Lutron Serena vs Sivoia QS
Serena is the Lutron shade you can buy with a published price and run on batteries. Sivoia QS is the wired system a dealer engineers into the building. Same Clear Connect radio, same fabric library, two different projects. Exotic Shades & Draperies, a Lutron certified dealer in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, installs, programs and services both.
One you can buy, one you specify
Both shades are built by Lutron, both ride the same Clear Connect radio, both draw on the same fabric library. What separates them is the power at the window and who carries the project.
Serena is the direct line: roller shades, honeycomb shades and wood blinds on D-cell batteries or a 12 V plug-in supply, sold with published prices, controlled by the Lutron app, Pico remotes, Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home. Lutron's roller specification puts it at 19.5 to 108 in wide and 38 dBA measured 3 ft from the drive, on batteries its Serena site rates at three to five years at two cycles a day.
Sivoia QS is the dealer line: 35 V Class 2 low-voltage wiring back to a plug-in supply, a junction box or a centralized power panel, shades that hold hembar alignment within 1/8 in while they move and when they stop, under 44 dBA at 3 ft, drives rated by the area of fabric they carry. It runs natively on RadioRA 3, HomeWorks, Athena, myRoom XC and Quantum, and it is the Lutron shade an integrator specifies next to Crestron, Control4 or Savant.
For one bedroom in a finished condo, Serena is usually the right answer and we will say so. For a wall of glass, a recessed pocket, a drapery track or forty windows that have to move as one, nothing in the Serena range will do it.
Serena and Sivoia QS, line by line
| Serena | Sivoia QS | |
|---|---|---|
| Power | D-cell alkaline, six to sixteen cells by width, Battery Boost above 37.5 in; or 12 V wired with a 15 ft power wire and a plug-in supply | 35 V Class 2 low voltage from a plug-in supply, a junction-box supply or a centralized power panel; QS Wireless version on Clear Connect Type A |
| Battery life | Three to five years at two cycles a day on the Serena roller; two years at one cycle a day on the Open Roll | Not applicable; there is no battery Sivoia QS roller or drapery drive |
| Size | 19.5 to 108 in wide on Lutron's spec sheet; the Serena site sells to 96 in wide and 120 in tall and sends anything wider to a professional installer | Rated by area, Roller 20 through Roller 225 and above; 8 ft on the Roller 64, 10 ft on the 100 and 150, 15 ft on the 225, up to six panels coupled under one drive |
| Noise | 38 dBA at 3 ft | Less than 44 dBA at 3 ft |
| Shades moving together | Grouped in the app; no published alignment figure | Hembar alignment within 1/8 in (3 mm) in motion and stopped, speed read hundreds of times a second |
| Styles | Roller, Open Roll, honeycomb, wood blinds | Roller, tensioned roller, Roman, honeycomb, wood blinds with motorized lift and tilt, and the Lutron drapery track on the D105, D145 and D175 drives |
| Fabric | Over a hundred fabrics on the Serena site | The full Lutron library, 921 colourways we carry |
| Control | Lutron app and hub, Pico remotes, Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home | Keypads, Pico, app, timeclock and astronomic schedules, Natural Light Optimization on HomeWorks, RadioRA 3 or Athena |
| Lutron systems | Caséta and Pico on Lutron's specification sheet; the dealer twin, Triathlon, is what adds RA2 Select, RadioRA 3 and HomeWorks | RadioRA 3, HomeWorks, Athena, myRoom XC, Quantum, Caséta PRO, or standalone |
| Mounting depth | 3.00 in jamb for an inside mount, 3.50 in with the optional fascia | Fascia, side channels and recessed pockets detailed with the architect before drywall |
| How you buy it | Published price online, or through us | Measured, specified and quoted per window by a Lutron dealer |
| Published price | From $822 for a 4 by 6 ft roller with fascia, $778 Open Roll, $699 for a 3 by 5 ft wood blind | About $3,141 for one 72 by 84 in wired Lutron shade with its power panel, installed and programmed |
| Where we use it | A single bedroom, a condo that is already finished, a first project that will grow one room at a time | New construction, walls of glass, recessed pockets, drapery tracks, whole floors, hospitality and commercial work |
Figures as published by Lutron on serenashades.com, lutron.com and the Serena and Triathlon roller specification sheet, retrieved October 2026, and from our own quote engine. Lutron revises its lines and its ordering limits; we confirm the current specification on every quote.
Six differences that matter on site
1. Is there power at the window
This is the whole decision in one question. Wiring run before drywall means Sivoia QS, no transformer at any window and nothing to replace. A finished condo with plaster ceilings means batteries, and batteries mean Serena or its dealer twin Triathlon. See battery against wired motors for the longer version.
2. The size of the glass
Serena's own store stops at 96 in wide and hands anything beyond that to an installer; Lutron's spec sheet runs to 108 in. Past that, and for sliders that need one unbroken line of fabric, Sivoia QS couples up to six panels under a single drive. South Florida glass crosses that line more often than people expect.
3. Shades that move as one
Lutron publishes a number for Sivoia QS that it publishes for nothing else: every hembar stays within 1/8 in of the others, moving or stopped, because the system reads shade speed hundreds of times a second. On a run of eight windows across a living room that is the difference between a finished wall and eight shades that nearly agree.
4. What runs the house
Caséta homes take Serena directly. RadioRA 3 and HomeWorks homes take Sivoia QS, and take the battery line through Triathlon rather than Serena. Homes run by an integrator on Crestron, Control4 or Savant sit on Sivoia QS through HomeWorks, because that is the integration the programmer is given.
5. Drapery and the hidden details
Lutron's motorized drapery track belongs to Sivoia QS, not to Serena: the D105, D145 and D175 drives pull 105, 145 and 175 lb on the same 35 V supply. Side channels for a true blackout bedroom, recessed pockets and curtain-wall details are specified the same way.
6. Who sets it up
A Serena order arrives as a box with instructions, and most people mount it themselves. A Sivoia QS project arrives measured, installed, limit-set, grouped and programmed, with the keypad engraved for the rooms it controls. We do both, including service on Lutron shades that somebody else supplied.
What the two actually cost
These numbers answer different questions, so read them side by side rather than as a single scale. Lutron publishes Serena retail: from $822 for a 4 by 6 ft roller shade with fascia, $778 for the Open Roll, $699 for a 3 by 5 ft wood blind, shipped to the house. Our quote engine publishes about $3,141 for one 72 by 84 in wired Lutron shade including its low-voltage power panel, measured, installed and programmed, against about $1,910 for the same window on wired Somfy and about $793 on a Somfy WireFree motor. Lutron battery shades are quoted after the measurement.
A bigger window, a power panel, a pocket and a programmed keypad are most of the gap, not the badge. The honest way to read it: if the project is one or two accessible windows, Serena is the sensible money. Once there is wiring, a system, oversize glass or a drapery track in the drawing, the Sivoia QS number is the only one that describes the job. Both figures are budgetary and before tax. See our published pricing and cost by system.
Where these figures come from
- Lutron, Serena and Triathlon roller smart shades specification submittal (085312): 19.5 to 108 in wide, D-cell alkaline counts by width, Battery Boost above 37.5 in, 12 V wired power, 38 dBA at 3 ft, 3.00 in inside-mount depth.
- Serena Shades by Lutron, roller shades: sizes to 96 by 120 in, three to five year battery life at two cycles a day, over a hundred fabrics, prices from $822 and $778.
- Lutron, Sivoia roller shades: 35 V Class 2 low voltage, less than 44 dBA at 3 ft, 1/8 in hembar alignment, QS Wired and QS Wireless, RadioRA 3, HomeWorks, myRoom XC, Quantum, Athena and Caséta PRO.
- Lutron, Sivoia QS roller shades: roller models rated by area, 8 ft on the Roller 64, 10 ft on the 100 and 150, 15 ft on the 225, coupling up to six fabric panels.
- Lutron motorized drapery tracks, D105, D145 and D175 capacities from Lutron's drapery documentation.
- Exotic Shades & Draperies published pricing, figures from our own quote engine, budgetary and before tax, October 2026.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Lutron Serena and Sivoia QS?
Power and who specifies it. Serena runs on D-cell batteries or a 12 V plug-in supply, is sold with published prices on Lutron's Serena site and is controlled by the Lutron app, Pico remotes and a Caséta hub. Sivoia QS runs on 35 V Class 2 low-voltage wiring back to a plug-in supply, a junction box or a centralized power panel, is specified and programmed by a Lutron dealer, and lives on RadioRA 3, HomeWorks, Athena, myRoom XC and Quantum. Both use the same Clear Connect radio and the same Lutron fabric library.
Is Serena just a Sivoia QS shade with a different name?
No. Serena shares its chassis with Triathlon, the battery dealer line, not with Sivoia QS. Lutron publishes one specification sheet for Serena and Triathlon roller shades: 19.5 to 108 in wide, D-cell alkaline batteries, 38 dBA measured 3 ft from the drive. Sivoia QS is a separate wired platform with its own drives, rated by the area of fabric they carry.
Can Serena shades be hardwired?
Yes, on 12 V. Lutron's Serena and Triathlon roller specification lists wired power models with a 15 ft power wire and a plug-in supply of 120 to 240 V in, 12 V and 5 A out. That is a different thing from Sivoia QS, which is wired at 35 V and can be fed from a central power panel so there is no transformer at any window.
How wide can each one go?
Lutron's Serena and Triathlon roller spec covers 19.5 in to 108 in wide on battery and wired power, and 19.5 to 63 in for the cordless manual version. The Serena site itself sells 19 7/8 to 96 in wide and up to 120 in tall, and says widths above 96 in need a professional installer. Sivoia QS is rated by area rather than width: Lutron's current page gives a single panel of 18.5 to 79.5 in depending on fabric and height, while its Sivoia QS roller tables run to 8 ft on the Roller 64, 10 ft on the Roller 100 and 150 and 15 ft on the Roller 225, with up to six fabric panels coupled under one drive. We confirm the size in Lutron's ordering tool on every quote.
Which one is quieter?
On Lutron's published figures, Serena. Its roller specification states 38 dBA measured 3 ft from the drive. Lutron states that Sivoia QS roller shades operate at less than 44 dBA at 3 ft. In a bedroom both are quiet; the difference you hear in practice comes from the pocket, the fascia and the fabric, not the number.
Do Serena shades work with RadioRA 3 or HomeWorks?
Lutron's shared specification sheet lists Caséta and Pico controls for Serena. The same chassis sold through dealers as Triathlon is what adds seeTouch RF keypads, GRAFIK Eye QS, RA2 Select, RadioRA 2 and 3 and HomeWorks QS and QSX. If the house is going on RadioRA 3 or HomeWorks, that is the version to specify.
Does Serena do drapery?
No. Lutron's motorized drapery track is part of Sivoia QS, built around the D105, D145 and D175 drives named for the 105, 145 and 175 lb they pull, on the same 35 V supply. Serena covers roller shades, honeycomb shades and wood blinds. Our motorized drapery tracks page sets out the Lutron track next to Somfy and Crestron.
What does each one cost?
They are not quoted the same way, so the numbers are not like for like. Lutron publishes Serena retail prices: from $822 for a 4 by 6 ft roller shade with fascia, $778 for the Open Roll version, $699 for a 3 by 5 ft wood blind. Our own quote engine publishes about $3,141 for one 72 by 84 in wired Lutron shade with its power panel, measured, installed and programmed, against about $1,910 for the same window on wired Somfy. Lutron battery shades are quoted after the measurement.
Can I start with Serena and move up later?
Partly. The fabrics carry over and the radio is the same, so the look does not change. The shades themselves do not convert: a battery Serena roller cannot be re-powered as a 35 V Sivoia QS shade. If a whole-home system is coming in two or three years, the cheaper decision is usually to wire the windows now and put Serena or Triathlon on the ones that cannot be reached.
Can you install and service a Serena shade bought online?
Yes. We measure before the order so the shade fits, then mount it, set the limits, pair the hub and program the Pico remotes and schedules. Our Lutron service and repair page covers shades already in the house, whoever supplied them.
Put a number on your own windows
Bring a floor plan or a window list, or book the free in-home consultation - we bring the samples, measure, and price the battery and the wired version of the same job side by side.