{"id":211,"date":"2016-03-05T18:15:12","date_gmt":"2016-03-05T23:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=211"},"modified":"2016-03-06T09:25:36","modified_gmt":"2016-03-06T14:25:36","slug":"controlling-devices-with-indigo-and-amazon-echo-alexa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=211","title":{"rendered":"Controlling devices with Indigo and Amazon Echo (Alexa)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recently added plugin<\/a> for the superb\u00a0\u00a0Indigo Smart Home Software platform<\/a>\u00a0enables voice control of devices like lights, thermostats, fans, shades and garage doors–to name just a few–via an Amazon\u00a0Echo Dot<\/a>,\u00a0Echo<\/a>\u00a0or Fire TV<\/a>. \u00a0It works seamlessly with the Lutron RadioRA 2 plugin<\/a> that I developed and is also presumed compatible with the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge Pro<\/a>\u00a0(although this has not been formally tested yet).<\/p>\n

The plugin works by emulating\u00a0a Philips Hue bridge. \u00a0Setup is easy. \u00a0Just install the plugin and\u00a0select the\u00a0Plugins->Alexa-Hue Bridge->Manage Devices…<\/em>\u00a0menu item. \u00a0Choose the devices you wish to control (up to 27) and then\u00a0tell Alexa to discover your devices either by saying that or by using the Alexa app.<\/p>\n

The 27 device limit is set by\u00a0Amazon’s Alexa implementation, however, if you reach that limit, you can set up\u00a0a\u00a0Device Group<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Virtual Devices interface<\/a>\u00a0to group devices are typically controlled\u00a0together into a single device.<\/p>\n

Alexa\u00a0currently recognizes only “turn on”, “turn off”, and “dim” commands, however, it’s possible to control devices that don’t natively support on\/off\/dim by creating virtual devices. \u00a0For example, I created a virtual device called “heat” that controls a RA 2 thermostat. \u00a0When I get a chill and say “Alexa, turn heat on”, it invokes an Indigo Action group that sets the nearest thermostat to 74 degrees. \u00a0“Alexa, turn heat off” sets the thermostat back to 68 degrees.<\/p>\n

If you’re already running Indigo, I highly recommend adding a modestly priced\u00a0Echo Dot<\/a>\u00a0to seamlessly add voice control to your automation setup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recently added plugin for the superb\u00a0\u00a0Indigo Smart Home Software platform\u00a0enables voice control of devices like lights, thermostats, fans, shades and garage doors–to name just a few–via an Amazon\u00a0Echo Dot,\u00a0Echo\u00a0or Fire TV. \u00a0It works seamlessly with the Lutron RadioRA 2 plugin that I developed and is also presumed compatible with the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[8,31],"tags":[34,32,33],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8sNNV-3p","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":96,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=96","url_meta":{"origin":211,"position":0},"title":"An Indigo plugin for Lutron RadioRA 2 and Caseta","date":"September 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Lutron got a lot of things right with its RadioRA 2 lighting control system. \u00a0There are over 25 device types, including dimmers, thermostats, shades, keypads, and handheld controls. \u00a0The switches work equally well in new construction and retrofit applications. \u00a0Wireless communication is robust and the device build quality is flawless.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electrical"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":115,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=115","url_meta":{"origin":211,"position":1},"title":"Importing RadioRA 2 devices into Indigo","date":"October 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In a recent post, I wrote about a plugin I made for Indigo to add support for Lutron RadioRA 2 devices.\u00a0 I can't say enough good things about this software.\u00a0 It's rock solid reliable and extremely flexible.\u00a0 Among other things, I have Indigo set up to email a picture to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electrical"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":136,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=136","url_meta":{"origin":211,"position":2},"title":"Vehicle detection using iAutomate RFID","date":"December 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One item on my to-do list for a long time was to enable our home automation system to detect the comings and goings of our vehicles. \u00a0Each has an EZ-Pass badge, so I figured slam-dunk, just find an appropriate active RFID reader and we're done. \u00a0But I was unable to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":356,"url":"https:\/\/jimandnoreen.com\/?p=356","url_meta":{"origin":211,"position":3},"title":"Long Distance Mailbox Alert using LoRa","date":"October 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"You've got mail! 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