How Alexa Can Save You Time With Simple Things…

How Alexa Can Save You Time With Simple Things…

I know that some of you love your little smart voice assistant and some of you hate the idea of technology “listening” to your every word – if you’re in the latter camp then maybe this month’s article isn’t for you.

I love Alexa and we have several of them in our home. Yes, they “listen” to everything we say but they don’t “understand” anything until we talk directly to her by using the “wake up” name, then she very usefully does a whole range of things that we have set up in advance.

Alexa is able to add items to our shopping list so that we are prepared the next time we go to the supermarket, she is able to turn things on and off (lights, air conditioning, TV, heating and other electrical items), and is able to remind us – helpful when you are forgetful as we regularly are.

Alexa is able to play us music or relaxing sleep music when we have trouble sleeping and we are able to set timers to remind us when the eggs are boiled, when the washing is finished. I even have Alexa in the car, the ability to turn on the lights around the house when we arrive home at night is handy and to be able to add items to the calendar or shopping list whilst driving, just by using my voice is also pretty handy.

If you don’t already have an Alexa (Amazon Echo or Dot) then I can highly recommend them. They are a great Christmas present and come in various forms, from the pretty cheap Dot from 40 euros to the Show (with its built-in screen and video function) from 120 euros there is something available for all needs. The new version 5 Dot has a built-in clock so would be perfect as bedside device. And you can order them from amazon.es without any worry about language issues, they are all configurable for English (or many other languages for that matter).

Once you get your Alexa, it’s easy to set up using your smart phone or tablet and the Amazon app. From there you can start to learn what you can use it for, it does take time to get into the habit of thinking of using it rather than doing things the “old way”, but soon it will become second nature to ask her to do the things that you want to do. From there, once you’re used to talking to her, you can start to expand what you use her for, adding smart bulbs for example to allow her to turn lights on and off, adding smart plugs to enable her to control other electrical devices and even smart fuses or timers to control electrical circuits (imagine turning the pool pump or pool lights on automatically using your voice).

The Alexa app also allows you to schedule events, for example turning several things on and off at, say, the beginning or end of the day, imagine turning all of your outside lights off automatically at 11pm or maybe turning your gate lights on automatically 30 minutes after dusk, all of this is possible using the app.

If you’d like to find out more or get information on how you can use Alexa to make your home smarter, or help you set up Alexa to make your life more automated then just drop me an email, I’d be happy to talk you though what we have done.