Friday, April 13, 2018

Voice Control TV + Lights for Quadriplegics using Alexa

I use an Echo (2nd Generation) - Smart speaker with Alexa (paid $99.99)

I also wanted to control my television and the room lights. These are the extras I got:

I have the Harmony Home Hub for controlling the tv 
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N3RFC4Q/ (paid $49.99)
Enter your device manufacturer and model number to see if it's supported by the Harmony database. https://support.myharmony.com/en-us/compatibility

For lights, I went with the Lifx lights which do not use a hub. Each light bulb connects to your wifi router. Each light can be controlled separately or set up in groups. They can also change to any color. I seem to be using the Echo the mainly to control the lights. 

I didn't have a lamp or light fixture that uses standard A19 light bulb so I got this 3 Light Crush Torchiere to use the Lifx A19 lights

For lights on another wall the LIFX Z (Starter Kit) Wi-Fi Smart LED Light Strip (Base + 2 meters of strip), Adjustable, Multicolor, Dimmable, No Hub Required

Since I have caregivers who want to control the lights with a switch instead of by voice with the Echo, I got the Logitech Pop Home Switch Starter Pack. These smart switches work great. I programmed one for the group of 3 lights in the lamp and the other for the light strip on the wall. Each switch has 3 programmed functions, so I programmed them for different light brightnesses.


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