My Smart Home

Smart home technology is improving rapidly, becoming cheaper and easier to use. However, not all devices and vendors work well together, and there are competing technologies available. Be sure that the devices and software you obtain will work well together. What I describe here works for me, but other solutions may be better for you.

My Situation:

My Condition:

  • Need power wheelchair to get around

  • Arms and hands very weak - hard to reach and control switches, devices.

  • Voice largely unaffected.

My environment:

  • WiFi in the home

  • Android smart phone

  • Windows laptop/tablet

  • Amazon Echo devices (one each in living room, my bedroom, kitchen, office, other bedroom)

My goal:

  • Use voice to control environment, devices around home. (lights, lamps plugged into wall outlets, TV, DVD player, VCR, front door lock)

Notes:

  • Though I describe how to control devices/environment by voice using Alexa, you can also do this with the same technology via smart phone app, so this could be useful even if your voice is affected. And the voice coming from a speech generating device (SGD) can control Alexa, as well.

  • Most devices work with a smart phone app, but not an app you can run on your computer or tablet. This might be an issue if you're primary interface to the world is a SGD running on Windows. However, if you use an Android phone and a Windows computer, you can do either of the following:

    • Run an Android emulator on your computer to run Android apps on your computer. I use the free BlueStacks Android emulator. This is kind of like having another phone, but without cell service, running in a window on your computer. You can install and configure phone apps in the emulator.

    • Mirror your phone on your computer. I use the Vysor app. This allows you to control an existing Android phone on your computer, including using apps and making calls, as long as your computer and the phone are both connected to Wi-Fi. (If you have a supported phone (currently just the latest Samsung phones), you could instead use Phone Screen which is part of something called Your Phone: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4459358/windows-10-your-phone-app-help )

  • Some wheelchair joystick controllers can be used like an IR remote to control TV, etc. The one I have can do this:

Amazon Echo/Alexa

Echo is the device; Alexa is the software assistant.

Useful by itself:

  • Ask questions (like Apple's Siri or Google's Assistant).

  • Play music.

    • Comes with Amazon's basic music service, but that is somewhat limited.

    • Can access your Pandora or Spotify account, if you have one - we use Amazon Prime Music, so can play virtually any artist, album, or song, simply by asking Alexa.

  • Get weather, news, sports scores.

  • Shop on Amazon.

  • Call people (without using your cell phone plan)

  • If you have more than one, you can use them as intercoms (talk to someone in another room)

  • Configure via smart phone app (free) or web app (free)

  • Can extend with additional skills (software add-ons), many of which are free

Also useful for controlling the environment by voice, though this requires additional hardware and software. See below.

Typical Setup for WiFi Devices:

Basic Setup:

  • Install the physical device

  • Download and install vendor's phone app (usually free) on your smart phone

  • Create (or login to) account with vendor using phone app

  • Device sets up a temporary WiFi network of its own - phone app will tell you to change your phone to use that WiFi network - now phone app and device can talk to each other

  • Phone app will ask you what your regular WiFi network is - app connects your phone and the device to that network - device connects to that from now on

For Use with Alexa:

  • Add vendor's Alexa skill (usually free) to your Alexa app/account

  • Have Alexa scan for new devices - she should find the new one

Now you can use any of the following to control the device:

  • Physical device itself - flip physical switch, for example

  • Device vendor's phone app

  • Alexa app (smart home section)

  • Echo device by voice

Simple Stuff

Smart outlets:

  • Small device you plug into an existing outlet, which provides receptacle for a plug, and communicates electronically somehow.

  • Purpose is to turn on/off power to the thing plugged into to it. In our case, these are lamps.

  • Probably want to plug them into un-switched (always on) outlets, not an outlet whose power is controlled by a wall switch, otherwise, if you turn off the wall switch, the smart outlet loses power, and can't work.

  • We use ones that connect to our home WiFi; others use radio frequency (RF) protocols such as Zigbee or Z-Wave, which require a hub.

  • Device vendor provides a smart phone app (usually free) to turn outlet on/off. Can also use a physical switch on the smart outlet.

  • To use with Alexa, need an Alexa skill (software), in addition to the Alexa app. Alexa skills like this are usually free from device vendor.

  • Here are the outlets I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074QGK828/

Smart wall switches:

Things to watch out for:

  • Be sure the device communicates with a protocol you can use. For example, we use WiFi outlets and switches because we have a home WiFi network. Some devices use RF, which doesn't require WiFi, but DOES require a separate hub.

  • If using WiFi, and you have a dual-band router (5GHz and 2.4GHz), you may need to use the 2.4 GHz network because some smart devices cannot use the 5GHz band.

  • You must have a neutral wire (usually white) running to the switch box; this is needed to power the "smart-ness" of the switch.

  • For multi-location wall switches (multiple switches can be used to control the same set of lights, for example), we had to install one smart switch, and the rest had to be corresponding "slave" switches from the same vendor. The smart switch cost approx. $40, and the slave switches cost approx. $20 each.

TV, DVD player, VCR

Controlling a TV, DVD player, or VCR is quite a bit more complicated than turning a switch on or off. While some of the very latest TVs have Alexa support built in, most TVs do not. And even though many smart TVs have built-in WiFi support, that doesn't seem to mean they can be controlled by anything other than their IR remotes. You can check to see if there's a phone app or Alexa skill specifically for your TV, but I couldn't find a decent one for my TV, even though it's a 2017 smart TV (LG 55UJ7700). Also, if you have cable TV with a set-top box, you change channels by the set-top box, not the TV, so even if the TV supports Alexa, you still need a way to control the set-top box. For example, our cable provider is Spectrum, and their set-top boxes do not support Alexa directly, so we have to use a separate hub (see below).

I use a Logitech Harmony Hub to control these devices in my home. With this hub, and corresponding phone app and Alexa skill, I am able to control my TV, set-top box, DVD player, and VCR with any combination of the following:

  • Controls on the device - as before

  • Remote that came with the device - as before

  • Harmony free phone app (which emulates all the device remotes) - new

  • By voice, using the free Harmony Alexa skill - new

I use the older Harmony Elite product: https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-elite?crid=60 But I think the less expensive, newer Harmony Hub: https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/harmony-hub would be good enough if your goal is to use Alexa. Both products come with a hub that connects to your WiFi network, and emits IR signals to emulate the remotes of each device you configure it with.

Setup

Configuring this product takes a few steps. You use the Harmony phone app to do this.

Set up each device. For me, this included:

  • Set-top box

  • Smart TV

  • DVD player

  • VCR

The app makes it pretty easy: you specify the device type, manufacturer, and model number, and they automatically configure the universal remote (and phone app) to emulate the device's remote.

Set up each Activity. For me, this included:

  • Cable TV

  • Netflix

  • Amazon Prime Video

  • DVD

  • VCR

Each activity has a start-up sequence that includes turning on appropriate device(s) and invoking appropriate remote commands. For example:

  • Cable TV:

    • Turn on set-top box

    • Turn on smart TV

    • Set input of smart TV to HDMI-1 (where my cable signal comes in)

  • DVD:

    • Turn on DVD player (have to manually insert DVD)

    • Turn on smart TV

    • Set input of smart TV to Component (where my DVD player is connected)

At this point, you can use the Harmony universal remote or phone app to control these activities and devices.

Set up Alexa

First you add the Harmony Alexa skill to your Alexa configuration. Then you ask Alexa to "discover new Scenes" (or in the Alexa phone app, go to Devices->Scenes->Discover New Scenes); each Harmony Activity becomes an Alexa Scene.

Now you can use voice to "turn on" or "turn off" any activity/scene. Once an activity is on, you can use voice commands (or the phone app, or the remote) to control the device(s), such as volume up/down/mute, channel selection, play, pause, resume, etc.. However, unfortunately, there are some remote commands that are NOT supported by the Harmony Alexa skill; you cannot use voice for these - you must use the remote or the phone app instead

  • Move up, down, left, right (menu navigation)

  • Select current menu item

  • Back

Smart door lock and video doorbell

A smart lock can be controlled from a phone app or Alexa. A video doorbell allows you to see and talk with someone at the door using a phone app, or perhaps, a device like an Echo Show, in addition to operating like a standard doorbell.

You can use one, or the other, or both of these smart devices. I chose a top-rated smart door lock from August: https://august.com/products/august-smart-lock-connect and the video doorbell from the same vendor: https://august.com/products/august-doorbell-cam-pro While the video doorbell isn't great, it integrates nicely with the lock, it works with Alexa (if you have an Echo Show or Echo Spot), and works with my existing mechanical chime doorbell.

Some details and things to consider with these particular devices, and others like them :

  • If you get just the August door lock, you probably also want to get their Connect hub. However, if you also get the Video Doorbell Cam, that device has WiFi built in, and can talk to the lock via Bluetooth, so you do NOT need the Connect hub. Other vendors may (or may not) have devices that work together, or require a separate hub.

  • The lock I have works with an existing deadbolt - which was nice for me. It just replaces the inside thumb turn. No change to the outside or guts of the lock. You can still use your existing key from the outside. Some smart locks include the deadbolt as well; some have a keypad on the outside for unlocking via combination.

  • The August door lock has a mechanical thumb turn, so you can operate it manually, as well as from the phone app, or by voice with Alexa. Other locks may or may not be similar.

  • When using Alexa to unlock the door, you must also provide a PIN. This is for security - imagine someone being able to break in by yelling from outside (or leaving a phone message on an answering machine) saying "Alexa, unlock the front door." I believe Alexa requires a PIN by default for unlocking any smart lock; you can choose to override the default (at your own risk).

  • The August door lock has an optional DoorSense device which detects the state of both the door (open vs. closed) and the lock (locked vs. unlocked) - important when someone mechanically locks or unlocks the door. Other smart locks may or may not have a similar feature.

  • The August door lock is powered by four AA batteries, which are easy to replace from the inside. I believe all smart locks run on batteries; however, they may be of different type, and not so easy to replace.

  • The August video doorbell works only with a mechanical chime doorbell that has wiring for 12-24VAC. This is what we have, and is typical for all but newer homes, which might have wireless and/or digital chimes. There are others that work only via WiFi which are powered by batteries.

  • August provides free storage of video from the doorbell for the past 24 hours. In the phone app, you can see a timeline of events from the doorbell and the lock. You can buy storage for longer, if you want. Some vendors require a paid subscription for any video storage.

  • The August video doorbell integrates nicely with the August smart door lock: When checking the video from the doorbell via phone app, there's a button at the bottom of the screen which shows the state of the lock, and allows you to lock/unlock it. Without such integration, you'd have to switch to another app to see and manage the state of the lock, when answering the doorbell.

  • The August video doorbell has both a video camera, and a motion sensor. When motion is detected, or the doorbell rung (push button), the camera starts recording video, sends a notification to your phone, and the phone app can display the video. Most video doorbells also do this.

  • The August video doorbell also has a microphone and speaker. From the phone app, you can dialog with the person at the door. Most video doorbells also do this - but check that the sound goes both ways.

  • If you have an Echo that displays video (Echo Show or Echo Spot), you can use that device instead of the phone app, to see the August doorbell video and dialog with the person at the door. Some video doorbells can do this, or work with other similar devices, like Google Home.