Question

I have battery operated motorized shades. Some take (8) AA, some take (16) AA. Obviously, that sucks. Can you guys help me figure out a power adapter I can use? Thanks!  

Answer 1

Check the documentation for voltage

Answer 2

8AA would need a 12. 5V DC adapter at a couple amps. (8 x 1. 56V) You would need a 24V adapter for 16 batteries. A typical AA alkaline cell is rated at 1800–2850 ma., so I'd get an adapter rated at 4A to be safe.  

Comments

@nitrate9192 thanks!  

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@nitrate9192 do they make them with mini usb or would I need an adapter?  

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Probably, but my guess is that a mini-USB port on those actuators is for recharging. Check the manual. Not sure it would handle the current needed to operate the motors. If so, you could solder the power supply wires to the battery terminals inside the units.  

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@nitrate9192 the picture shown goes directly into the shade. Theres a battery pack that plug into this female plug

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Then you could cut off the existing plug on the power brick and splice it to a mini-usb cable. I don't see any adapters with a 4A rating that come with a mini-USB plug.  

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I'm not familiar with the voltage requirements of motorized blinds, but does this assume the AA's are all in series? If the 16 AA's were set up as, say, 2 8-AA sets in parallel, they would have half the voltage, right?  

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@cineaste69252, @haug77 brings up a good point. The one with 16 batteries may have two sets of 8 in parallel. You'll need to determine how the units are wired internally. You don't want to hook 24 volts to a device that expects 12V!  

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@nitrate9192 yes, there are 2 8 AA bricks in series