{"id":6772,"date":"2016-12-19T13:42:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T13:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6772"},"modified":"2016-12-19T13:43:13","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T13:43:13","slug":"my-first-attempt-at-home-automation-alexa-controlled-christmas-tree-lights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2016\/12\/my-first-attempt-at-home-automation-alexa-controlled-christmas-tree-lights.htm","title":{"rendered":"My first attempt at home automation: Alexa-controlled Christmas tree lights!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve wanted to play with some home automation tech for a while now but the absence of clear standards and relatively high cost of entry (with many of the popular systems requiring a hub) put me off. We also have the relatively unusual situation in that there is nearly always someone in our house, so even the idea of a smart thermostat to turn down the heating when we’re out (e.g. Nest, Hive, etc.)\u00a0is not a good fit for our lifestyle.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"Then, a few weeks ago, I bought myself an Amazon Echo Dot<\/a>. My business case was weak. After all, voice controlling my Spotify playlists is a bit of a novelty (and not all of the “skills” that are available in the US are available over here in the UK) but I could see there was potential, especially once IFTTT support comes to the UK (which it finally did, last week).<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, I decided to take things a little further and to see if I could control some lights. I wasn’t getting far with the fixed infrastructure in the house (due to challenges with a lack of a hub and B22 vs. E27 light fittings meaning I’ll need to convert some of the light\u00a0pendants too…) but my colleague Richard Knight (@rmknight<\/a>) suggested a TP-Link Smart Plug and I picked up a TP-Link HS110 on Amazon<\/a>. Then it was a case of deciding which lights to control – and I went for the Christmas Tree lights…<\/p>\n

After a fairly simple setup process<\/a> (using TP-Link’s Kasa mobile app) I had the switch working from my phone but then I\u00a0took things a step further… voice control with Alexa. Kasa and Alexa are integrated so after enabling the skill in Alexa and linking to Kasa<\/a>, I was able to control the lights with my voice:<\/p>\n

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12yo and I are pleased with our home automation attempt. Mrs W less so. Not until #Alexa<\/a> can cook Christmas Lunch she says… ??#SmartHome<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/xIfBZLfHF4<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Wilson ??????? (@markwilsonit) December 18, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n