Smart Bulb Alexa Integration: A Big Step Towards a Smarter Home March 29, 2017 00:00
Remember The Jetsons?
“Meet George Jetson… His boy Elroy… Daughter Judy… Jane, his wife!”
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably got images of that neat flying car that turns into a suitcase flashing through your head right about now. Or maybe their robotic housemaid Rosie and their talking dog Astro (what is it about talking dogs in cartoons anyway?).
Definitely a classic!
One aspect of that show that captured the imagination and attention of its viewers was the imaginative technology of the future, always a popular draw for an audience.
When the show first aired, most of those technologies were thought to be a long way off. And while we still don’t have flying cars (what’s taking so long car companies?), the smart home from the show is becoming more of a reality with each passing day thanks to the Internet of Things.
Better yet, smart personal assistants like the immensely popular Alexa by Amazon let you control many of your connected devices with simple voice commands.
And now, your Flux Smart light bulbs offer full Alexa integration! Before getting into the specifics of how to use Alexa to control your home’s lighting, let’s take a quick look at the growing trend of the smart home and why products like Alexa are such a great step in the right direction.
The smart home and Alexa
So, what exactly is a smart home?
You’ve undoubtedly noticed that a lot of products can now connect directly to your phone or computer. This lets you control the device remotely, customize it to meet your needs, or monitor it from anywhere in the world.
It can mean a coffee brewer that you can turn on from bed, a thermostat that notifies you when the heat’s been turned on, and a doorbell that sends you a video feed of your visitors, even when you aren’t home!
This movement towards an increasingly connected world is called the Internet of Things. And a smart home is one that uses this type of connectivity for heating and cooling, appliance and entertainment device control, and, of course, for lighting as well.
The smart homes of the past depended for the most part on a single control device (kind of like a huge TV remote) to bring it all together.
But with the age of Alexa upon us, smart homes have reached an entirely new level of user-friendliness. Instead of having to lug that giant remote around with you wherever you go, Alexa lets anyone simply call out a request (like “turn on the heat,” “start the oven,” or even “water the lawn”) and Alexa will handle the rest.
Pretty cool, huh?
Of course, the reach of Alexa is limited entirely by whether or not a device is compatible. To find a complete list of these devices, check out this page from Amazon. You can also purchase outlet plugins that Alexa can connect to so any device can be accessed.
Alexa and Flux Smart bulbs
When you think of a futuristic home, I’m sure one of the images that pops into your head is voice activated lights. After all, almost every sci-fi movie out there lets you know you’re in the future with a scene showing a guy entering a room and saying “lights on”.
And now, anyone with Flux Smart bulbs can finally be that guy!
As of now, Alexa can respond to four separate commands:
- Alexa, set [light name] to [0-100]%
- Alexa, turn [light name] on/off
- Alexa, dim/brighten [light name]
- Alexa, increase/decrease [light name]
And when you combine that with the upcoming ability to change light colors and set custom modes using voice commands, you’re bound to have all of your lighting needs and desires completely covered!
Beyond that, setting your bulbs up to integrate with Alexa is a cinch. All it takes is four simple steps: set up a cloud account, enable remote connection, enabling the Alexa skill, and connecting the bulbs to Alexa (you can find a more detailed setup guide here).
With a painless setup and such impressive functionality, there’s no reason not to start using Alexa to control your home’s lights today.
So go on. Take a step into the future!
Let us know what you think!
How has Alexa changed your home? What do you think of Flux Smart’s smart bulb Alexa integration? Let us know in the comment section below and get futuristic with the Flux Smart product line!