Alexa Light Control
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Control your lighting with Alexa. Shown above is an Alexa controlled smart dimmer light switch. That will turn on and off with Alexa voice commands.
Do you want control your lights with your voice? You can, when you combine smart lights with Alexa devices. We teach you how to use Alexa light control to control your lighting using your voice with Alexa and not your hands.
Controlling your lights with Alexa is one of the best upgrades you can make to your home and once you've done it you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. There's nothing better than laying in bed at the end of a long day and telling Alexa to turn off the lights.
How It Works: Alexa Controlled Lights
Alexa is the smart voice assistant that most people know for playing music and answering questions but Alexa can do so much more.
Alexa allows you to control smart devices in your home using your voice. When you get a smart wifi controlled device like a smart light bulb it connects to the cloud for remote control from your phone or tablet. Then you add what is called an "Alexa Skill" inside the Alexa App and this connects your wifi controlled device to Alexa. Once your wifi controlled device is connected to Alexa you can control the the device with your voice.
We'll teach you everything you need to know about Alexa light control below and how to connect your lights to Alexa.
Alexa Light Control Options
You have three main options to control your lights with Alexa. Smart light bulbs, smart light switches and smart plugs to control your lighting.
Alexa Smart Light Bulbs
The Etekcity smart white light bulb shown works with Alexa lighting control. Echo Show with lighting control touch screen.
Smart light bulbs are wifi powered light bulbs that screw into your standard light bulb sockets and connect your wifi network. Once installed they allow you to control your smart light bulbs from your phone or tablet.
They are one of the simplest smart home devices to install because it's literally as easy as screwing in a light bulb. Once you've set up the smart Alexa enabled light bulb on phone in the manufacturers app you can then pair the light bulb with Alexa.
Smart light bulbs that work with Alexa come in several different varieties. You can get smart light bulbs that put out white light, or smart light bulbs with over 16 million different colors that you can choose from.
Related Post: Top 10 Smart Light Bulbs That Work With Alexa
Once you have the smart lighting connected to alexa you can adjust turn on or off the Alexa lighting, set the dimming level and if capable change the color using Alexa voice commands. You can control the lights by saying "Alexa turn on living room lights."
Amazon Echo Lighting Control
With smart light bulbs you can also set your Alexa lighting to schedules, or timers. You can group them into Alexa Scenes which allow you to control multiple light bulbs or rooms with one command, or set lights to a specific Alexa scene based on your voice commands.
Using smart light bulbs for Alexa light control is simple to install but does have a few drawbacks. For each light fixture you want to control with Alexa you need to get a smart light bulb so it can get pricey to outfit an entire house.
Sonos Beam and Sonos One have Alexa built in allowing you to control your lights with Alexa through the Sonos devices. Sonos Beam and Sonos One also have high quality speakers that are great for streaming music.
The other downside is that smart light bulbs require you to leave the light switch on at all times, and use either your phone or voice to control the light switches. This is because in order for the Alexa light bulb to be controllable it must have power to the light bulb so the wifi chip can still work even if the light bulb light is off.
Overall using smart light bulbs to control lights with Alexa is probably one of the simplest ways to get started automating your lighting.
My favorite two smart light bulbs that work with Alexa are the Philips Hue and LIFX smart light bulbs shown below. We have another post that details the top 10 smart light bulbs that work with Alexa, if you are interested in more options.
Smart Plugs: Alexa Controlled Lights
Another option for controlling your lights with Alexa is to use Smart Plugs. Smart plugs will only work to control lamps that plug into an outlet but it's a great option for plug in lamps. I use smart plugs for Alexa light control of my night stand lamp and for outdoor patio hanging string lights.
You can get both indoor and outdoor smart plugs to control your Alexa lighting. To set up the Alexa smart plugs all you need to do is plug them in, connect them to your wifi network through the app, setup on the Alexa skill and your ready to control your lights with Alexa.
Amazon makes a smart plug that specifically designed to work with Alexa which is my favorite smart plug but there are a wide range of smart plugs that work with Alexa. We have a list of the top 10 smart plugs that work with Alexa in another post but below i've provided my two favorite smart plugs for Alexa lighting control.
Just like the Alexa light bulbs you can set up the smart plugs with schedules, timers and Alexa scenes.
Alexa Controlled Lights: Smart Light Switches
Alexa compatible light switches are my favorite method of controlling Alexa lighting because it offers the most functionality and built in control.
With Alexa smart light switches you replace your existing light switches with smart light switches which allows you to control all the lights connected to the same switch.
What I like about smart light switches that work with Alexa is that they function just like normal light switches, but you can turn them on or off remotely using Alexa voice commands or your phone.
Smart light switches are available in dimmers, on/off configurations and three way smart light switches.
I have smart light switches throughout my home for Alexa controlled lights and primarily use voice commands to turn on and off the lighting with my alexa home automation system.
The advantage of Alexa smart lighting switches is that you can control multiple lights connected to one switch which can be more economical than using smart Alexa light bulbs.
In another post we've listed the top 10 Alexa Smart Light switches but I recommend the top two smart light switches below. If you want to learn more about smart light switches you can also read our ultimate smart lighting guide.
How To Connect Alexa to Lights
To connect Alexa to your light switches you need to follow a few simple steps.
Step 1: Setup and install your smart lighting on the manufacturers provided app. Set up and install your Alexa device if you have not already done so. My current favorite Alexa device is the Echo Show 5.
Step 2: Open the Alexa app. Click on the menu in the upper left hand corner.
Step 3: Choose the "Skills and Games" menu item.
Step 4: Click on the "Magnifying Glass" in the upper left hand corner to search for the skill.
Amazon Echo Skill screen to add smart lighting control to Amazon Echo.
Step 5: Enter the manufacturers name in the skill search section. In this case I entered "Leviton" but it will work for all smart lighting manufacturers.
Step 6: Click on the skill.
Connect the Alexa skill to your smart light bulb.
Step 7: Click enable skill.
Alexa skill for lighting control
Step 8: Enter your user name and password you set up on the manufacturers app and follow the instructions. Your Alexa compatible lighting will then be linked to Alexa.
Leviton skill for Alexa light control.
Congratulations you have successfully connected your smart lighting to Alexa. You can now control it using voice commands by saying "Alexa, turn on my kitchen lights." or the name you chose for your Alexa smart lighting. Below is a sample of what the smart lighting devices will look like on the Alexa interface.
Alexa Smart Home Lighting Control Screen
Alexa Home Automation Smart Lighting Summary
Adding smart lighting is one of the best smart home investments you can make in your home. I have smart lighting throughout my house and it is one of the most used features in my smart home.
If you are considering getting smart lighting I highly recommend that you make the leap. If you want to just dip your toe in the water to try out smart lighting control you can do so inexpensively with a smart lighting plug. It's a great way to get started with smart lighting control without a big investment.
However if you're ready to do you're whole house I highly recommend reading our smart lighting guide. It gives you step by step instructions on how to choose and install smart light switches throughout your home.
Top Alexa Light Switches
Top Alexa Smart Light Bulbs
Top Smart Plugs
