Lutron Sivoia QS vs Triathlon vs Serena vs Palladiom
Sivoia QS is Lutron's wired line for any window from 20 inches to 20 feet. Triathlon is the wire-free dealer line on D batteries rated at three to five years. Serena is the same radio sold direct; Palladiom is the exposed roller. Exotic Shades & Draperies, a Lutron certified dealer in Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, installs all four.
Same radio, same fabrics, different jobs
Every Lutron shade line rides the same Clear Connect radio and the same fabric library, so the choice is about power, size and who specifies it. Sivoia QS is the construction-grade line: wired low-voltage power, widths from 20 inches to 20 feet, coupling brackets, side channels and recessed pockets, and the shade that Lutron's Athena and myRoom XC commercial and hospitality systems are built around.
Triathlon is the wire-free line for finished homes: roller, Roman, honeycomb and wood blinds on replaceable D batteries that Lutron rates at three to five years, with a wired option for hard-to-reach windows, and native to Caséta, RadioRA 3 and HomeWorks. Serena is Lutron's direct-to-consumer version with Pico remotes, the Lutron app and Alexa, Google and Apple Home. Palladiom is the design line: an exposed roller with the mechanism on show, wire-free or wired.
The four Lutron shade lines
| Sivoia QS | Triathlon | Serena | Palladiom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Wired low-voltage (QS link); wireless Clear Connect versions | D batteries (three to five years, Lutron); wired option | D batteries; the same App Note 561 assumptions apply | Wire-free or wired |
| Size | 20 in to 20 ft, coupled runs, side channels, pockets | Residential window sizes; roller, Roman, honeycomb, wood blind | Roller and honeycomb, standard residential sizes | Exposed roller, residential and hospitality |
| Systems | HomeWorks, RadioRA 3, Athena, myRoom XC | Caséta, RadioRA 3, HomeWorks | Caséta, RadioRA 3, HomeWorks; Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home | HomeWorks, RadioRA 3 |
| How it is bought | Specified and installed by a Lutron dealer | Specified and installed by a Lutron dealer | Direct online, or through a dealer | Specified and installed by a Lutron dealer |
| Where we use it | New construction, glass walls, commercial, hospitality, recessed pockets | Retrofits, condos, most residential projects, including a Boca Raton home with fourteen Triathlon rollers behind architectural fascia | Single rooms, first shades, homes on Caséta | Rooms where the roller is meant to be seen |
Lutron facts from lutron.com (Sivoia and Triathlon pages), Lutron Application Note 561 and serenashades.com. Line names and positions change over time; we confirm the current specification on every quote.
Four questions decide it
Is there power at the window?
Wired power before drywall points to Sivoia QS or wired Triathlon and Palladiom; no wiring points to Triathlon or Serena on D cells.
How big is the glass?
Anything past standard residential sizes, coupled runs across sliders, or side channels for blackout: Sivoia QS.
What runs the house?
HomeWorks or RadioRA 3 homes take any line natively. Caséta homes take Triathlon and Serena. Integrator-run homes on Crestron, Control4 or Savant are built on Sivoia QS through HomeWorks.
Is the roller part of the design?
Palladiom shows the mechanism as a finished object; every other line hides behind a fascia or in a pocket. See our recessed treatments for the fully hidden version.
What about the fabric?
The same. Every line draws on the Lutron fabric library, 921 colourways that we carry in full: solar screens, light-filtering, sheer, blackout and honeycomb.
Cost
Lutron prices as one tier in our engine, roughly 1.6 times the same project on wired Somfy; see cost by system. The line changes the number less than the size and the power plan do.
Where these figures come from
- Lutron, Sivoia motorized shades, blinds and drapery (lutron.com).
- Lutron, Triathlon shades and blinds (lutron.com).
- Lutron Application Note 561, Optimizing Battery Life in Lutron Shades, rev. F, October 2024.
- Serena Shades by Lutron (serenashades.com).
- Lutron fabric specifications (lutronfabrics.com), values as published for each colourway, retrieved September 2026.
- Exotic Shades & Draperies published pricing, figures from our own quote engine, budgetary and before tax, September 2026.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Sivoia QS and Triathlon?
Sivoia QS is Lutron's wired, specification-grade line: low-voltage power, 20 inches to 20 feet, coupled runs, side channels and pockets, and the shade behind Lutron's commercial and hospitality systems. Triathlon is the wire-free dealer line on replaceable D batteries rated by Lutron at three to five years, for finished homes and retrofits.
Is Serena the same as Triathlon?
They share the Clear Connect radio, the D-battery approach and the Caséta, RadioRA 3 and HomeWorks systems. Serena is sold direct to consumers with Pico remotes and the Lutron app; Triathlon is specified and installed through Lutron dealers with a wider range of styles, including Roman shades and wood blinds, and a wired option.
How long do Triathlon batteries last?
Lutron states three to five years on easy-to-replace D batteries. Its battery-life application note assumes two up-and-down cycles a day for Triathlon and Serena roller shades.
What is Palladiom?
Lutron's design line: an exposed roller shade where the hardware is meant to be seen, in wire-free and wired versions, for HomeWorks and RadioRA 3 homes.
Which Lutron line works with Alexa and Apple Home?
All of them, through the Lutron system they belong to: Serena and Triathlon on a Caséta bridge, and every line on RadioRA 3 or HomeWorks. Serena's site lists Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home directly.
Can you use any fabric on any line?
Yes. The Lutron fabric library serves every line; the fabric decides light, view and darkness, the line decides power and size.
Weigh it in your own light
Bring a floor plan or a window list, or book the free in-home consultation - we bring the samples, measure, and put a written number on each option.