50 Nm of torque at 12 rpm on ordinary 120V/60Hz house power, and it takes its commands from a wired switch rather than a remote. Somfy builds it for rolling shutters, awnings, exterior solar screens and interior window coverings.

Start with the load on the tube

Torque decides this purchase. A motor has to lift the full weight of the curtain plus the friction of the guides, and it has to hold that weight at the upper limit without stalling. Fifty newton metres, near 443 in-lb, covers the sizes that defeat a 35 Nm operator: wide insulated aluminum shutters, cassette awnings with heavy drop bars, and oversized exterior screens on 70 mm tube.

Speed matters as much as torque on a big curtain. The 2000653 runs at 12 rpm, so a 10 ft drop on a 70 mm tube travels in a measured, quiet cycle rather than a snap. Installers choose the 12 rpm motors for shutters because slow travel reduces the shock load on slats and end locks. Faster 18 rpm T5 motors suit lighter screens.

Oversizing costs nothing in reliability. A 50 Nm motor on a 30 Nm curtain runs cooler and reaches its thermal cut-out less often than a motor working at its ceiling. Undersizing shows up as a shutter that creeps, stalls in cold weather, or trips the thermal protection after two cycles.

Shade types the 550 drives

Somfy lists four applications for this reference. Rolling shutters account for most of them, and the motor fits the standard European shutter box as well as the retrofit boxes used on US sunrooms. Awning builders use it on cassette and open-roller frames where the fabric width runs past 14 ft. Exterior solar screens on 70 mm or 78 mm tube sit inside its range, and interior window coverings on heavy fabric run from the same motor when a wired switch serves the room.

The 2000653 carries no radio receiver. A wired wall switch, a timer, or a building automation relay drives it. Projects that want app control pair the motor with an external radio or dry-contact interface at the switch leg.

Verified Somfy specifications

Figures come from Somfy's published data for reference 2000653. The Simu T5 50Nm 12rpm 120V (2000653) product page carries current pricing and stock.

Tube fit, crowns and drives

A tubular motor needs three mating parts to turn a tube: a crown that locates the motor body inside the tube, a drive wheel that transmits torque to the tube wall, and a bracket that holds the head. Get the tube profile right and the rest follows.

The T5 head is round with pins, so it seats in Simu T5 operator brackets. The Simu T5 Operator Bracket 80mm x 80mm Square (9520049) is the common choice in a shutter box with a 80 mm mounting face. For the tube end, Somfy publishes T5 and T6 aluminum drives in the profiles the shutter trade uses. The T5/T6 60mm Round Aluminum Drive (9012950) serves 60 mm round tube. On octagonal shutter tube, the T5/T6 70mm Octagonal Aluminum Drive (9011878) matches the 70 mm profile that carries most heavy slat curtains. Awning builders working with Simbac tube take the Simu T5/T6 85mm Round Simbac Tube Drive (9420300).

Measure the inside diameter of the tube and the flat-to-flat dimension on an octagonal profile before you order. A drive one size off will spin inside the tube under load and chew the aluminum.

Wiring and limit setting

The motor leaves the factory with an 8.2 ft VVF lead in white, four conductors. Two of them are the direction legs, one is neutral, one is ground. An electrician lands the two direction legs on a momentary or maintained wall switch and feeds the neutral and ground straight through. Never bridge the two direction legs together, since the motor draws from both windings at once and the thermal cut-out opens.

One switch drives one motor on this platform. Multiple motors on a single switch need a relay or a motor controller sized for the combined current, since the 2000653 pulls 2.1 A on its own. Building controls land on the same two direction legs through dry contacts.

This motor uses mechanical limit switches with a 30-turn capacity. An installer sets the stops with the adjustment screws on the head, cycling the curtain and trimming each end in small increments. Thirty turns of tube covers a tall shutter on 70 mm tube. Check the count against your drop before you cut the tube.

Mechanical limits hold their setting through a power cut, which is why the shutter trade still prefers them on exterior installations. They also let a service tech re-trim a limit years later with a screwdriver and no programming sequence. Run the curtain through four full cycles after setting, then re-check both stops.

IP 44 protection and Class I insulation suit the motor to a shutter box or an awning hood where splash and dust reach the head. Keep the lead out of standing water and dress it so the drip loop falls below the entry point.

Parts to order with the motor

A complete shutter kit on this motor comes to the operator, a bracket, a crown and a drive matched to the tube, and a wired switch. Order the drive and crown as a pair for the tube you have. Shops that stock both the 60 mm round and 70 mm octagonal drives cover most retrofit work on one shelf.

Buyers replacing an older Simu T5 operator should confirm the torque stamped on the old motor head. A 50 Nm replacement will drop into the same bracket as a 30 Nm or 40 Nm T5, and the heavier motor gives the curtain more margin. The crown, the drive and the bracket carry over.

Frequently asked questions

What tube sizes does the Simu T5 50Nm fit?

Somfy publishes T5 and T6 drives and crowns for 60 mm round, 70 mm octagonal and 85 mm Simbac tube, plus the LT50 profile sets from 2 in through DS 78 mm. Match the drive to the measured inside profile of your tube. The motor body and head stay the same across those profiles.

Can I control this motor with a Somfy remote?

The 2000653 carries no radio receiver, so a handheld RTS remote will not reach it. Wired switch control drives it. Add an external radio receiver or a dry-contact interface at the switch leg when a project calls for remote or app control.

How much torque is 50 Nm in inch-pounds?

Fifty newton metres converts to about 443 in-lb. That figure puts the 2000653 at the top of the Simu T5 range and covers wide insulated rolling shutters, large cassette awnings and oversized exterior screens that a 35 Nm operator cannot hold at the limits.

Does the motor hold its limits after a power cut?

Yes. The mechanical limit switches hold their setting through an outage, and the motor returns to the same stops when power comes back. A service tech re-trims either limit later with the adjustment screws on the head, with no programming sequence to repeat.

Shade Motors Direct is an authorized source for genuine Somfy motorized window shade, blind, and drapery parts.