Control your smart home with Alexa? These are the 5 things you should know!

Smart home devices can be found in many households today. When it comes to smart homes, more and more people are relying on Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa. With Alexa, you can easily control your lights, sockets, cameras, alarm systems, blinds, and other devices. and conveniently operate via voice command. This text will help you use Alexa effectively in the smart home and have more fun with it. 

1. Alexa is not just a speaker with a microphone

"Alexa is a cloud-based voice service. It's easy to use—just ask it a question," is how Amazon defines Alexa. 

Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, isn't just a speaker with a microphone; it also helps with tasks, tells jokes and stories, plays your favorite music, and much more. If the word "Alexa" is understood, the following sentence is interpreted as a command and transmitted via Wi-Fi encryption to the Amazon server. The Amazon server evaluates the sentence and sends the encrypted response back to Alexa. 

The most popular Alexa models are likely the Amazon Echo Dot and the Amazon Echo Plus . The new Echo Show model has an integrated display. This can be useful if you own a smart security camera like the Chuango Indoor Camera PT-300Q , for example . 

2. What are Alexa skills? 

Amazon Skills are similar to the apps on your smartphone and are essentially practical add-on features that extend Alexa's functionality. Skills allow you to control numerous products, such as TVs, hearing aids, lamps, and thermostats, that aren't directly from Amazon with Alexa integration. For example, you can use the "DreamCatcher-Life" skill to enable Alexa control of your Chuango Smart Home devices. 

The selection of Alexa skills is vast. Amazon lists its Alexa skills, offered by countless providers, on its own website , where you can search for the features you want. Here are some popular Alexa skills that might be of interest to you: 

• Education & Reference Alexa Skills (e.g. Translator-Alexa or Basic Law Skill) 
• Utilities Alexa Skills (e.g. waste calendar or mobile phone finder skill) 
• Film & TV Alexa Skills (e.g., access TV programs via Alexa) 
• Smart Home Alexa Skills (e.g. Night Light Alexa Skill) 

You can find more useful Alexa Skills here: 

https://www.homeandsmart.de/die-besten-alexa-skills-im-ueberblick 

3. Connect your smart home devices to Alexa  

Setting up an Alexa-compatible smart home device is usually very quick and you just have to intuitively follow the device's voice instructions.

For example, you purchase an Echo Dot and Chuango smart devices. Before you begin setup, make sure that: 

• Your Chuango smart devices are connected to the DreamCatcher Life app. 
• The Amazon Alexa app is installed on your phone and you are logged into your account. 

Follow the instructions below: 

• Open the Amazon Alexa app. Tap "More" and select "Skills & Games." 
• Tap the "Search" button. Search for the "DreamCatcher Life" skill. 
• Select “Start”. 
• Log in to your DreamCatcher Life account. 
• Tap "Sign in." Your DreamCatcher account is successfully connected. 
• Tap "Search Devices." All your Chuango smart devices should appear and automatically connect to Alexa. 
• If your devices are not discovered automatically, you can ask "Alexa, discover my devices." 

You can find more information in our FAQ article.

4. Control your smart home devices with Alexa  

With the advancement of technology and people's desire for a more convenient life, the smart home industry has grown significantly. More and more devices can now be integrated into the smart home network. From small appliances like lightbulbs to large household appliances like refrigerators, more and more objects around us are being integrated and easily controlled via smartphones or voice assistants like Alexa. Below, I'll introduce some of the most common smart home categories and the voice commands used to control them. 

• Smart lighting 

Whether you're snuggled up with a pillow in front of the TV or spending the evening on the sofa with a good book, it's easier to control your smart lighting using your Alexa voice assistant than having to get up and walk to the switch. 

You can control all Chuango smart light bulbs with Amazon Alexa. The DreamCatcher Life Skill is compatible with all Chuango lighting products. You can give Alexa voice commands. 

Here are some common functions with examples :  

Alexa, turn off [light name]/the light bulb/the light 
Alexa, [light name]/turn on the light bulb/the light 
Alexa, set [Lightname]/the light/the bulb to (0-100) percent 
Alexa, [Light name]/make the light/bulb warmer/cooler 
Alexa, turn [Lightname]/the light/the bulb to daylight 
Alexa, set [Lightname]/the light/the bulb to [color] 
Alexa, change the [light name]/the bulb/the light to the color [color] 

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• Robot vacuum cleaner 

A further step toward automating housework is a robot vacuum. With just a voice command, your floors will be clean! You no longer have to get up and rummage through the closet for the vacuum when something falls. 

You can control your Chuango robot vacuum cleaner with Amazon Alexa by activating the DreamCatcher Life Skill in the Amazon Alexa app. 

 Try giving Alexa the following simple commands : 

"Alexa, turn on the robot vacuum." 
"Alexa, turn off the robot vacuum." 

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• Alarm system for the home 

Everyone wants to feel safe, especially when they're at home. There's an easy way to do this: install a smart home alarm system. When you leave, you can activate the security system directly with your voice, which can be very convenient. 

With the Chuango Wi-Fi alarm OV-300 or LTE-400, you can protect your home with Amazon Alexa as soon as you activate the DreamCatcher Life Skill in the Alexa app. 

Here are some common functions with examples : 

Alexa, activate [device name] 
Alexa, put [device name] into Away Mode. 
Alexa, is [device name] enabled? 
Alexa, deactivate [device name]  

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•  Smart home camera 

With the Smart Home Camera, you can easily monitor sensitive areas from your own smartphone or tablet. As soon as the camera detects movement, you'll be notified and can immediately access the camera recordings via your smartphone (e.g., with the DreamCatcher Life app). 

Try telling Alexa the following simple commands : 

"Alexa, tell DreamCatcher Life to turn off privacy mode." 
"Alexa, tell DreamCatcher Life to enable privacy mode." 
"Alexa, ask DreamCatcher Life to record a video." 

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5. Set up smart home routines  

Another exciting feature that must be mentioned when controlling the Smart Home is the “Routines” . By setting up routines in the Alexa app, you can combine actions and then activate them with voice commands. For example, I've pre-programmed my Alexa voice assistant. Every time I say "Goodnight" to Alexa, the light in my bedroom turns off automatically. 

Don't limit your creativity. This way, Alexa can fulfill your personal wishes more and more over time.