Home Automation with Amazon Echo/Alexa (v2)
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- Опубликовано: 1 ноя 2016
- Since making this video, I've moved away from using Yonomi/Tasker for the LightwaveRF devices and am now using the official skill. I've also got four Echo Dots arranged strategically around the house, so I can talk to all my tech wherever I am :-)
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" alexa turn off the curtain "
" okay "
" alexa turn on the curtain "
" the fuck ben im leaving this goddamn house right now i aint coming back "
lol ;-)
Alexa, buy me a new camera!
...just kidding great video.
Thanks :-)
wow your automation set its awesome 👍 been waiting for my order of Amazon Echo two weeks ! Hopefully on Monday 😎👍
Thanks James :)
Ben, absolutely brilliant video. I'm just starting my Smart Home. So far got new Samsung 2016 Smart 4K TV, Nest Heating and just ordered a stack of LightwaveRF light switches and sockets. PS4 Pro sorted. All part of house remodelling.
Steve Lloyd Thank you sir :-)
You have a nicely automated home.
Thanks very much :)
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have a play!
Hi Ricky, Hue bulbs should not be connected to conventional dimmer switches. Hue bulbs should have mains power at all times. I would recommend using smart wall dimmers (e.g. LightwaveRF) for your ceiling lights and use Philips Hue for lamps
Hi Ricky, yes you can and yes, you will still be able to dim them (via the app). No problem, happy to help :-)
Nice video. You may also want to checkout the review of home automation on my blog at *bryanreviews. com/home-automation-review/* Thanks, Gordon.
@Ben Terry, you're house is amazingly automated ! great video man
Sum One Thanks very much!
Brilliant video..without doubt the best Home Automation/Alexa etc. video I've seen.
So many other videos just show Lights, Spotify and TV.
This video goes far deeper than others I've viewed, followed by detailed answers to any questions asked by viewers...which is a great help to us all..thank you.
Keep the videos coming and congrats to you and your wife on the arrival of your new baby.. best wishes to you all.
Vidsinthecloud Thanks very much! Most kind :-)
OMG I didn't know it could do all those things!!! I knew it can switch on and off lights!!! I've got one now bought it on sat
This is a superb set up in it simplicity!
Respect Ben
Thank you!
after seeing your video I both the harmony hub today!
Cool! Hope it works out well for you. There's really nothing else out there that does the same job.
Do I need the Philips hub for the lights or can I use a cheaper Chinese brand?
That depends - do you want to be able to control your ceiling lights, or freestanding lamps? You would use Philips Hue for lamps, rather than ceiling lights. You don't have to use a particular brand (e.g. Philips Hue), but if you go for something cheaper, bear in mind that it may not have IFTTT/Yonomi/Alexa support
I guess the only thing you need left are ip cameras, door locks, and garage opener lol. great smarthome!
Thanks very much ;-) Got the IP cameras, the wife doesn't like the idea of smart locks :(
Ben Terry Alexa, turn off the squeaky floorboards!
So annoying. Especially now that we have an 11 week old baby...
looks nice in the UK since I'm stuck here in the United States and its still 1983 technologically and in a lot of other ways.. for the most part in this country.... it's nice to see what the future's going to look like
Thanks Herbie - in actual fact the Echo was released in the States well over a year before the UK! We Brits are frustrated that it's usually the other way around! ;-)
Amazing video
Thanks!
Cool DIY.Thank you.
Cheers!
Great video it's inspired me to go even further than I was thinking of going with my home automation is the Philips Hue hub that you have the first generation one ?
Awesome :-) Yes, my Philips Hue bridge/bulbs are first gen.
Hi Ben,
Great video and very informative. You mention the brands that you have used in your setup but do you have pointers on what a novice can look for I.e. specs etc. to build a similar setup using alternative products/brands. Also could provide further details on the curtains and blinds and what to look for.
Hi Jamie. Thanks! Right, where to start. If I were starting again from scratch (knowing what I know now) I would:
- Think about what I want to automate, and choose a home automation standard/brand that supports as many different types of smart home devices as possible (e.g. lighting, sockets, blinds, heating, home entertainment, etc.), to keep the number of proprietary technologies to a minimum, reduce the number of different hubs and different smart phone apps I'd need to have. LightwaveRF is great, because it's good value, and they make all kinds of different devices, all controlled via the same frequency/hub
- Think about lighting - do you want smart lightbulbs (which need to be switched on at the mains at all times), or smart lightswitches/sockets/dimmers? Smart lightbulbs require no re-wiring, so are the simplest option, but not necessarily the cheapest. Think about how you're going to prevent them from being accidentally turned off at the mains all the time though, and what you'll be using to turn them off and on
- Decide how you want to be able to interact with your smart home devices. Do you really want to have to get your phone out of your pocket, wake it up, launch whatever app and press a series of buttons in order to turn the light on? Probably not. Maybe you want voice control, or to be able to use a smartwatch as well. Even if you use an Amazon Echo, you might still want to have a physical button on the wall to turn on your lights, for example, so that guests/friends/family can still perform this most basic task without having to get to grips with a smartphone app or voice control. For everything you see in my video, there exists a dedicated physical button/dial/remote. For example, next to each window in the lounge is a button on the wall that operates the curtains. Again, LightwaveRF is great in this regard, as you can pop a wireless switch on the wall wherever you like, and pair it with the device(s) of your choosing. For the home entertainment, I have a handheld remote (Harmony Ultimate), as well as the smartphone app, and I believe there's nothing else out there that can do the same job as the Harmony hub-based remotes (which is a real shame, because sometimes it's a pain in the arse)
- Check if the different proprietary home automation products that you're interested in can be made to integrate with one another. For example, you might have a Belkin WeMo motion sensor that you want to set up to trigger your Philips Hue lighting. This can be achieved with IFTTT. My Logitech Harmony cannot currently be controlled directly by the Amazon Echo, but they can be made to work together with Yonomi. Just make sure that whatever you buy can be made to talk to everything else, to bring it all together. If you want to be able to control everything using an Amazon Echo, check the Alexa Skills store to see if a native smart home skill exists for the product you're interested in
- Decide whether a central hub and/or 'dashboard' is essential to you. Some smart home devices don't report their statuses back to the hub that issued the command to turn them on/off. You might wish to consider investing in a home automation server, or using a PC as a home automation server. You could even use an Android phone running Tasker (for which you will likely find a plugin that can interact with the devices you choose). If you have an iPhone, pop it in the bin ;-)
In terms of different products, as long as those products can talk to one-another, have IFTTT support and/or a native smart home skill for Amazon Alexa (or there are plans for one or both in the future), there's no reason why you couldn't achieve the same sort of setup.
My curtains are powered by a Dooya DT52S motorised curtain rail (from AliExpress.com) connected to a LightwaveRF inline relay. The blinds are Tuiss roman blinds (from Tuiss.co.uk), upgraded to their 'Electric Smart Raise' option, which operates on the 433MHz frequency (same as LightwaveRF). The blinds and curtain rails cost around £125 each. I did a lot of research on smart curtains/blinds - I'm quietly confident you won't find anything cheaper!
I hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any other queries!
Nice setup
Hi! So happy that you posted this video! I need to read more how to control many things in my house. Did you use several wireless plugs that everything was plugged into? I have not read all of the comments. Thanks from Jim in USA!
Hi Jim, no - no wireless plugs involved here. In the lamps, I have Philips Hue bulbs. These are never switched off at the mains, instead they receive signals from a hub that tells them to switch on/off, dim/brighten or change colour. The main lights (in the ceiling) are connected to LightwaveRF dimmers that replace conventional wall switches - again, these are controlled via a hub. The entertainment devices are controlled by a Logitech Harmony Hub via Infra Red (just like a normal TV remote) or Bluetooth (which emulates a game controller in the case of the Nintendo/PS4). The Kettle's base has wireless network connectivity and can be controlled via Telnet commands from a PC, the Nest thermostat also has wireless network connectivity. The curtains and blinds are connected to 433MHz wireless receivers, which is the standard used by the LightwaveRF hub, ergo the LightwaveRF hub can control these. These various hubs/wireless devices connect to your router and allow control via your phone and the web. When you set them up, you create/log in to an account. When you set up an Amazon Echo, you sign in to the Alexa app with your Amazon account. In the Alexa app, you then search for and enable the 'skill' for your various home automation products, e.g. Philips Hue/LightwaveRF, at which point you will be prompted to enter your account details for that product. Once this is done, your products are 'linked' and you can ask Alexa to 'discover devices'. It will then detect and list all of the devices found in whichever accounts you have linked. The names of the devices that appear in the Alexa app in the 'Smart Home' section are the names you need to speak to Alexa to have it control them, e.g. if I have a device in my Philips Hue account called 'Table Lamp', I would use "Alexa, turn on the table lamp" to turn it on. The same applies to many other home automation products.You can customize the device names and add them to groups in the Alexa app, then you just need to ask Alexa to turn on that device or that group.
my dad would LOVE your house 😂
Thanks! :)
No I 9
I come back to this video to see how this fascinating home works.
Wondering how you're doing right now.
Haha, thanks! Having two kids got in the way of updates! There's much more to show. I'm not a great content creator as you can see. Can't compete with the big boys!
Hi Ben,
This is awesome! I want something similar. :)
Just as a matter of interest. How long did it take you and how much did it cost you to make your home Smart? (Excluding all the gadgets like Playstation, XBox, Nintendo, Nest)
I am also guessing you control everything outside the firewall, right?
Has anyone written any blog post with details of your setup?
Thanks
Giuseppe
Hi Giuseppe, thank you very much :-)
So, at the time of buying, the cost of the various components were roughly as follows:
Logitech Harmony Hub - £150
Onkyo TX-NR838 AV receiver - £1000 (if you want to be able to watch your various HDMI sources in different rooms, you need something which does HDMI Zone 2 or 'Matrix switching'. This feature is not found on entry-level AVRs)
Smarter WiFi Kettle - £100
Amazon Echo - £150
LightwaveRF dimmers - £40 each
LightwaveRF link - £80
RFXComm RFXtrx433e (433MHz adapter for PC) - £80
Motorised curtain rails - £125 each
Relays for motorised curtain rails - £30 each
Wall switches for motorised curtain rails - £30 each
Motorised blinds - £125 each
Nest Learning Thermostat - £250
Philips Hue bulbs (x5) and bridge - £275
There are other bits and pieces too, I'd say I've spent around £3500, excluding the games consoles and TVs (but including the AV receiver).
In terms of how it's all set up, the Logitech Harmony Hub (which controls all the entertainment devices) can be integrated with the Echo via an app called Yonomi - in the states, there's an Echo 'skill' for the Harmony, so that's easy. There's a LightwaveRF skill for the dimmers and relays, the Nest learning thermostat and Philips Hue lighting.
It's actually pretty easy to set up (for the most part). You download the Alexa app, set up your Echo and then find the 'home automation skill' that interfaces with your home automation product (e.g. Philips Hue) and follow the on-screen steps to connect your Echo account to your Philips Hue account. If you have a home automation product that does not have a native Echo skill yet, that's when things can be tricky. My advice would be to check whether one exists first before you buy the product you're interested in. That, or familiarise yourself with the process of creating your own custom skills for the Echo.
Great video. Thanks.
Cheers!
What an inspirational video. Really like it. You must get echo dots though. :-) Mind you this way you will stay much fitter and you could connect your fitbit to Alexa and she can tell you how well you are doing.
Thanks very much :) Yes, I've now got an Echo Dot in the bedroom and two more on the way (Christmas presents) for the office and the kitchen - I'll do another video in the new year, by which time I should have it set up so that I can just speak to my house wherever I am and have it do my bidding ;-)
Nice work
Cheers!
Get a second Echo and, also, the remote. Makes life a bit easier.
Thanks for the vid, gave me a few more ideas. :)
I've got myself three Dots (shown at the very end of the vid), just haven't set them up yet :)
You'll like it when you do that. Cool.
I've grown to love the remote but it only works with one device. :(
Also, I see a Slingbox app ... no wonder I like this. I use it often rather than getting (and paying for) an additional sat box.
Cool, yeah that's exactly why I bought the Slingbox originally - to watch what was on the set-top-box on the TV in the bedroom via a Chromecast. Now, though, I have HDMI cables running throughout the house. My Youview box, PS4, Xbox, PC and nintendo HDMI all connect to my home cinema receiver. The receiver has two HDMI outs and has a feature called HDMI matrix switching (HDMI zone 2). It means it can output two different sources at the same time (or the same source to multiple tvs). So, one goes straight to the lounge TV, the other goes up to the loft to a 4-way splitter and then back down to the TVs in the kitchen, office and bedroom. The end result is that I could be playing PS4 upstairs whilst the missus plays nintendo in the lounge, for example, or I can watch YouView on any TV (or all TVs at once).
Wow, awesome. You're way ahead of me!
I look forward to more of your vids! :)
I thought I recently saw a video in which someone was demonstrating the Amazon Echo with a LightWaveRF skill, maybe it was released after you set up all this equipment.
Lachlant1984 It was indeed! I have since started using the LightwaveRF skill - the jury is out at the moment, it's not as reliable or quick to respond.
Alexa so much better now with (ROUTINES) - you can tell alexa to do many things with one command....e.g. "Alexa... cinema mode" and then the lights dim, curtains close, tv turns on, sky turns on, tv backlights turn on" or "Alexa, sleepy time" and all the downstairs lights and appliances turn off - and bedroom turns on dimly, and stairs too etc
Concrete Jungle indeed - I need to do some updating! Cheers
Hey Ben, nice video and great home you got! Btw, could u tell how you made the automated curtain and blind integrated with
Alexa? What's the brand?
Well you answered my question in the video...Thanks, that would be really helpful!
Thanks for the video. I just bought an Echo and a Dot, and few wifi smart plugs. Can you share the list of smart devices you use in the description? You mentioned LightwaveRF (similar to smart plugs?), I can certainly see the Nest, what are the rest?
Hi Karl,
As requested - let me know if you need more info :)
• Philips Hue Bridge and 5 bulbs - Used in lounge and bedroom lamps
• Smarter WiFi Kettle
• Logitech Harmony Hub - This controls Infra Red and Bluetooth home entertainment devices
• Belkin WeMo plug sockets - Just used for Christmas tree lights
• Dooya DT52S Motorised curtain rails (2 in lounge, 1 in bedroom)
• LightwaveRF 500w Inline Relays (one for each curtain)
• LightwaveRF Wireless Switch (one for each curtain)
• LightwaveRF Dimmers - These replace your normal wall switches
• LightwaveRF Link - The hub that you connect to with your phone
• Tuiss ‘Electric Smart Raise’ Roman Blinds - One in the lounge, one in the nursery
• RFXtrx433E USB transceiver for the PC - This allows you to intercept/send LightwaveRF signals via the PC
• Onkyo TX-NR838 AV Receiver - This has HDMI Zone 2, which allows multiple sources/outputs at once
• Neet 4 way HDMI splitter
• Neet HDMI IR Injector Kit (one receiver, three transmitters)
• Nest Learning Thermostat
• Nest Protect Smoke/CO alarm
• Amazon Echo
• Amazon Echo Tap - x3 (haven’t set these up yet)
Cheers,
Ben
do you just have the one echo at the moment? I feel two or three would probably suit you best! (dots dotted around - lol). great video though, really amazing what you've done!
Thanks Tanuj :) Yeah the video needs updating, I now also have four Echo Dots, one in the kitchen, one in the main bedroom, one in the office and one in the nursery :)
Ha! That's great, how is a multi-echo house? Do they ever get confused? I myself am just about to get a dot for the bedroom (echo in the living area).
nicely done, i see you have RFXcom is het with Domoticz and than to ALexa or what ...?and is the harmony hub can turn on Netflix with alexa without FireTV.???
sold,,, amazon should pay you for this...thanks
Ben Terry - amazing setup you have! Thanks for the video. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind:
> Are the lightwaveRf switches with 2 buttons - eg. one On, one Off button? Or are these the control for dimmer switches? Btw, which bulbs work with dimmer switches?
> Can the LightwaveRF hub work with any 433hz device?
> Also I can't see that Yonomi supports LightWaveRF - how have you got this working?
> Does the LightwaveRF hub track the status of each device? I want to have a Living Room off command which turns off the TV and lights, but if the TV is already off, then it will turn it on again because On and Off are the same IR signal for the TV.
> Could you explain a bit more on how you transmit IR via HDMI?
> Currently I have a Broadlink RM as it's significantly cheaper than the Harmony HUB and also controls RF (Doesn't do BT though). I have bought some RF plug sockets for lamps - I dont really need Phillips hue bulbs but I have recently purchased the starter kit. I may take the lamps off the RF sockets and put the bulbs in
Thanks Inzimam :) Sure thing. So, the LightwaveRF dimmers have two buttons - on and off. However, holding the on/off buttons makes the bulbs brighter/dimmer when they're switched on. There is an official LightwaveRF skill for Alexa now, so no Yonomi needed for this now. The dimmers only receive commands, they do not transmit their status. However, for your scenario, this would be fine, as it would send an 'off' command which will always switch the lights off (as opposed to toggle on/off). I have a Neet 4 way HDMI splitter and four Neet HDMI injector kits (three emitters and one receiver). The HDMI injectors are like a little HDMI male to female adapter with a 3.5mm socket to which you connect either an IR emitter or receiver. My home cinema receiver has two HDMI outputs, the second goes to the 4 way splitter. Where the HDMI cable is plugged into the receiver, I have an IR injector. This injector is connected to an IR receiver which is placed next to the Harmony Hub. Where the HDMI cables connect to the other TVs, I have another IR injector connected to an IR emitter which is placed in front of the IR receiver on the other TVs. Does this make sense?
Hi Ben,
love the setup!!!! how do you turn the kettle on? only way I know is to leave the kettle in the on position and use a smartthing plug to control the on/off
cheers
Hi Sam, thank you very much. The Kettle is a 'Smarter WiFi Kettle' (I think it was originally called the iKettle until Apple complained, as they do). The Kettle's base connects to WiFi and commands can be issued via Telnet.
Pretty cool my echo does the same thing 😄
How you got the blinds and curtains to program your video really helped me I bought this device cause I have fibromyalgia and this has helped to make my life so much easier thank you
Thank you for your kind words, I'm so glad you found it helpful! So, I bought motorized curtain rails from AliExpress.com - they are model DT52S. I connected them to LightwaveRF in-line relays and control them just like any other LightwaveRF device (and there's an Alexa skill for LightwaveRF too). The blinds operate on the same frequency as LightwaveRF too. They are from Tuiss.co.uk and are the 'Electric Smart Raise' roman blinds. I hope this helps!
I love this
Thanks!
When i tell alexa to turn on my living room tv it will only make the tv show a little red display showing that its ready to get turned on with a remote or something. However my bedroom tv will actually power, and turn on to the HDMI it was left on. Is there a way to fix my other tvs so it can actually power on rather than needing me to physically power it on?
Damon are you using an ir blaster such as a harmony hub or a broad link rm pro? Or a smart plug? Because smart plugs will not power on your tv only cut off or on power to the unit hence why you need to physically power it on
Awesome!!! Im no where near what you have yet
Thanks :)
You should get a echo dot for upstairs and put it on the ceiling
LED ZEP I love this guy
Ben Terry: What kind of hub do you use for the blind and curtains to create the bridge? Or its just an interaction between the echo, the curtains and Yonomi?
Hi Anderson, the blinds and the curtains are connected to LightwaveRF relays/switches, so I use a LightwaveRF link (hub) and the LightwaveRF smart home skill
Ben Terry Okay, thanks. I'm thinking in having it in my place
Sick video! How much did all of this cost? excluding, TVs, PS4 Xbox etc? Just the Automation devices?
Thanks! Good question... Between £1500 and £2000 I think for all the smart lighting, Harmony Hub, WiFi Kettle, curtain motors, relays, etc.
Hi Ben,
I have a similar setup. My question have tried having Alexa change say sky channels and if you have, how did you do it. I've seen a video of it being done but very clear how they achieve it. Thank you
Hi Eben, I believe that - for the time being - it is only possible to start/stop 'activities' via Alexa. I did hear that Logitech were opening up their API to allow 3rd party apps to send individual device commands, though, which would make this possible.
If you have a link to the video that you saw, I would be very interested to see it!
I do know of a way that you could achieve this, but it would be very complicated and would require an Android phone and a custom Alexa skill. Are you familiar with custom Alexa skills/Tasker for Android/AutoInput for Tasker?
Eben Assan try adding harmony hub. Time consuming but worth it to change channels that way
Amazing
Thanks!
Great set up nice video , how did you "inject the hdmi " with ir ?
Thanks Liam. I'm using Neet IR Injector kits, available from Amazon.
Hi Ben. Amazing set up, I would love something similar to this and interested in getting the most bang for my buck as you have. I don't have any products yet so where would you start? Or buy first? I would like to control as much as I can including curtains / blinds by automation as quickly/easily as possible, so I guess voice activation. I do have an iPhone and Apple TV but am worried if I use apple that it will limit my integration options maybe? So buying a hub and amazon echo might be better? I also currently have Sonos soundbar and speakers around the house and use Spotify to listen to music, can these be used with echo / in home automation? Thanks a lot - I'm a little overwhelmed by all the products / options.
Hi Mark, thanks very much :)
My immediate thoughts are that I would go for LightwaveRF wall dimmers for your lighting (you will also need a LightwaveRF link/'hub'), a Logitech Harmony Elite for your home entertainment, LightwaveRF relays to automate your curtains, an Amazon Echo for voice control and the Yonomi app to bring it all together.
I wrote the below response to someone else who had asked me something similar. There's also loads of helpful information available here: www.vesternet.com/getting-started - I hope this is helpful, but feel free to ask away if you still have more questions.
If I were starting again from scratch (knowing what I know now) I would:
- Think about what I want to automate, and choose a home automation standard/brand that supports as many different types of smart home devices as possible (e.g. lighting, sockets, blinds, heating, home entertainment, etc.), to keep the number of proprietary technologies to a minimum, reduce the number of different hubs and different smart phone apps I'd need to have. LightwaveRF is great, because it's good value, and they make all kinds of different devices, all controlled via the same frequency/hub. It's not as secure as Z-Wave, but is a lot less expensive
- Think about lighting - do you want smart lightbulbs (which need to be switched on at the mains at all times), or smart lightswitches/sockets/dimmers? Smart lightbulbs require no re-wiring, so are the simplest option, but not necessarily the cheapest. Think about how you're going to prevent them from being accidentally turned off at the mains all the time though, and what you'll be using to turn them off and on
- Decide how you want to be able to interact with your smart home devices. Do you really want to have to get your phone out of your pocket, wake it up, launch whatever app and press a series of buttons in order to turn the light on? Probably not. Maybe you want voice control, or to be able to use a smartwatch as well. Even if you use an Amazon Echo, you might still want to have a physical button on the wall to turn on your lights, for example, so that guests/friends/family can still perform this most basic task without having to get to grips with a smartphone app or voice control. For everything you see in my video, there exists a dedicated physical button/dial/remote. For example, next to each window in the lounge is a button on the wall that operates the curtains. Again, LightwaveRF is great in this regard, as you can pop a wireless switch on the wall wherever you like, and pair it with the device(s) of your choosing. For the home entertainment, I have a handheld remote (Harmony Ultimate), as well as the smartphone app, and I believe there's nothing else out there that can do the same job as the Harmony hub-based remotes (which is a real shame, because sometimes it's a pain in the arse)
- Check if the different proprietary home automation products that you're interested in can be made to integrate with one another. For example, you might have a Belkin WeMo motion sensor that you want to set up to trigger your Philips Hue lighting. This can be achieved with IFTTT. My Logitech Harmony cannot currently be controlled directly by the Amazon Echo, but they can be made to work together with Yonomi. Just make sure that whatever you buy can be made to talk to everything else, to bring it all together. If you want to be able to control everything using an Amazon Echo, check the Alexa Skills store to see if a native smart home skill exists for the product you're interested in
- Decide whether a central hub and/or 'dashboard' is essential to you. Some smart home devices don't report their statuses back to the hub that issued the command to turn them on/off. You might wish to consider investing in a home automation server, or using a PC as a home automation server. You could even use an Android phone running Tasker (for which you will likely find a plugin that can interact with the devices you choose)
In terms of different products, as long as those products can talk to one-another, have IFTTT support and/or a native smart home skill for Amazon Alexa (or there are plans for one or both in the future), there's no reason why you couldn't achieve the same sort of setup.
My curtains are powered by a Dooya DT52S motorised curtain rail (from AliExpress.com) connected to a LightwaveRF inline relay. The blinds are Tuiss roman blinds (from Tuiss.co.uk), upgraded to their 'Electric Smart Raise' option, which operates on the 433MHz frequency (same as LightwaveRF). The blinds and curtain rails cost around £125 each. I did a lot of research on smart curtains/blinds - I'm quietly confident you won't find anything cheaper!
I hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any other queries!
seems you do a lot more walking once you've got everything automated :D
For now ;-) Will soon have an Echo in the lounge, bedroom, office and kitchen
Are you using Wemo switches for things like the kettle and consoles?
Hi Taner, no, the Kettle is a Smarter WiFi Kettle, the consoles are controlled via a Logitech Harmony Hub.
There are a number of different home automation products involved. For example, the lighting is a mixture of Philips Hue and LightwaveRF. These devices feature a hub that connects to your router and allow control via your phone and the web. When you set up each hub, you create/log in to an account. When you set up an Amazon Echo, you sign in to the Alexa app with your Amazon account. In the Alexa app, you then search for and enable the 'skill' for your various home automation products, e.g. Philips Hue/LightwaveRF, at which point you will be prompted to enter your account details for that product. Once this is done, your products are 'linked' and you can ask Alexa to 'discover devices'. It will then detect and list all of the devices found in whichever accounts you have linked. The names of the devices that appear in the Alexa app in the 'Smart Home' section are the names you need to speak to Alexa to have it control them, e.g. if I have a device in my Philips Hue account called 'Table Lamp', I would use "Alexa, turn on the table lamp" to turn it on. The same applies to many other home automation products.You can customize the device names and add them to groups in the Alexa app, then you just need to ask Alexa to turn on that device or that group. The same applies to the activities that you create with the Logitech Harmony.
hi, great video but can you tell me how you get the ps4 and xbox to turn on the same hdmi, as i also have a smashing smart tv, cheers?
Sorry for the delay in responding to you - wife has just had a baby so we're super busy! You need a Logitech Harmony Hub (but I believe you've found that answer already). Cheers
Ben Terry congratulations!
Great Video Ben. Mitch here from Vancouver Island. Please advise me on this.. With all of the new innovations in Smart home tech. I am finding it a little overwhelming when it comes to designing my system. I have been in touch with Control 4 but I am not convinced the centrally located controller setup is the way to go. I thought about using a wifi (master) switch for whole home on off lighting with a lighting relay panel, but maybe a hub system would be simpler and less expensive? Control 4 seems like a great whole home automation system, but I will be just as happy controlling the following devices using Alexa and RF tech. if i can just figure it out.
1: Whole home audio via hardwire or Sonos or Control 4
2: Lighting/Security/Doorbell/Thermostat? All possible With Control 4 or home kit or Wink etc?
3: I have 20 foot high ceilings on the HOUSE I INTEND TO BUILD. Powered blinds is a must. (Yes house is not built so rough in wiring is possible everywhere.) Cat 5e RG6 HDMI Speaker wire etc.)
4: I have a Denon 2 zone amp as well as an Xbox one so I could use the xbox HDMI passthrough and the Denon zone 2 for a hardwired whole home audio setup.
As you can see I am not sure where to start. What are your suggestions? Like your idea of physical switches everywhere in case of system failure or use incompetence ;)
Cheers Ben
Hi Mitch, thank you! Hmm... I must confess I'm not particularly au fait with Control4, or indeed other central-controller-based setups. I've heard of it, and have looked at their website - looks to be the 'Rolls Royce' option, and presumably priced accordingly!
From what I understand, the real benefits of a system like Control4 (over a setup like mine with multiple different proprietary technologies) are as follows:
- It gives you a single dashboard and dedicated remote control hardware through which to control everything. You can achieve something similar with a setup like mine, there are apps that you can link with your various 3rd party accounts (like Yonomi) and bring them all together (e.g. Philips Hue for lighting, Logitech Harmony for AV control) and indeed I've created an interface for my smartwatch that can control all of my tech, but the different devices don't (or can't) report their status back to their respective hub and thus give an indication of their state within said interface. LightwaveRF dimmers, for example, do not send signals back to the hub to tell it when they're switched on or off. I would presume that with a central-controller-based setup will give you real time feedback, so you'll be able to see what's going on at a glance
- You wouldn't need multiple hubs and accounts for the various hubs, like I do, for my LightwaveRF devices, Logitech Harmony, Philips Hue, etc.
- 'Proper' multi-zone AV - I'm using a Logitech Harmony hub to control all the TVs/home entertainment throughout my house. At the moment, Logitech's hub-based remotes such as mine do not properly support multi-zone setups (with multiple IR hubs or the ability to run more than one activity at once). I'm working around this by injecting infra-red signals through the HDMI cables that run throughout the house
- Installation/support from Control4 - no explanation needed here, I imagine they have a team who will come to your house and set it all up for you and fix it if it goes wrong
- Reliability - As everything would be physically wired into the central controller, you wouldn't have to worry about RF signals being missed by the devices and things not working 100% of the time
The obvious disadvantages of a central-controller-based system would be cost of the equipment, installation and the challenge/disruption associated with retro-fitting (which won't apply in your case, as you're in the ideal position of being able to integrate it right from the start).
In terms of whole house audio/video, hard-wired is the way to go. The maximum length for an HDMI cable (carrying a 1080p signal - not sure about 4K) is around the 15m mark. Any longer and you'd need to use an HDMI-to-Ethernet extender, which would require TWO lengths of shielded Cat5 (ideally Cat6) between extenders. If you just want multi-room audio, Sonos (or similar) would be fine, but there would be no point in buying Sonos speakers if you've wired HDMI throughout your house.
In terms of the blinds, I can wholeheartedly recommend Dooya products. I found a store on AliExpress.com where I got my motorised curtains - these are AC powered, so you'd want to consider getting mains power to them before you plaster your walls. My blinds are battery operated (8 x AA), which may not suit your needs. Both the curtains and blinds operate on the 433MHz RF frequency range, so can be controlled via LightwaveRF or a 433MHz transceiver connected to a home automation server. Check out this link and get in touch with the guy who runs the store to see if he has a solution for your blinds www.aliexpress.com/store/605802?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.5Yw7M3
Whichever way you go, you'll be able to tailor your own home security to do exactly what you want, based on any 'detectable' events. For example, I have a number of 433MHz door sensors. When these are triggers, a 433MHz transceiver connected to my PC picks up the signals and fires off a macro (series of events). I also have a motion sensor by the front door. I can make absolutely anything I want happen automatically when those signals are received. Even switch the kettle on. With things like IFTTT, the likelihood is that you would be able to do the same, regardless of which product you choose. You really aren't limited to any particular manufacturer or standard.
I was asked similar questions by another commenter. Here's what I said to him:
If I were starting again from scratch (knowing what I know now) I would:
- Think about what I want to automate, and choose a home automation standard/brand that supports as many different types of smart home devices as possible (e.g. lighting, sockets, blinds, heating, home entertainment, etc.), to keep the number of proprietary technologies to a minimum, reduce the number of different hubs and different smart phone apps I'd need to have. LightwaveRF is great, because it's good value, and they make all kinds of different devices, all controlled via the same frequency/hub
- Think about lighting - do you want smart lightbulbs (which need to be switched on at the mains at all times), or smart lightswitches/sockets/dimmers? Smart lightbulbs require no re-wiring, so are the simplest option, but not necessarily the cheapest. Think about how you're going to prevent them from being accidentally turned off at the mains all the time though, and what you'll be using to turn them off and on
- Decide how you want to be able to interact with your smart home devices. Do you really want to have to get your phone out of your pocket, wake it up, launch whatever app and press a series of buttons in order to turn the light on? Probably not. Maybe you want voice control, or to be able to use a smartwatch as well. Even if you use an Amazon Echo, you might still want to have a physical button on the wall to turn on your lights, for example, so that guests/friends/family can still perform this most basic task without having to get to grips with a smartphone app or voice control. For everything you see in my video, there exists a dedicated physical button/dial/remote. For example, next to each window in the lounge is a button on the wall that operates the curtains. Again, LightwaveRF is great in this regard, as you can pop a wireless switch on the wall wherever you like, and pair it with the device(s) of your choosing. For the home entertainment, I have a handheld remote (Harmony Ultimate), as well as the smartphone app, and I believe there's nothing else out there that can do the same job as the Harmony hub-based remotes (which is a real shame, because sometimes it's a pain in the arse)
- Check if the different proprietary home automation products that you're interested in can be made to integrate with one another. For example, you might have a Belkin WeMo motion sensor that you want to set up to trigger your Philips Hue lighting. This can be achieved with IFTTT. My Logitech Harmony cannot currently be controlled directly by the Amazon Echo, but they can be made to work together with Yonomi. Just make sure that whatever you buy can be made to talk to everything else, to bring it all together. If you want to be able to control everything using an Amazon Echo, check the Alexa Skills store to see if a native smart home skill exists for the product you're interested in
- Decide whether a central hub and/or 'dashboard' is essential to you. Some smart home devices don't report their statuses back to the hub that issued the command to turn them on/off. You might wish to consider investing in a home automation server, or using a PC as a home automation server. You could even use an Android phone running Tasker (for which you will likely find a plugin that can interact with the devices you choose). If you have an iPhone, pop it in the bin ;-)
In terms of different products, as long as those products can talk to one-another, have IFTTT support and/or a native smart home skill for Amazon Alexa (or there are plans for one or both in the future), there's no reason why you couldn't achieve the same sort of setup.
My curtains are powered by a Dooya DT52S motorised curtain rail (from AliExpress.com) connected to a LightwaveRF inline relay. The blinds are Tuiss roman blinds (from Tuiss.co.uk), upgraded to their 'Electric Smart Raise' option, which operates on the 433MHz frequency (same as LightwaveRF). The blinds and curtain rails cost around £125 each. I did a lot of research on smart curtains/blinds - I'm quietly confident you won't find anything cheaper!
I hope some of this is useful - let me know if you need more advice!
Cheers.
Ben. Thanks SO MUCH for your insight. I should have mentioned that YES CONTROL 4 will undoubtedly be more money than my modest budget house will allow. I know they have a expandable entry level controller (EA1) i believe, but I am just not convinced that all this will be old technology before I am even finished building my house. THIS BEING SAID. I think A WINK 2 Hub/My Alexa/my (I know) iPhone/Mac/PC and a whole bunch of Z/wave stuff may be the way to start. (I am not a big fan of Wireless Interference). Will look into the blinds/LightwaveRF and HDMI extenders as well. Cheers Ben
Here is an interesting link comparing LightwaveRF to Zwave Which I must confess may make more sense for what I am trying to achieve with my smart home setup.
www.vesternet.com/resources/technology-comparison/lightwaverf-or-z-wave
Hi Mitch, you're welcome, hope you find it useful! Yes, Vesternet.com is a great resource for home automation info - let me know if you've any other questions I can help with :)
Ben, what kettle did you have in the kitchen and what was u using to control it?
speedytweedy123 Hi there, it's a Smarter WiFi Kettle, controlled via Telnet
Ben Terry thanks and what skill via Alexa?
speedytweedy123 I've created an on/off device (as per a socket/relay) in the LightwaveRF app called 'kettle'. When I send the on command, the signal is picked up by an RFXtrx433E USB adapter connected to my PC. this triggers an EventGhost macro that runs a Python script that runs Telnet and tells the kettle to turn on. When I send the off command, a different EventGhost macro runs to connect to the kettle and turn it off. So it's just the LightwaveRF skill for the Echo :-)
How were you able to get your playstation 4 to work with Alexa? I am using Logitech harmony and I can't get it to work because Playstation will not allow a third party to control it.
Hi Kelly. The Harmony Hub can control the PS4, but only after it's been turned on using an official PS4 controller (annoying). The way I'm getting around this is as follows:
1 - I start my Playstation activity via my Logitech Harmony
2 - The Harmony hub sends infra red commands to turn on my TV and amplifier, and sets both to the right HDMI input
3 - I have a PC under my TV with an infra red receiver attached. The PC runs an app called EventGhost. When the IR code that sets my amp to the Playstation input is received, EventGhost runs a Macro that fires an action
4 - The EventGhost action fires a message to the Android phone (via the AutoRemote plugin) on my TV stand
5 - When the phone receives the message from EventGhost, it triggers a Tasker profile
6 - The Tasker profile launches the PS4 Remote Play Android app and uses the AutoInput plugin to click the 'next' button on the screen and then wait for 90 seconds
7 - As soon as AutoInput presses the 'next' button, the PS4 switches on
8 - After 90 seconds, the PS4 remote play app is automatically closed. The 90 second delay is necessary to give the PS4 enough time to boot and log in
What is the other device used along with Amazon echo
Hey great video, any chance of getting a link to the blinds your using with alexa?
Yes. What blinds and curtains are you using? Thanks.
Hi Simon, I'm using blinds from Tuiss.co.uk. I selected their 'Electric Smart Raise' option and have paired them with my LightwaveRF hub.
Hey Thanks for the reply, i looked on that website and can't find Electric Smart Raise option?
Simon Boyce Hi Simon, you need to select a roman blind, choose your size and then it gives you the option upgrade to Electric Smart Raise.
Please could you contact me on Facebook and let me know where you got your switches from
Great....but sounds like you went Gung-ho with Alexa!
can you do video on how you made everything automated. Very cool.
I'll see what I can do :)
This is awesome! But how do you ask alexa to turn things off if you're upstairs?
Thanks Cat. I now have multiple Echo devices dotted around the house, so Alexa hears me wherever I am (almost!)
Hey, Ben, does the Home commands come with Alexa, or do you have to pay extra?
Hi Cole, no, yoy don't need to pay extra for home commands - however, you do have to pay for all the smart home devices that are triggered by those commands... Alexa can't control 'normal' lights/lightswitches/kettles/heating/audio-visual equipment without the right tech!
@@BenGmuN WHAT YOUR NAME
I can't get the yonomi routines to work with my amazon echo dot. I have hue lights in my home theatre with a V1 bridge.
btw your setup is dope
Thank you! What problem are you having? Do your routines not show up as smart home devices in the Alexa app? If so, I recommend that you disconnect Yonomi/Alexa and then re-connect Yonomi through the Alexa app - not the other way around (apparently there is a known issue with linking from the Yonomi app). Cheers!
just wondering what electric blinds do you use ?
Hi Dale, they're made by Dooya - check out AliExpress.com and search for blind motors. Really cheap compared with Somfy
You should get some echo dots around your house
Yeah, I've got three dots now, I'll do another video when I've got them all set up :)
Hi ben i have the smart kettle and coffee machine how do you connect to alexa please. Been wondering this. Could.you let me know step.by step :) love your home
Thanks Karl. Right, where to start. I don't know about the coffee machine, I'm afraid, as I don't have one. However, for the Kettle, you will need either a PC (that's always running) or an Android phone. I'll explain how this would be done with an Android phone, as it's easier and less expensive than with a PC.
1. Log in to your broadband router and find out what IP address has been assigned to your iKettle
2. Reserve the iKettle's IP address so that it always uses the same one
3. Install Tasker on your Android phone
4. Install the Send/Expect Tasker plugin on your Android phone
5. Install the AutoNotification plugin on your Android phone
6. Install the Yonomi app on your Android phone and create an account - do not link your Alexa account through the Yonomi app, it needs to be the other way around
7. From the Alexa app, link your Yonomi account
8. In the Yonomi app, create a routine that just sends a notification to your phone. For the notification text, enter something like 'Kettle_On' and for the routine name, enter 'Kettle'
9. Create another routine in Yonomi, this time, enter 'Kettle_Off' as the notification text and for the routine name enter 'Kettle off'
10. Ask Alexa to 'Discover Devices' - in the 'Smart Home' node, you should now see a device named 'Kettle'
11. Add a new Tasker profile. Select 'Event' --> 'Plugin' --> 'AutoNotification' --> 'Intercept' and click the pencil icon to configure the event
12. Scroll down to 'Notification Text' and type in 'Kettle_On' (make sure you use exactly the same upper/lower case as your Yonomi notification text)
13. Click the tick icon to finish configuration of the AutoNotification event and press the back button. You will be prompted to select an existing task or create a new one
14. Select 'New Task' and enter a name (e.g. 'Switch on Kettle')
15. Press the + symbol to add an action
16. Select 'Plugin' --> 'Send/Expect'
17. Press the pencil icon to configure the action
18. Enter the IP address of your kettle as the target and 2000 for the port number
19. Tap on 'Add Send'
20. Enter the following text exactly as you see it below:
HELLOKETTLE
set sys output 0x4
set sys output 0x80
21. Press 'OK' and then the tick icon to save your changes. Keep pressing 'back' until you see the list of Tasker profiles
22. Create another tasker profile in exactly the same way. This time, for the AutoNotification notification text, enter 'Kettle_Off', give the task a different name (e.g. Switch off Kettle) and for the 'Add Send' command in the Send/Expect action, enter the following:
HELLOKETTLE
set sys output 0x0
23. Press back until Tasker closes (this ensures all your settings are saved)
24. Test it out!
Hope this helps!
This information might help you work out how to do something similar with the Coffee machine: github.com/Tristan79/iBrew/blob/master/source/smarter/SmarterProtocol.py
Ben Terry wow thanks i shall give this ago. i will let you know how i get on thanks again
can you set the blinds and everything else up yourself? or you have to hire someone?
I did it all myself, was quite easy, I'm working on a video showing how :)
How did you get elixa to open blinds and turn on tv?
Will Pettit Hi Will, the home entertainment gear (TV, etc.) is all done via a Logitech Harmony hub through the Yonomi app. The curtains are connected to a LightwaveRF relay, the blinds have 433MHz receivers built in, which is the same frequency as LightwaveRF (and there's a smart home skill for that). For more info, watch all of the video and check out my responses to other questions in the comments.
It would be nice if Alexa would change up its response sometimes. OK is too repetitive and slightly irritating. Sure, Done, As You Commanded, would be a good addition to just saying "okay".
On another note, I would advise to use manual focus. Most of the video was shot at a distance that would not need focus adjustment. A lot of times the auto focus will kick in when not needed. You can see this problem when the object is in focus then out and back again when you did not change your distance to the object.
Thanks for the advice :) Yeah, it's a shame it can only say 'OK' right now, maybe that will change in the future.
btw what was the total to buy everything and set it up
So, including the TVs, Playstation, XBox, Nintendo, Home Cinema, etc. I think probably around £8000. For just the lighting products, curtains, Harmony Hub, kettle and things like that, probably £2000.
love the video only problem I couldn't remember all those commands
How does it turn on Xbox and tv? Is it just powering A outlet?
BKLYNX Logitech Harmony hub
BKLYNX I have an example on my channel FYI.
No videos for 11 months! I thought this was really good. Any in the pipeline?
Will Ford You can thank my nearly-11-month-old daughter for that ;-) Hopefully soon!
How does it know to turn on everything? Is it automatic or do you program it?!
Hi Vito, so there are a number of different home automation products involved. For example, the lighting is a mixture of Philips Hue and LightwaveRF. These devices feature a hub that connects to your router and allow control via your phone and the web. When you set up each hub, you create/log in to an account. When you set up an Amazon Echo, you sign in to the Alexa app with your Amazon account. In the Alexa app, you then search for and enable the 'skill' for your various home automation products, e.g. Philips Hue/LightwaveRF, at which point you will be prompted to enter your account details for that product. Once this is done, your products are 'linked' and you can ask Alexa to 'discover devices'. It will then detect and list all of the devices found in whichever accounts you have linked. The names of the devices that appear in the Alexa app in the 'Smart Home' section are the names you need to speak to Alexa to have it control them, e.g. if I have a device in my Philips Hue account called 'Table Lamp', I would use "Alexa, turn on the table lamp" to turn it on. The same applies to many other home automation products.You can customize the device names and add them to groups in the Alexa app, then you just need to ask Alexa to turn on that device or that group.
Ben Terry Oh wow, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You didn't have to take that much time on this! Thanks!
Vito Coraci You're welcome! No problem, happy to help.
how do you set up alexa to turn on and off your game consoles?
Demon0ne Using a Logitech Harmony hub
Alexa, wipe my butt. Ok.
how much was it around to set all this up not adding the amozon echo
I think around £2000 for the lighting products, curtains, Harmony Hub, kettle, thermostat, etc. Not including all the home entertainment stuff, playstation, TVs, etc.
Wow I just bought an echo dot and a TP-light and it was a around $100 I plan on doing more what kind of lights are you using
I have a mixture of Philips Hue bulbs in my lamps and LightwaveRF dimmers that replace my conventional wall switches. They're about £40 each and I've got around 10 of them, so it soon adds up!
Yea I'm quickly realizing that lol
One more thing how did you connect it to your tv
Hi, how can you start your Playstation with the Amazon Echo?
Sven B Hi Sven, when I say "Alexa, turn on the Playstation" what happens is this:
1 - The Echo tells my Logitech Harmony hub to start my Playstation activity
2 - The Harmony hub sends infra red commands to turn on my TV and amplifier, and sets both to the right HDMI input
3 - I have a PC under my TV with an infra red receiver attached. The PC runs an app called EventGhost. When the IR code that sets my amp to the Playstation input is received, EventGhost runs a Macro that fires an action
4 - The EventGhost action fires a message to the Android phone (via the AutoRemote plugin) on my TV stand
5 - When the phone receives the message from EventGhost, it triggers a Tasker profile
6 - The Tasker profile launches the PS4 Remote Play Android app and uses the AutoInput plugin to click the 'next' button on the screen and then wait for 90 seconds
7 - As soon as AutoInput presses the 'next' button, the PS4 switches on
8 - After 90 seconds, the PS4 remote play app is automatically closed. The 90 second delay is necessary to give the PS4 enough time to boot and log in
pls tell what is the name of the home automation.
Hi Ajitabh, there's a mixture of different home automation products featured here. Philips Hue light bulbs, LightwaveRF dimmers and relay switches, Logitech Harmony for the home entertainment devices. Is this what you mean?
What do you use to shut the blinds
Hi Anthony, the blinds are from a company called Tuiss. Their 'Electric Smart Raise' blinds are battery powered and have a 433MHz receiver built in. This allows me to send 433MHz signals via the LightwaveRF link directly to the blinds to have them open/close.
Ben Terry Hi Ben, I'm very interested in these. I'll have the LightwaveRF hub shortly. I really want these blinds but have some questions..
How are the blinds powered?
Is it easy to set up for voice commands through echo?
Roughly what cost per window did you have?
many thanks
Hi Steve, the curtains are Tuiss 'electric smart raise' blinds, powered by 8 x AA batteries. They cost around £125 per window. Hope this helps!
how do you setup the light system with Echo?
Pat H I have a mixture of Philips Hue and LightwaveRF lighting products. Both require a hub that connects to your router and allow control via your phone and the web. When you set up each hub, you create/log in to an account. When you set up an Amazon Echo, you sign in to the Alexa app with your Amazon account. In the Alexa app, you then search for and enable the 'skill' for your various home automation products, e.g. Philips Hue/LightwaveRF, at which point you will be prompted to enter your account details for that product. Once this is done, your products are 'linked' and you can ask Alexa to 'discover devices'. It will then detect and list all of the devices found in whichever accounts you have linked. The names of the devices that appear in the Alexa app in the 'Smart Home' section are the names you need to speak to Alexa to have it control them, e.g. if I have a device in my Philips Hue account called 'Table Lamp', I would use "Alexa, turn on the table lamp" to turn it on. The same applies to many other home automation products, just make sure that the one you buy has a skill in the Alexa app store (or works with IFTTT, Yonomi, Smartthings, etc.). Otherwise, you'd need a custom skill, which is somewhat more adventurous.
Thanks!
how did you do the kettle?
Hi, so, the Kettle is a WiFi Kettle by Smarter. It connects to the 2.4GHz wireless network. You're meant to use their app, but their app is complete toilet. Fortunately, I found that it is possible to control the Kettle via Telnet. I can send Telnet commands either from my PC or my Android phone via Tasker/SendExpect. I created an on/off device (as I would for a socket/relay) in the LightwaveRF app called 'kettle'. When I send the on command, the signal is picked up by an RFXtrx433E USB adapter connected to my PC. this triggers an EventGhost macro that runs a Python script that runs Telnet and tells the kettle to turn on. When I send the off command, a different EventGhost macro runs to connect to the kettle and turn it off. So it's just the LightwaveRF skill for the Echo :-)
cool thanks
I want to control my ps4 Xbox how to I install yanome app on my s7 edge? Nice video :)
Hi, you need a Logitech Harmony Hub to control your PS4 and XBox. If you're in the US, you don't need Yonomi, you just need the Logitech Harmony smart home skill.
Where do you get the shades and curtains?
Hi Zachary, sorry for the delay, check out the following page: bestblinds.aliexpress.com/store/all-wholesale-products/605802.html
How do you connect ps4 with alexa, can you explain me?
iva there is one way I know of doing it make your playstion 4 turn on when you switch to an dmi input that's connected to your ps4, you can do this in your video input settings ij your playstaio4 so bessicaly what he might have done is name the HDMI Turn on playstion on the yonomi app which sends the trigger ps4 dhmi input to the TV through harmony hub from yonomy and from alexa you will also obviously need a logitech harmony hub. hope it makes sense.
I dont understand
iva ok I'll explain it a bit better give me a moment
iva Just like he said ps4 only allows you to turn on the ps4 through the controller. But in ps4 go to settings and go all the way down to system you need to check mark where it says enable HDMI link. This will allow you to turn your ps4 on as soon as you switch to that HDMI input that you connected your ps4 on to without having to use the controller. For you now to turn the ps4 with Alexa you'd then need a Logitech hub not with the remote as you can always use your smartphone, a yonomi application and ofcause the echo, or the echo dot.
Hi Iva,
So, as Nash says, you need a Logitech Harmony Hub. The Playstation 4 supports something called HDMI CEC, which means you can control it from your TV remote (i.e. when your TV switches to your PS4 input, it will automatically turn on the PS4). Unfortunately, I had to turn off HDMI CEC because it interferes with my Harmony activities. This meant I had to do things a bit differently:
1 - The Echo tells my Logitech Harmony hub to start my Playstation activity
2 - The Harmony hub sends infra red commands to turn on my TV and amplifier, and sets both to the right HDMI input
3 - I have a PC under my TV with an infra red receiver attached. The PC runs an app called EventGhost. When the IR code that sets my amp to the Playstation input is received, EventGhost runs a Macro that fires an action
4 - The EventGhost action fires a message to the Android phone (via the AutoRemote plugin) on my TV stand
5 - When the phone receives the message from EventGhost, it triggers a Tasker profile
6 - The Tasker profile launches the PS4 Remote Play Android app and uses the AutoInput plugin to click the 'next' button on the screen and then wait for 90 seconds
7 - As soon as AutoInput presses the 'next' button, the PS4 switches on
8 - After 90 seconds, the PS4 remote play app is automatically closed. The 90 second delay is necessary to give the PS4 enough time to boot and log in
Hope this helps!
Alexa turn of everything
mmmm how much.
Alexa get me a new bed
You Alexa has a British accent? Lol
Amanda Woolsey No, it doesn't have an accent at all, it speaks English like an English person from England ;-)
Ok, well in all seriousness does it sound different than the ones sold in the US?
It does indeed, the US version has an American accent :-)
Ben Terry Craziness! I never knew it was different!
Hehe
Alexa get me a new video camera that the zoom function doesn't whine like a baby
joeventura1 Sorry! I know! It's annoying!
alexa turn on the playstation. how?
Hi Gary,
1 - The Echo tells my Logitech Harmony hub to start my Playstation activity
2 - The Harmony hub sends infra red commands to turn on my TV and amplifier, and sets both to the right HDMI input
3 - I have a PC under my TV with an infra red receiver attached. The PC runs an app called EventGhost. When the IR code that sets my amp to the Playstation input is received, EventGhost runs a Macro that fires an action
4 - The EventGhost action fires a message to the Android phone (via the AutoRemote plugin) on my TV stand
5 - When the phone receives the message from EventGhost, it triggers a Tasker profile
6 - The Tasker profile launches the PS4 Remote Play Android app and uses the AutoInput plugin to click the 'next' button on the screen and then wait for 90 seconds
7 - As soon as AutoInput presses the 'next' button, the PS4 switches on
8 - After 90 seconds, the PS4 remote play app is automatically closed. The 90 second delay is necessary to give the PS4 enough time to boot and log in
Hope this helps!
Awesome thanx. another question thou.if your internet is down or your router is unresponsive. will the lights work manually?
or will i be searching for my kerosene lantern? lol
Good question. The short answer is yes, they will still work. If my internet connection goes down (e.g. if there's a fault with my ISP), it just means I wouldn't be able to control my devices via the web (i.e. when I'm not at home). Similarly, if my wireless/wired network drops, or my router stops working completely, life will still continue almost as normal. The LightwaveRF wall dimmers have physical buttons on them and are wired directly to the mains lighting ring, so these will continue to work just fine. The Philips Hue bulbs will light up if you switch them off and back on at the wall. The physical remote that connects to my Logitech Harmony hub (which controls all my home entertainment) will continue to work, the kettle can be switched on with the button, the blinds are battery powered and have a physical remote control which will work fine, the curtain relays are paired directly with battery-powered wall switches (but can be operated by hand), the Nest thermostat will carry on working (though not via the app). The only thing that will stop working altogether is the Echo - it needs internet connectivity *at all times*
A power cut would be really annoying, though, so I bought a 2000VA UPS and connected all my home automation/home cinema stuff to it :)
I have another geek friend who has linked his snooze command up with his coffee brewer. I'm so ready for this. Thanx for the help. Not calling you a geek. I'm just looking for my inner geek LOl
alexa hoover the floor do my washing cook my dinner and tell wife your not needed
Smart home, stupid camera. Lol
I despise the fact you can't term on the PS4 without the controller. So silly...
Mrcaffinebean It really is. If you're interested to know how I got around this, let me know :-)
Ben Terry the remote play launch right? Very creative. It's just a same you have to do it. I'm surprised no one has reverse engineered the controller to create a method for doing it.
Thanks :) Yeah you're right, it is a real shame - so pointless!
sell me this house for 1 million dollars
with everything
Haha, tempting ;-)
Lol she has a British accent.
We don’t need to see you turn something off goof
This is a smart home automation demonstration video. Literally every detail will be covered. If you don't like it, watch reviews.
@@LogicDoesStuff huh
Eeee
SKYNET IS IMINENT PACK YOU BAGS AN RUN TO THE HILLS jk i hope so anyway
can it go to the toilet for you? (joke) 😂
Thanks for the video Sir. How did you manage to get the kettle turn on with Alexa? I've the same kettle and I'd like to set this up as well.
Thanks Dan. It's a bit convoluted, unfortunately... I created a dummy on/off device (as I would for a socket/relay) in the LightwaveRF app called 'kettle'. When I send the on command, the signal is picked up by an RFXtrx433E USB adapter connected to my PC. this triggers an EventGhost macro that runs a Python script that runs Telnet and tells the kettle to turn on. When I send the off command, a different EventGhost macro runs to connect to the kettle and turn it off. So, as far as the Echo is concerned, it's just another LightwaveRF socket device.
It can also be achieved with an Android phone, as follows:
1. Log in to your broadband router and find out what IP address has been assigned to your iKettle
2. Reserve the iKettle's IP address so that it always uses the same one
3. Install Tasker on your Android phone
4. Install the Send/Expect Tasker plugin on your Android phone
5. Install the AutoNotification plugin on your Android phone
6. Install the Yonomi app on your Android phone and create an account - do not link your Alexa account through the Yonomi app, it needs to be the other way around
7. From the Alexa app, link your Yonomi account
8. In the Yonomi app, create a routine that just sends a notification to your phone. For the notification text, enter something like 'Kettle_On' and for the routine name, enter 'Kettle'
9. Create another routine in Yonomi, this time, enter 'Kettle_Off' as the notification text and for the routine name enter 'Kettle off'
10. Ask Alexa to 'Discover Devices' - in the 'Smart Home' node, you should now see a device named 'Kettle'
11. Add a new Tasker profile. Select 'Event' --> 'Plugin' --> 'AutoNotification' --> 'Intercept' and click the pencil icon to configure the event
12. Scroll down to 'Notification Text' and type in 'Kettle_On' (make sure you use exactly the same upper/lower case as your Yonomi notification text)
13. Click the tick icon to finish configuration of the AutoNotification event and press the back button. You will be prompted to select an existing task or create a new one
14. Select 'New Task' and enter a name (e.g. 'Switch on Kettle')
15. Press the + symbol to add an action
16. Select 'Plugin' --> 'Send/Expect'
17. Press the pencil icon to configure the action
18. Enter the IP address of your kettle as the target and 2000 for the port number
19. Tap on 'Add Send'
20. Enter the following text exactly as you see it below:
HELLOKETTLE
set sys output 0x4
set sys output 0x80
21. Press 'OK' and then the tick icon to save your changes. Keep pressing 'back' until you see the list of Tasker profiles
22. Create another tasker profile in exactly the same way. This time, for the AutoNotification notification text, enter 'Kettle_Off', give the task a different name (e.g. Switch off Kettle) and for the 'Add Send' command in the Send/Expect action, enter the following:
HELLOKETTLE
set sys output 0x0
23. Press back until Tasker closes (this ensures all your settings are saved)
24. Test it out!
Hope this helps!
FORGET ALL THE ABOVE NOW, ALEXA HAS COMPATIBLE KETTLES! WITH IFTT SUPPORT TOO...