After seeing the advertisement on TV, you too have decided to buy an Amazon Echo, that is one of the intelligent devices produced by Amazon animated by the Alexa voice assistant. Among its many functions, Alexa also allows you to control smart devices installed in the home, both via voice commands and by acting remotely via the Alexa app for smartphones, and you would love to learn how to take advantage of this possibility, especially as regards lights.
If this is indeed the case and you want to learn more, let me give you a hand and explain how to connect Alexa to the lights . First of all, I will take care of informing you about the devices necessary to succeed in your attempt, indicating all the solutions available to you, after which I will show you the detailed procedure for carrying out the initial configuration of the chosen device and how to use it to control the lights via Alexa.
Courage: make yourself comfortable, take all the time you deem appropriate and devote yourself to consulting the next paragraphs. After finding the device that best suits your needs, follow my instructions carefully and I assure you that, by putting them into practice, you will be able to complete the configuration and turn the lights on and off with Alexa wherever you are. Enjoy the reading!
Index
- What it takes to link Alexa to lights
- How to connect Alexa to home lights
- Connect Alexa to Christmas lights
- Connect Alexa to Philips lights
- Control the lights with Alexa
What it takes to link Alexa to lights
Before explaining to you in detail how to connect Alexa to the lights , let me list the devices you need to succeed in your attempt. In fact, you must know that to control the lights in your home with one of the smart devices produced by Amazon (or through the Amazon Alexa application), you must first have at least one device chosen from smart bulbs, smart sockets or switches.
The simplest solution to control the lights at home with Alexa is to use smart bulbs (e.g. HIVE bulbs ). If you’ve never heard of them, they are simple bulbs that can be installed on any wall light fixture or in any lamp with a cable, provided that the socket is the same.
By equipping yourself with a smart bulb, you not only have the ability to turn the lights on and off remotely, via app or voice commands, but also to adjust their brightness and intensity and change their color (only if the purchased product offers this feature) .
The price of these bulbs varies between 15 and 90 euros, depending on the brightness, energy class and functionality of the bulb itself and can be found in electronics, lighting or online stores, for example on Amazon . Some devices of this kind, for their correct functioning, require a hub to be purchased separately and to be connected to the home router via an Ethernet cable.
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Another valid solution to control the lights with Alexa is to rely on smart plugs . However, since they are devices to be plugged into the electrical socket at home, you can only consider this solution for lamps with a cable. Yes you can find smart sockets starting from 15 euros.
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If the lights you intend to control are not directly connected to an electrical socket in your home and you don’t have the possibility to apply a smart bulb, the only solution available to you is to use a smart switch. In this case, however, the installation is not as trivial as for the other devices that I have listed above.
In fact, smart switches must be applied to the wall (if you buy touch switches ) or in the home electrical system (if you buy Wi-Fi relays ). Therefore, if you have never handled electrical cables before, I advise you to use one of these devices only by requesting its installation from your trusted electrician.
Before making a purchase, I advise you to read the specifications of the device you intend to use, to make sure that the latter is actually compatible with Alexa (usually it says Works with Alexa ). Furthermore, it will be useful to know that if you have an Echo , an Echo Studio or an Echo Show 10 you already have a Zigbee hub with which to control home automation devices based on the Zigbee system (without relying on third-party applications), such as I explained to you in more detail in my guide dedicated specifically to Echo devices .
How to connect Alexa to home lights
Regardless of the device you choose to connect Alexa to your home lights , you need to know that, in order to connect with the smart device manufactured by Amazon, you must first download the official application of the smart bulb, socket or smart switch in use and whose name is usually indicated on the device packaging or in the instruction manual.
All you have to do, after installing your device, is launch its application and follow the instructions shown on the screen to complete the connection. The procedure is almost identical for all the devices I have listed above: first, you will need to create a free account by entering your email address and password and then select your home Wi-Fi network .
Once the connection is established, you will have to start scanning the smart devices to identify the one you intend to connect to the app, select it, assign it a name (e.g. living room lights ) and follow the instructions shown on the display to complete the configuration. If everything has gone well, you will be able to immediately control the lights in your home using the device’s official application.
After completing the above steps, you’re ready to pair your lights with Alexa. If you haven’t already done so, download the Amazon Alexa application for Android devices (you can also find it on alternative stores ) and iOS/iPadOS from the store on your smartphone or tablet, start it and log in with your Amazon account, entering your data in the fields Email (phone for mobile account) and Amazon Password and pressing the Login button . If you don’t have an account on the famous online shopping site yet, my guide on how to register on Amazon might be useful .
Once the main screen of the Alexa app is visible, tap the Devices item in the bottom menu, press the (+) button located at the top right and choose the Add device option from the menu that opens.
In the new screen that appears, in the All devices section , choose the option of your interest: Light bulb if you have purchased a smart bulb, Socket if you have a smart socket or Switch if you have opted for wall switches or Wi-Fi relays. Fi.
At this point, regardless of the choice made, in the section What brand is this device [device name]? , select the brand of your interest by choosing one of the available options ( Philips Hue , Osram , Tuya , Woox , TP-Link Kasa , Ikea , Lifx , Yeelight , Nanoleaf , Amazon , Fibaro , Bticino etc.), press the Next button or that Find Devices, then enter the data of the account you created previously to connect the bulb to its official application in the appropriate fields (if necessary) and press on the item to establish the connection.
If, on the other hand, the brand of your smart bulb, switch or smart socket does not appear among those available in the list indicated above, press the Other item that you find by scrolling down the list of brands. Even so, on the screen that appears next, tap the Find Devices button and wait for your device to be detected. Then press on the Configure device item and, if you want to keep your devices organized by group, choose the Select group option .
Now, choose the group of your interest among those available ( Living room , Bedroom , Kitchen , Dining room , Office , Cellar etc.) and press the Add to group button , otherwise choose the Create custom group item , enter its name in the appropriate field and tap the Done button to save the changes.
If all went well, you will see the message The device [device name] is configured and ready for use on the display of your smartphone or tablet . At this point, tap the Done button to complete setup and start controlling your lights with Alexa.
It will be useful to know that the device added in the Alexa app will automatically be associated with the name you previously set through the official application of the same. If you wish to change it, access the Devices section of the Alexa app, press on the type of device you are interested in (e.g. Bulbs , Sockets , Switches ) from the menu proposed above, touch the device name and press the wheel icon d gear located in the upper right corner.
In the new proposed screen, choose the Change name option , press the (x) button to delete the name in use, enter the new one in the field below the wording Change name and press the (<) key at the top left to return to the section previous and save the changes. Keep in mind that the name associated with the device will be useful for turning it on and off with voice commands.
Connect Alexa to Christmas lights
Have you discovered the existence of smart Christmas lights that can be controlled with voice assistants and, therefore, now you would like to know how to connect Christmas lights to Alexa ? No problem, I’ll help you.
The first step is to choose smart Christmas lights and pay attention to compatibility with Alexa : always check. For this example I chose the Twinkly , they are also found on Amazon in variable lengths, but there are also cheaper alternatives.
The steps I’m about to show you to associate Christmas lights with Alexa are valid, in any case, for any model and any brand: only the companion app to install on your smartphone changes. In this regard, keep in mind the name of your lights to be able to search for the app and skill on Alexa. It should be emphasized that for some brands you may not find the corresponding app, but there are some that can manage smart devices, for example Smart Life which is available for Android (you can also find it on alternative stores) and iOS/iPadOS , which work with various models of smart lights.
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Going back to the Twinkly example, you need to download the official Twinkly app available for Android (you can also find it on alternative stores) and iOS/iPadOS , open it and create an account. Once inside, you can start exploring the app, pair the lights by following the on-screen instructions and discover all the light customizations.
Then open the Amazon Alexa app , tap More at the bottom right and then press Skills and games . Use the magnifying glass at the top right to search: in the bar write Twinkly (or the name of your lights, if they have an Alexa skill). Then tap on the search result , open the related skill and now press Enable for use . On the next page you have to enter the Twinkly user data (or the data of the app in which you configured your lights) and log in: you have thus connected the Christmas lights to Alexa .
You will thus find the Christmas lights among your devices in the Alexa app, within the Devices section . So tap on All devices (the three dots symbol) and browse the list until you find your lights . You can also change the name to control them with Alexa, perhaps renaming them to “Christmas lights” , simply by pressing on the settings wheel at the top right and then on Change name .
Furthermore, I would like to point out that by creating a Routine — present in the More menu of the Alexa app — you can choose a time to turn the lights on and off, for example, and Alexa will do it for you.
If you want to connect old non-smart Christmas lights to Alexa , you can do it thanks to smart plugs. In this case, however, you will only be able to turn the lights on or off, without being able to change their color or create any type of animation. In any case, thanks to the smart sockets , you can also turn your old Christmas lights on or off with your voice.
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In this case you will not have a compatible skill, but you must add the smart socket to Alexa devices as I explained in my in-depth study on smart sockets .
Connect Alexa to Philips lights
Do you have Philips Hue lights and would you like to understand how to connect them to Alexa to be able to control them with Amazon’s voice assistant? It’s that easy!
All you have to do to be able to connect Alexa to the Philips lights is in fact follow the steps I indicated in the previous chapter , but in this specific case the reference companion app that you need to download is the Philips Hue app , available for Android (the you can also find it on alternative stores) and iOS/iPadOS , while the exact skill to install via the Alexa app is the one called Hue .
Also know that if you do not have an Echo device equipped with an internal hub , you will need to obtain the Philips proprietary hub , the Philips Hue Bridge , in order to establish the connection with Alexa, intervening in advance through the manufacturer’s app, following the guided procedure specific that is proposed to you at startup.
There are also several Philips Hue bulbs and lamps that support connection via Bluetooth and that can be connected directly to Echo devices without the bridge. For the aforementioned devices, this is clearly indicated on the sales package, together with the Bluetooth logo .
Control the lights with Alexa
Once you’ve completed setting up your device, you’re ready to control your lights with Alexa . It will be useful to know that you can turn the lights on and off both using voice commands and remotely via the Amazon Alexa application.
In the first case, if you have an Amazon Echo device , all you have to do is say the command “Alexa, turn on the lights [group name]” or “Alexa, turn on [device name]” . To better understand, let’s take a practical example: if you have a smart light bulb that you have added to the Living room group and to which you have associated the name Red lamp , to turn on the lights you can say the commands “Alexa, turn on the lights in the living room” or “Alexa , turn on the red lamp” .
If, on the other hand, you are away from home or don’t have an Amazon Echo device, you can also control the lights via the Alexa app, either manually or using voice commands. To do this, press the Devices item in the bottom menu, select the device of your interest and tap the ON or OFF button to turn the lights on or off.
Alternatively, press the speech bubble icon (the bottom right button) to activate Alexa and pronounce one of the voice commands that I have indicated previously. To find out more, tap the More button located at the bottom right, select the wording See more , press the Things to try button and tap the Smart home option to learn about all the voice commands you can use with Alexa to control your lights.
