We continue with our series of guides to make your home smart. Decided to start with lighting at the time because it is the starting point for most users who decide to enter the universe of the connected home. In the second part of the lighting guide, we want to talk to you about the importance of choosing a good virtual assistant, how to configure your new lighting devices and, ultimately, set up an intelligent lighting system that is worthwhile. Stay with us and find out how to configure your entire smart lighting system.
First: Choose two virtual assistants
You may wonder why I encourage you to choose two virtual assistants instead of two, because for a simple reason, because if one fails, we can continue using the other. The three main systems are: Alexa (Amazon), Google Home with Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit with Siri. In our case, we will always recommend Alexa for a few main reasons:
- It is the one that offers cheaper sound products and accessories available on Amazon with many offers.
- It is compatible with Android and iOS without any complications.
- It is the one that offers the most compatible devices on the market.
And secondly, I recommend that you also use the virtual assistant that is present on your mobile device, that is, HomeKit in the case that you have an iPhone or Google Home in the case that you have Android devices. In this case we opted for Amazon's Alexa for the home independently and Apple HomeKit on our devices. We take advantage of the fact that we have a multitude of management devices for all tastes and of all prices in the Amazon catalog and that there are also many third-party speakers such as Sonos, Energy Sistem and Ultimate Ears (among others) that offer compatibility.
Connecting Zigbee bulbs - Philips Hue
In our case with the Zigbee protocol, we have opted for Philips Hue, which, together with its wireless switches, makes up the usual configuration of our devices. To get the Hue system working with Alexa Once we have connected the bridge to the router using an RJ45 cable, we do the following:
- We install the Philips Hue application on our device and create an account.
- We open the Alexa application, install the Philips Hue Skill and log in with the same Philips Hue account.
- Automatically click on "+"> Add device and we will see all the devices added to our bridge.
To add a device to the Philips Hue bridge:
- We enter the Philips Hue application and go to Settings.
- Click on «Light Settings» and then on «Add light».
- The bulbs that we have connected in this section will automatically appear and allow us to adjust it. If it does not appear, we can click on «Add serial number» and we will see how in the white area of the bulb there is an alphanumeric code of between 5 and 6 characters that will automatically add the bulb.
- When the light bulb flashes, it already indicates that it has been detected by the bridge and has been correctly connected to our system.
Wi-Fi bulb connection
Wi-Fi bulbs are a world apart. It is true that I recommend them mainly for "auxiliary" lighting, ie LED strips or companion lamps, however they are not always the easiest to buy. A decisive point to take into account to acquire these products is the software, although we only focus on the device itself, it is important that we make sure that the light bulb management software is compatible with our virtual assistants, that is, or Alexa and Google Home or Alexa and HomeKit.
It is not only a matter of turning on, off and that they are compatible, RGB bulbs for example can have numerous options such as color changes or "candle" mode, in short, a good application and good software updates are important, for this We recommend those of Lifx that we have analyzed a lot here, as well as those of Xiaomi. We recommend that you go through any of our Lifx light bulbs reviews to see how easy they are to install and add to the different virtual assistant or connected home management services.
Smart switches, the ideal alternative
A reader was telling us about Wi-Fi switches. On this website we have analyzed them and we know that they are the ideal alternative, however, we have not put much emphasis for one main reason: They require installation and electrical knowledge. To use these switches that simply come to replace the traditional ones we have at home, we have to remove the ones we have, insert these and connect them to the electrical network properly. This usually has problems such as the switches, the different phases and of course the electrical risk. Obviously we know about this option, we have analyzed it and we recommend it, but we understand that those who choose it do not need instructions.
For their part, they are the best option because they do not require renovation, they do not take up space and are obviously not used. With these switches you will be able to manage any type of lamp, although if we use LED lighting it is important that they have a dimmer or otherwise they will blink and we will not be able to adjust the intensity of the brightness. There are many brands that offer these switches and even simple adapters for the traditional ones, we recommend Koogeek which is what we have tested and know in depth, compatible with Alexa, Google Home and of course Apple HomeKit.
Our recommendation
As you can see, our recommendation is that first we are clear about what type of virtual assistant. The good thing about Alexa is that we have Sonos and other brands with which we can fully integrate the virtual assistant. Then if you plan to do the whole house, you can opt for smart switches if you have minimal knowledge of electricity or the Philips Hue or Ikea Tradfri system. In addition, WiFi bulbs can help you with auxiliary lighting with a low acquisition cost and little configuration. We hope we have been able to help you and we remind you that soon we are going to show you what are our recommendations for smart home accessories such as vacuum cleaners, speakers, curtains and much more.