Dreaming of a world where you can use your voice to answer your door, change the temperature or turn on the lights? Amazon has designed one for you. Building a smart home with Alexa is no longer limited to the tech savvy. The retail giant is making it easier every day to build the smart home of your dreams and voice control your home using Alexa-enabled devices. Here are 6 easy ways to start turning your house into a smart home.
The possibilities are endless when you pair home appliances with a smart plug and connect with an Alexa-enabled device. Hate entering a dark room? Plug your lamp into a smart outlet like the TP-Link Smart Plug and ask, “Alexa, turn on the living room light.” Want the coffee pot turned on as soon as you wake up? With smart outlets, you can turn it on from bed while you’re browsing the day’s calendar on your phone or set up smart timers to have your devices turn on around your schedule.
Create ambiance in your home with smart lighting. You can use colored smart bulbs, dimmers, and light strips to create timers and scenes. Wake up to a soothing sunrise, set the perfect reading light, or go for something more dramatic for a movie night or party. Set timers around your schedule so that the lights turn off when you’re not at home. And if you forget to turn off the lights at night after you’ve already crawled into bed, simply ask, “Alexa, turn off the hallway light.” There is a huge variety of smart lights that work with Alexa and you can also choose switches and other accessories.
Building a smart home isn’t just about having the latest technology – it helps keep your home and family secure. Smart cameras are easy to install, work inside or outside, and give you the option of choosing the alerts you want to know about. A smart camera can help you detect unexpected movement at the front door, check on pets, and even make sure your children are sleeping. And with Echo Show, you can simply ask, “Alexa, show me the baby’s room” for instant video feed. The highest rated smart camera is Arlo by NETGEAR, which comes with 20% during sale.
Make your home more comfortable with a smart thermostat. With a smart thermostat like the Ecobee4, you can set the temperature around your schedule. Set your thermostat to turn on the air conditioner ten minutes before you usually get home and make it a little warmer when you go to sleep at night. With the money you save on your monthly energy bill with home automation, your smart thermostat will pay for itself in no time.
Smart home saves the day when you forget to lock the door or can’t find your keys. Leaving in a hurry? Simply say, “Alexa, lock the front door.” Hands full of groceries? Set up presence detection for your smart home and your door will automatically unlock when you get in reach. Going on vacation? With a smart lock you can temporarily give access to a neighbor and get alerts when they are inside the home. Protect what matters most with a smart lock. There is a huge variety of smart locks with Alexa on Amazon in every price range and taste.
No smart home is complete without smart entertainment. With Amazon Fire TV, you can stream your favorite TV shows, games, movies and apps. Use your Alexa enabled remote to ask, “Alexa, show me action movies.” Now, with select TVs, you can also control your TV through your Echo device. Ask, “Alexa, turn the TV on” or “Alexa, fast forward” and enjoy hands-free convenience.
Home automation is still in relative early stage when it comes to Alexa-enabled device. This is is because Alexa is live since less than three years. Although it has by now tens of thousands skills, it takes time for developers to integrate it into the latest technological devices.
