The Quietest Motorized Drapery Tracks: Every Maker's Noise Figure, Side by Side
Every brochure says whisper quiet. Here is what each maker actually publishes for its motorized drapery track, in decibels, with the mode, the distance and the document behind the number, and what you hear once the drapery is hung.
Which motorized drapery track is the quietest?
By the makers' own numbers, the lowest figures on a professional drapery track are Vertilux's VTi Celtic motors at 28 dB and Somfy's Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree at under 32 dBA in its discreet mode, with Rollease Automate's C1.2 at about 32 dB on its slowest speed, BTX's Aura at 34 dB, Somfy's wired Glydea ULTRA 35 and 60 at under 38 dBA in silent mode and Forest's Shuttle motors at under 40 dB(A). Lutron publishes a ceiling, no more than 50 dB measured 3 ft from the drive, and is one of only two makers to say where the microphone was (Silent Gliss is the other, on an older sheet). Crestron publishes no number and calls its brushless motor nearly imperceptible. The retrofit robots go lower still, SwitchBot's Curtain 3 at under 25 dB, by crawling slowly along the rod you already own.
Read the numbers with their conditions. They were not measured the same way, a silent mode is a slow mode, and on a finished drapery the motor is rarely what you hear: the carriers are. That is why the quietest track we install is a wired Somfy Glydea ULTRA in silent mode on Somfy's silent runners, or a Lutron Sivoia QS track in a Lutron home, set dead level in a pocket, and why the figures below are a guide, not a ranking.
- For scale: the American Academy of Audiology puts a whisper at 30 dB, a quiet library at 40, moderate rainfall at 50 and normal conversation at 60. A track in silent mode sits between the whisper and the library.
- Silent mode means slow: Somfy's runs at 2.95 in per second against 4.95 to 7.86 in standard; a 10 ft panel takes about 41 seconds instead of about 15.
- The carriers matter as much as the motor: Lutron's own specification says the finished track's sound depends on curtain style and carrier count, and Somfy sells a silent carrier set for that reason.
- No shared test: Lutron measures at 1 m, Silent Gliss measured at 30 cm, most makers do not say; Somfy's databook and product page give two different numbers for the same motor.
We are a Lutron Certified Dealer and a Somfy Expert, we also install Crestron and Forest tracks, and we sew the draperies that hang from them in our own workroom, so we have no reason to push one brand. Every figure on this page is linked to the maker's document under Sources; where a maker publishes nothing, the page says so instead of guessing.
How to read a noise claim on a drapery motor #
Five things decide what a number means. Most spec sheets state one or two of them.
1. The scale is logarithmic
Decibels do not add like inches. Doubling the sound energy adds only 3 dB, and a sound has to rise about 10 dB before people hear it as twice as loud (HyperPhysics, Georgia State University). So the gap between Somfy's 32 dBA and 38 dBA is clearly audible side by side but well short of twice as loud, and the gap between 28 and 54 dB on this page is enormous: if the two were measured the same way, which they may not have been, BTX's heavy-duty motors would be more than four times as loud to the ear as Vertilux's.
2. Where the microphone was
In the open, sound falls about 6 dB each time the distance doubles. Lutron's 50 dB is measured 3 ft (1 m) from the drive; Silent Gliss's 45 dBA was measured 30 cm (12 in) away, so by the free-field rule the same motor would read roughly 10 dB lower at 1 m. Rooms do not behave like open fields, so that is an illustration, not a conversion, but it shows why a figure without a distance cannot be ranked against one with it. Vertilux, BTX, Rollease, Forest, Somfy and SwitchBot state no distance.
3. dB or dBA
Most makers quote dBA, a weighting that follows what the ear is sensitive to. Lutron writes plain dB. For a motor's whirr the two are close, but they are not the same unit, and a sheet that mixes them is comparing apples to pears.
4. A ceiling or a typical level
"Under 38 dBA", "does not exceed 50 dB" and "under 40 dB(A)" are promises about the loudest the motor will be. "28 dB", "34 dB" and "about 32 dB" are presented as the figure, with no word on whether that is the loudest or the usual. A 50 dB ceiling can hide a motor that normally runs far quieter; a bare figure can hide a motor that is sometimes louder.
5. At what speed
The quiet number is usually the slow number. Somfy's silent mode is 2.95 in per second against a standard range of 4.95 to 7.86; the Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree's discreet mode is 2.9 in per second against a 5.9 default; Rollease quotes its 32 dB at the slowest of three speeds. On a 20 ft center-opening track each panel travels about 10 ft: around 41 seconds in silent mode, around 20 at Somfy's default, around 15 at its fastest. Crestron lets you teach the motor its speed by pulling the fabric at the pace you want.
6. The number is for the motor, not the drapery
Every figure above was taken from a motor, not from a finished window. Lutron's specification says it plainly: the sound of the finished track also depends on curtain style and carrier count. Coulisse has stopped printing decibels on its sheets altogether, because readings change with wall materials, furniture and microphone distance. Somfy's own documents give 32 dBA (databook, discreet mode) and 40 dB (product page) for the same Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree. Treat the gaps between brands as smaller than they look, and the conditions as the real information.
Every published noise figure on one scale #
Each dot is a maker's own published figure, placed at the number printed, with its condition beside it. The reference marks are the American Academy of Audiology's everyday sounds. Lower is quieter; a dot's position says nothing about how the figure was measured, which is why the condition is printed with every one.
Not on the scale because the maker publishes no number: Crestron Digital QMT ("nearly imperceptible"), Silent Gliss 5600 ("the world's most silent curtain track system", in Silent Gliss's words), Goelst 6200 ("ultra-quiet"), Coulisse Motionblinds (which dropped decibels from its sheets on purpose), Dooya's curtain motors and the Aqara Curtain Driver E1. A missing number is not a loud motor; it is a maker that decided not to measure in public.
Every brand's motorized drapery track: noise, speed, weight #
Seventeen systems from thirteen makers, as they publish them. Weights are the maker's maximum drapery weight on a straight track; curved tracks carry less on every brand. The link under each name opens the document the row was taken from.
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| System and power | Published noise | How it is stated | Speed | Max drapery weight | Quiet features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracks we install | |||||
| Somfy Glydea ULTRA 35 and 60 Wired, 90 to 240 V maker's document | Under 38 dBA in silent mode (Drapery Databook, Aug 2026); the product pages print 38 dB | Mode stated, distance not stated; a ceiling | 2.95 in/s in silent mode; 4.95 to 7.86 in/s standard, adjustable | 77 lb (ULTRA 35) or 132 lb (ULTRA 60); 154 or 264 lb with two motors | Silent mode, soft start and stop, belt drive, touch motion; the only track here with a silent carrier set |
| Somfy Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree Zigbee Rechargeable 21.9 V lithium battery, USB-C maker's document | Under 32 dBA in discreet (silent) mode (Databook); the product page prints 40 dB | Mode stated, distance not stated; a ceiling | 2.9 in/s in discreet mode; 5.9 in/s default, adjustable 4.9 to 6.89 in/s in the app | 110 lb, side or center opening | Discreet mode, soft start and stop, touch motion with two sensitivities, speed set in the app |
| Somfy Irismo 45 WireFree and Irismo 35 Mini DC Battery (Irismo 45) or 24 V plug-in (Irismo 35) maker's document | Under 44 dBA (Databook); the product pages print 39 dB | No mode or distance stated; a ceiling | 4.9 to 7.9 in/s (12.5 to 20 cm/s), adjustable | 99 lb (Irismo 45) or 77 lb (Irismo 35); 198 or 154 lb with two motors | Soft start and stop, adjustable speed, touch motion with two sensitivities |
| Lutron Sivoia QS drapery (D105, D145, D175) Wired, 35 V Lutron supply maker's document | Does not exceed 50 dB measured 3 ft (1 m) from the drive (spec 086123k) | Distance stated, which only Lutron and Silent Gliss do; dB, not dBA; a ceiling | 6 in/s master carrier, one speed | 105 lb (D105), 145 lb (D145), 175 lb (D175) on a straight track | Smooth and quiet Electronic Drive Unit, pull-to-start, every track in the home in sync; Lutron notes the finished track also depends on curtain style and carrier count |
| Crestron Digital QMT drapery motor (CSM-QMTDC-DRP-3) Wired, 24 V Cresnet or infiNET EX maker's document | No figure; "nearly imperceptible operation" | Words only | 10 to 50 rpm; the speed is learned by pulling the fabric at the pace you want | 145 lb on a straight single track to 240 in; 290 lb tandem (CSS-DRAPERY) | Brushless motor, Digital Quiet Motor Technology, Touch Motion, obstruction detection |
| Forest Shuttle HD, Eco and iOn 24 V plug-in (HD, Eco) or 14.8 V battery (iOn) maker's document | Under 40 dB(A), the same figure for all three | Distance not stated; a ceiling | 5.5 in/s standard, 7 in/s maximum | 160 lb (HD), 100 lb (Eco), 55 lb (iOn); 120, 90 and 40 lb on a curved track | Touch control, RS485 and dry contact for automation |
| Our Essential motorized track (Dooya motor) Dooya motor; Dooya makes mains and battery curtain motors maker's document | No figure: Dooya publishes none for its curtain motors (2025 catalogue) | Nothing stated | 4.7 to 5.5 in/s (12 to 14 cm/s); speed regulation on the mains motors | Dooya rates its curtain motors at 110 lb (1.2 Nm) or 220 lb (2 Nm) | Manual override, pull-to-start on some models |
| Other professional systems | |||||
| Silent Gliss 5100 (SG 5190 motor) Wired, 100 to 240 V maker's document | Under 45 dBA at 30 cm, on Silent Gliss's product information sheet; the 2026 brochures print no figure | Distance stated: 30 cm (12 in), the closest microphone on this page; a ceiling | 5.9 in/s (15 cm/s), constant | 55 lb (25 kg); tracks to 29.5 ft (Silent Gliss America) | Soft start and stop, Touch and Go, manual override; Silent Gliss's electric tracks are Quiet Mark listed in the UK |
| Silent Gliss 5600 (SG 9060 motor) Wired, 100 to 250 V AC or 24 V DC maker's document | No figure; "The World's most silent curtain track system" | Words only | Not published | 143 lb (65 kg); tracks to 82 ft | "Quiet, fast and powerful motor", roller technology, bracket-free ceiling fixing |
| Rollease Acmeda Automate C1.2 drapery motor Wired, 100 to 120 V maker's document | About 32 dB at the slowest of its three speed settings (product guide, Nov 2025) | Mode stated, distance not stated | 120 rpm with three speed settings; no in/s figure | Just over 110 lb (50 kg); drapes to 39 ft | Soft close, pull to operate, two-way ARC radio with position feedback |
| Vertilux VTi Celtic drapery motors, 1 Nm and 2 Nm Wired, 100 to 240 V input with a built-in 24 V transformer maker's document | 28 dB, both motors | No distance or mode stated | 6.3 in/s (16 cm/s) for the 1 Nm; 4.7 in/s (12 cm/s) for the 2 Nm | 88 lb (1 Nm) or 132 lb (2 Nm); 198 or 298 lb with two motors | Electronic limits, 433.92 MHz radio |
| BTX 5060 Aura Wired, 24 V DC maker's document | 34 dB (BTX drapery brochure, Jan 2024) | No distance stated | Speed control, no figure | 120 lb; tracks to 36 ft | Soft start, soft stop, speed control, SmartTouch |
| BTX Tumo HD and Classic 45 W / 65 W 24 V DC wired or rechargeable (Tumo HD); 110 V (Classic) maker's document | 53 dB (Tumo HD, both versions); 54 dB (Classic 45 W and 65 W) | No distance stated; the honest high end of the page | Not published | Tumo HD 120 lb (160 tandem), rechargeable 100 lb; Classic 160 and 225 lb (280 and 350 tandem) | SmartTouch; the heavy pullers of the range |
| Goelst 6200 with G-Motion Wired maker's document | No figure; "ultra-quiet", "Silent and Smooth running, also around bends" | Words only | Not published | Not published; tracks of 4 to 7 m (13 to 23 ft) | Bends horizontally and vertically; a Dutch system sold through the UK and Europe |
| Coulisse Motionblinds curtain motors Battery, USB-C maker's document | No figure. Coulisse says it dropped dB from its sheets because readings change with wall materials, furniture and microphone distance | Deliberately none | Not published for the curtain kit | Not published | Soft start and stop and variable speed on Motionblinds motors; Bluetooth, app, remote; smart home through a Wi-Fi bridge |
| Retrofit robots that ride on your existing rod or track | |||||
| SwitchBot Curtain 3 Battery, USB-C; optional solar panel maker's document | Below 25 dB in QuietDrift mode; up to 45 dB in normal mode | No distance or method stated; QuietDrift must be on | Slower in QuietDrift; SwitchBot gives no figure | 33 lb (15 kg); one robot per 10 ft (3 m) of track | Rod, U rail or I rail; SwitchBot notes the battery drains quickly in QuietDrift |
| Aqara Curtain Driver E1 (track version) Battery, 6,000 mAh, USB-C maker's document | No figure | Nothing stated | 4.7 in/s (12 cm/s) | 26 lb (12 kg) | Zigbee 3.0, light sensor; U rail or I rail |
What each maker's figure tells you #
Somfy
Two numbers for every motor, and a silent carrier set
Somfy's Drapery Databook gives mode-specific ceilings: under 38 dBA for the wired Glydea ULTRA 35 and 60 in silent mode, under 32 dBA for the battery Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree in discreet mode, under 44 dBA for the Irismo 35 and 45. Its product pages print 38, 40 and 39 dB for the same motors without naming a mode. Both are Somfy; the difference is the speed. Somfy is also the only maker on this page we found selling a quieter carrier set for the same track, which matters more than the motor figure. Glydea ULTRA prices · Irismo prices.
Lutron
One of two makers that say where the microphone was
Lutron's drapery chassis specification promises a drive that does not exceed 50 dB measured 3 ft (1 m) away, running one speed, 6 in per second, with every track in the home moving in sync. It is the strictest statement on the page, a maximum at a stated distance (only Silent Gliss also names one), and it comes with a footnote the others leave out: the finished track's sound also depends on curtain style and carrier count. Lutron drapery tracks.
Crestron
Brushless, no number
Crestron publishes no decibel figure for its Digital QMT drapery motor and describes it as nearly imperceptible. What it does publish is the engineering: a brushless motor, 24 V, 10 to 50 rpm, with the speed taught by pulling the fabric at the pace you want and position feedback to the control system. On our Trump Tower III install the pocketed Crestron track carries a wall-to-wall sheer in the primary suite. Crestron drapery track.
Forest
One figure for the whole range
Forest prints under 40 dB(A) for the 24 V Shuttle HD and Eco and for the battery Shuttle iOn alike, with 5.5 in per second standard and 7 in per second maximum, and a weight rating that drops on a curved track (160 to 120 lb on the HD). Honest and simple, without a distance. Forest motorized tracks and rods.
Silent Gliss
The name says silent; the sheets say little
Silent Gliss, the Swiss company that built its brand on quiet tracks, publishes almost no numbers. Its UK product information for the 5100 gives under 45 dBA at 30 cm, the closest microphone on this page and so a harsher test than anyone else's; the 2026 brochures drop the figure and call the 5600 "the world's most silent curtain track system". Its electric tracks carry the UK Quiet Mark. The 5100 is rated 55 lb, the 5600 143 lb.
Vertilux and BTX
The lowest and the highest numbers, from two hardware houses
Vertilux, in Miami, prints 28 dB for both its VTi Celtic drapery motors (88 and 132 lb), the lowest figure for a professional track here, with no distance. BTX prints the full honest spread of its range: 34 dB for the 24 V Aura with soft start, soft stop and speed control, 53 dB for the Tumo HD and 54 dB for the 110 V Classic motors that pull 160 to 225 lb. Strength and quiet pull in opposite directions on every maker's sheet; BTX is the one that shows it.
Rollease Acmeda
Quiet at the slowest of three speeds
The Automate C1.2 drapery motor publishes about 32 dB at the lowest of its three speed settings, on 100 to 120 V, for drapes just over 110 lb and up to 39 ft, with soft close and a two-way radio that reports position. Rollease says which speed the figure belongs to; most makers do not.
Dooya, Coulisse, Goelst
No published figure
Dooya, the Chinese maker whose motors power many budget tracks including our Essential track, publishes torque, load and speed (12 to 14 cm/s) for its curtain motors but no decibels. Coulisse, the Dutch Motionblinds company, dropped decibels from its sheets on purpose and says why. Goelst, also Dutch, calls its 6200 track ultra-quiet and leaves it there. None of that makes them loud; it makes them unmeasured in public.
SwitchBot and Aqara
Quiet because they are small and slow
The retrofit robots clamp onto the rod or track you already have and walk the curtain along it. SwitchBot's Curtain 3 prints under 25 dB in QuietDrift and up to 45 dB at normal speed; Aqara prints nothing for the Curtain Driver E1. They move 26 to 33 lb per robot, and what you hear is also your own rings or gliders dragging on the rod, which no robot can fix. A fine answer for a light curtain; the wrong tool for a lined drapery across a wall of glass.
What you actually hear when a motorized drapery moves #
A motorized drapery is six sound sources, and the spec sheet measures one of them.
The motor and its gearbox
The whirr the brochure measures. The gear train matters as much as the motor: Dooya's own catalogue rates its helical-gear tubular motors a dozen decibels quieter than its standard-gear ones, Crestron builds its drapery motor brushless, and Somfy credits its "motor design and advanced high-performance belt drive" for its figure. A motor working near its weight limit works harder, which is one reason we size the motor with headroom over the panel we weighed.
The belt and the pulleys
A toothed belt runs the length of the channel over a drive pulley and a return pulley. A belt tensioned right runs quietly; one too loose can slap the channel, one too tight loads the motor. It is set at installation and checked whenever a track is serviced.
The carriers
Dozens of small wheels rolling through an aluminum channel. A 20 ft ripplefold track at 100 percent fullness carries about 113 runners at 2 1/8 in spacing; a pinch pleat track far fewer, one per pleat. Lutron's specification names carrier count as a factor in the finished sound, and Somfy's silent runners exist because this is where the noise is. In our installs, Somfy, Lutron or Crestron, the carriers make more noise than the motor.
The track and what it is screwed to
The channel is a long aluminum beam, and the ceiling or wall it is fixed to becomes part of the instrument. A track set dead level and fixed firmly has nothing to rattle; one that sags between brackets or hangs on a loose anchor adds a sound no motor figure predicts.
Speed
Every quiet figure on this page was taken slow. Silent and discreet modes, Rollease's lowest setting, Crestron's learned speed and BTX Aura's speed control all trade seconds for silence. A drapery that opens at sunrise over someone asleep should run slow; one that closes for a film can run fast.
Starting and stopping
The thud at the end of travel is the panel arriving, not the motor. Soft start and soft stop (Somfy, Silent Gliss, Rollease's soft close, BTX Aura, Coulisse) ease the leading edge into the stack and the master carriers into each other at the center. Lutron's drive is specified to start, move and stop with precision; Crestron's motor stops on an obstruction.
And the room
The same track is louder in a Florida condo bedroom with tile floors, a glass wall and nothing soft in it than in a carpeted theatre lined with velvet, because hard surfaces return the sound. The time of day matters too: a 38 dBA track is a presence in a silent room at night and nothing at all in a living room with a conversation going on. When a client asks us for the quietest drapery, the honest answer starts with which room and when.
How we specify a quiet motorized drapery #
Our practice What we do on every bedroom, theatre and media room track. The visit settles the rest.
- Weigh the panel, measure the run, template the bend. The motor is chosen for the drapery we are going to sew, with headroom, and written into the quote by model: a Glydea ULTRA 60 for a heavy lined panel, an ULTRA 35 or an Irismo for a sheer, a Lutron D145 or D175 in a Lutron home, and never a motor near its limit.
- Wire it when the walls are open. A wired Glydea ULTRA brings silent mode, the heaviest ratings and the home's keypads; a battery Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree brings discreet mode where there is no power at the head. Which one is a question of power, not of quiet.
- Specify the silent runners. On Somfy tracks in bedrooms, theatres, media rooms and on any drapery that moves on a schedule while people are in the room, the carrier set is Somfy's RippleFold Silent Runners or the silent pinch pleat runner with the silent master carrier (white only; a black track runs on standard black carriers).
- Set the speed for the room. Silent or discreet mode on scheduled sunrise and bedtime moves; a faster setting on a living room drapery you open when guests arrive. Crestron tracks learn their speed from a pull of the fabric; Lutron tracks run their one synchronised speed.
- Fix it level and tight. Tracks set dead level over the opening and fixed firmly, belt tensioned, in a ceiling pocket where the plans allow, so the fabric starts at the ceiling line and nothing is left to rattle.
- Program it, then listen to it. Limits, soft stops and the center meeting of the masters are set on site with the drapery hung, because the number that matters is the one in your room, not the one on the sheet.
Quiet tracks we have installed #
Somfy, Lutron and Crestron drapery tracks in South Florida homes, measured, sewn, installed and programmed by our own team.
Quiet drapery tracks: questions
What is the quietest motorized curtain track? #
By the makers' own published figures, the lowest numbers on a professional drapery track are Vertilux's VTi Celtic motors at 28 dB and Somfy's Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree at under 32 dBA in its discreet mode, followed by Rollease Automate's C1.2 at about 32 dB on its slowest speed, BTX's Aura at 34 dB, Somfy's wired Glydea ULTRA 35 and 60 at under 38 dBA in silent mode and Forest's Shuttle at under 40 dB(A). The retrofit robots go lower still, SwitchBot's Curtain 3 at under 25 dB in QuietDrift, by moving slowly on your existing rod. These figures were not measured the same way, so they are a guide, not a ranking; the quiet modes are slow modes; and on a finished drapery the carriers are usually what you hear, not the motor.
How loud is a motorized drapery track in decibels? #
The published figures run from 28 dB (Vertilux) to 54 dB (BTX's heavy-duty 110 V Classic motors), with most of the premium tracks between 32 and 45 dB in their quiet settings and Lutron promising no more than 50 dB measured 3 ft from the drive. For scale, the American Academy of Audiology puts a whisper at 30 dB, a quiet library at 40, moderate rainfall at 50 and normal conversation at 60. A track in silent mode sits between a whisper and a library.
Is a Lutron or a Somfy drapery track quieter? #
On paper Somfy publishes the lower numbers: under 38 dBA for the wired Glydea ULTRA in silent mode and under 32 dBA for the Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree in discreet mode, against Lutron's ceiling of 50 dB measured 3 ft from the drive. But Lutron is the only one of the two that says where its microphone was, and it publishes a maximum rather than a typical level, so the two figures do not compare directly. Lutron's drive runs one speed, 6 in per second; Somfy's silent figures are at 2.9 in per second. In our installs both are quiet; the carriers make more noise than either motor.
Are battery drapery motors quieter than wired ones? #
Not as a rule. Somfy's battery Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree publishes a lower figure (under 32 dBA, discreet mode) than its wired Glydea ULTRA (under 38 dBA, silent mode), while its battery Irismo 45 and plug-in Irismo 35 share the same under 44 dBA, and Forest's battery iOn carries the same under 40 dB(A) as its wired HD and Eco. BTX publishes 53 dB for both the wired and the rechargeable Tumo HD. The quiet comes from the motor design, the speed and the carriers, not from the power source.
What does "silent mode" on a drapery motor actually do? #
It slows the motor down. Somfy's silent mode runs the Glydea ULTRA at 2.95 in per second (7.5 cm/s) against 4.95 to 7.86 in per second in standard mode, and the Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree's discreet mode at 2.9 in per second against a 5.9 in per second default. On a 20 ft center-opening track each panel travels about 10 ft, so silent mode takes about 41 seconds against about 15 seconds at Somfy's fastest standard speed. Rollease quotes its 32 dB at the slowest of three speeds for the same reason. We set silent mode on draperies that move on a schedule while people are in the room.
Do silent runners make a difference? #
Yes, because the carriers are the part of a motorized drapery you hear most: dozens of them rolling through an aluminum channel every time the panel moves. Lutron's own specification notes that the sound of a finished track depends on curtain style and carrier count, not the drive alone. Somfy is the only maker on this page with a quieter carrier set for the same track: RippleFold Silent Runners in 80, 100 and 120 percent fullness, a silent pinch pleat runner and a silent master carrier, listed in white only. We specify them in bedrooms, theatres and media rooms.
Is a SwitchBot or Aqara curtain robot quiet enough for a bedroom? #
SwitchBot publishes under 25 dB in QuietDrift mode and up to 45 dB in normal mode for the Curtain 3; Aqara publishes no figure for the Curtain Driver E1. Both are small motors that ride on your existing rod or track, so what you hear is also your own rings or gliders dragging along that rod, which no robot can quiet. They move up to 33 lb (SwitchBot) or 26 lb (Aqara), one robot per panel, and SwitchBot says its battery drains quickly in the quiet mode. For a light curtain on a smooth rod they can be very quiet; for a lined or wide drapery they are the wrong tool.
Why do the makers' noise figures disagree so much? #
Because there is no shared test. Lutron measures 3 ft from the drive; Silent Gliss measured 30 cm away; most makers do not say. Some figures are A-weighted (dBA), Lutron's is plain dB. Some are ceilings ("under 38", "does not exceed 50"), others are presented as the figure (28 dB, 34 dB). Some are taken in a slow quiet mode, others at normal speed, and Somfy's own documents give two numbers for the same motor, 32 dBA in discreet mode in its databook and 40 dB on the product page. Coulisse has stopped printing decibels on its sheets for exactly this reason: readings change with wall materials, furniture and microphone distance. Read every figure with its conditions, and treat the gaps between brands as smaller than they look.
Does a ceiling pocket make a motorized track quieter? #
Nobody publishes a figure for a pocketed track, so we will not invent one. A pocket hides the track and lets the drapery hang from the ceiling line; what it does to the sound depends on how firmly and how level the track is fixed inside it, which is why ours are set dead level and fixed firmly to the pocket framing before the drywall closes. A track that is level and tight has nothing to rattle, in a pocket or out of one.
Can an existing motorized drapery track be made quieter? #
Often. Slow it down if the motor has speed settings (Somfy Glydea ULTRA, Crestron, Rollease, BTX Aura all do). Switch a Somfy track to the silent carrier set. Check that the track is level, the brackets tight and the belt tensioned. Replace carriers whose wheels have worn flat. And if the motor itself is the noise, a tired motor on a track that is still good can usually be swapped for a current one; see our motor programming guide or ask us to look at it.
Where the figures come from #
All documents accessed 14 October 2026. Figures are quoted as each maker prints them, with the maker's unit (dB or dBA) and condition; we have not converted or rounded them. Makers revise their sheets, and we will update this page when a figure changes.
- Somfy, Drapery Databook, 4 August 2026: Glydea ULTRA 35 and 60 (under 38 dBA at silent mode, 2.95 in/s silent, 4.95 to 7.86 in/s standard, 77 and 132 lb), Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree Zigbee (under 32 dBA at silent mode, discreet 2.9 in/s, default 5.9 in/s, 110 lb), Irismo 35 and Irismo 45 WireFree (under 44 dBA, 12.5 to 20 cm/s, 77 and 99 lb), silent runners and silent master carrier
- Somfy product pages, Glydea ULTRA 35 Wired Motor: "Noise level (dB) 38 dB" (the ULTRA 60 page prints the same)
- Somfy product page, Glydea ULTRA 50 WireFree Zigbee: "Noise level (dB) 40 dB"
- Somfy product pages, Irismo 45 WireFree RTS and Irismo 35 Mini DC: "Noise level (dB) 39 dB"
- Somfy, Glydea ULTRA brochure (April 2019): "less than 38 dBA", "38 dBA at silent mode", speed 4.9 to 7.86 in/s, silent 2.95 in/s
- Somfy, Irismo brochure (October 2016): "quiet operation (<44dBA)"
- Lutron, drapery chassis specification 086123k (10.02.25): EDU "does not exceed 50 dB measured 3 ft (1 m)", master carrier 6 in/s, and the note that sound performance of the finished track depends on curtain style and carrier count
- Lutron, Sivoia drapery product page
- Crestron, specification sheet CSM-QMTDC-DRP-3-CN: brushless motor, Digital Quiet Motor Technology, "nearly imperceptible operation", 24 V, 1.62 Nm, 10 to 50 rpm
- Crestron, specification sheet CSS-DRAPERY: 145 lb single to 240 in, 290 lb tandem to 480 in
- Forest Drapery Hardware, 2025 Shuttle specifications and controls roadmap: HD 160 lb, Eco 100 lb, iOn 55 lb, 5.5 in/s standard, 7 in/s maximum, noise level under 40 dB(A)
- Silent Gliss, 5100 Autoglide product information (UK): speed 15 cm/s, "< 45 dBA (30cm)", SG 5190 motor 1.0 Nm, 72 W
- Silent Gliss America, Motorized Track: SG-5100 55 lb to 29.5 ft; SG-5600 143 lb to 82 ft, "The World's most silent curtain track system"
- Silent Gliss UK, Electric Curtain Track Systems brochure (08/2026): SG 5100 and SG 5600 data, "Quiet, fast and powerful motor"; no decibel figure
- Quiet Mark, Silent Gliss Electric Curtain Track Systems (certified product listing)
- Rollease Acmeda, Automate C1.2 drapery motor MTACRFDR-50KG product guide v1.0 (November 2025): 1.2 Nm, 120 rpm, three speed settings, about 32 dB at the lowest, just over 110 lb, drapes to 39 ft, 100 to 120 V, ARC 433.92 MHz
- Vertilux, VTi Celtic drapery motor 2 Nm 80 rpm 24 VDC (6-700-DM-00073): 132 lb, 12 cm/s, 28 dB
- Vertilux, VTi Celtic drapery motor 1 Nm (6-700-DM-00063): 88 lb, 16 cm/s, 28 dB, 120 V
- BTX, drapery brochure (26 January 2024): 5060 Aura 34 dB 120 lb; Tumo HD 53 dB 120 lb (160 tandem); Tumo HD Rechargeable 53 dB 100 lb; Classic 45 W 54 dB 160 lb; Classic 65 W 54 dB 225 lb
- Dooya, 2025 interior product catalogue: curtain motors DT20, DT72 and DT82 series, 1.2 Nm 50 kg and 2 Nm 100 kg, 12 to 14 cm/s, speed regulation on the mains motors; no decibel figure for curtain motors
- Coulisse, Absolute Silence: Coulisse no longer publishes decibel figures on its spec sheets because results vary with wall materials, furniture and microphone distance
- Goelst UK, 6200 electrically operated curtain track with G-Motion: "ultra-quiet", "Silent and Smooth running, also around bends", 4,000 to 7,000 mm
- SwitchBot, Curtain 3: below 25 dB with QuietDrift on, up to 45 dB in normal mode, 15 kg, one unit per 3 m of track, battery drains quickly in QuietDrift
- Aqara, Curtain Driver E1 track version: 12 kg maximum, up to one year per charge from a 6,000 mAh battery, U rail and I rail; specifications page: 12 cm/s, 0.2 Nm, Zigbee 3.0
- American Academy of Audiology, sound level chart: 30 dB whisper, 40 dB quiet library, 50 dB moderate rainfall, 60 dB normal conversation
- HyperPhysics, Georgia State University, inverse square law for sound: doubling the distance drops the level about 6 dB in the open, a 10 dB increase is heard as about twice as loud, and the rule does not hold inside rooms
Discerning homeowners, designers, and developers across South Florida trust Exotic with their most important spaces.
“I’m absolutely blown away and in love with my ripple food curtains !! Everything about them from the install to the fabric and quality . My house feels so much more like a home I couldn’t have asked for anything better . I recommend to everybody !”
“I couldn’t believe how much of a change these new drapes could make! This company upgraded my apartment overlooking the water and it now has a fresh, art deco’ish vibe I can only picture in my head. The space feels modern and elegant without losing its at home feeling. From start to finish top notch work. I highly recommend them if you want your place to look like something out of a magazine.”
“I’m really happy with my new curtains! The team from Exotic Shades came to my place helped me choose the right fabric, and guided me through the whole process. Everything happened exactly as it was supposed to. Great service and beautiful results. Highly recommend A+”
Exotic Shades & Draperies, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach
Exotic Shades & Draperies is a South Florida window-treatment company that designs, sews and installs its own work: Lutron and Somfy motorized shades, custom draperies sewn in our Fort Lauderdale workroom by five in-house seamstresses, plantation shutters and blinds. Established in South Florida in 2024, backed by more than 20 years of window-treatment manufacturing and installation experience. Lutron certified dealer, Somfy Expert, Crestron and Control4 integration. The same in-house team measures, installs and programs every project; when shading has to integrate with another control system, we bring in our smart-home partner Adom Smart Home.
Fort Lauderdale workroom and showroom
4539 Powerline Rd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 · 954-881-9331
Miami Beach showroom
500 South Pointe Dr #150, Miami Beach, FL 33139 · 954-872-9007
Where we install
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties: Miami Beach, Sunny Isles and Aventura through Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach to Boca Raton, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach, with projects in the Caribbean and New York.
How a project runs
Free in-home measurement, a written quote from the same engine as our published prices, fabrication in our own workroom, installation and programming by our own team, and service on the systems we install.
Quiet motorized drapery tracks from Miami to Palm Beach
Somfy Glydea and Irismo, Lutron Sivoia QS, Crestron and Forest drapery tracks, straight, bent or curved, exposed or in a ceiling pocket, with the drapery sewn in our Fort Lauderdale workroom and the motor, the mode and the runners specified for the room. The same in-house team measures, installs and programs from Miami Beach to West Palm Beach.
Want to hear the difference before you choose?
One free hour with our team routinely saves owners thousands in avoidable mistakes. Book a private, complimentary consultation - we weigh the panel, specify the motor, the mode and the runners for your room, and write all three into the quote.