As part of my continuous projects together with Conrad.se we decided that it would be nice to create something for the holidays. This time we wanted to do something simple and hence decided to go with existing products to give my home a nice Christmas touch. For this we decided to use Philips Hue lights, a TP-Link Smart Plug and a little bit of IFTTT magic. The products that are used for this project are the following.
Google Home – Voice Assistant
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2x Philips Hue Iris Lights
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3x Philips Hue E14 Light Bulbs
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3x Philips Hue E27 Light Bulbs
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TP-Link Smart Plug
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All of these devices are based on modern communication and are compatible with Homekit and Google Assistant. In this guide we are using the Hue app as well as Google Assistant and controlling them by voice. To be able to play media on your TV by voice, you need a Google streaming device such as the Nexus Player or a Chromecast.
Light configuration
In order to use the lamps, you must first set them up so that they’re synced with your Philips Hue bridge. To do this, install the Philips Hue App (Android | iOS) and use it to set them up using that. Once you’ve registered for a Philips account and linked your devices they can be used in third party services as well.
Smart plug configuration
The smart plug is pretty straight forward to set up. Simply download the TP-Link Kasa App (Android | iOS) and plug in the switch to an outlet with an appliance or else connected. In my case I’ve hooked up our Christmas tree so that we can control the LED-strip by voice. Once it’s turned on it should appear in your Kasa app and you can connect it to your account. Just as with Philips creating an account means the smart plug can be controlled using third party services should you like.
Set up Google Assistant Home Control
Every device with Google Assistant can trigger home control commands. It doesn’t need to be a Google Home but works equally well from your phone. If you have a Phone with Google Assistant you can use the Assistant control panel to reach the Home Control section, or simply download the Google Home App (Android | iOS). You’ll find Home Control in the sidebar of the Home app. In here you can connect your linked accounts, in this case Philips Hue and TP-Link Kasa and then map your devices into rooms and also give them nicknames. Once done, your Google Assistant or Google Home will be able to control them all by voice for you.
Setting up the Christmas lights
In order to change the colors of all the bulbs to Christmas colors we need to use IFTTT and set up an applet. Start by creating a new Applet from the IFTTT website or application and selecting Google Assistant as the IF. You should then select “Simply phrase” and enter something like “Christmas Time” as well as define a response text. For the THAT section we will tell it to use Philips Hue and the exaggerated “Change color from image” mode. For convenience I’ve already made a small image containing the right colors, which you can find here. If you wish to see an example image of how a full applet could look, click here.
Summary
Here is a summary of the commands that I use to control our lights and plugs. Custom IFTTT functions have been flagged with an asterisk*.
OK Google, Christmas Time *
Turns all lights into Christmas Mode based on the colors in the image provided above.
OK Google, Play Christmas Fire on TV
Play a looped 10h Christmas fire on the Chromecast or Nexus Player.
OK Google, Play Christmas Classics on Spotify
Play a global Christmas Classics album on Spotify.
OK Google, Turn on/off The Christmas Tree
Turns the Christmas tree on or off.
Of course, we’re just scratching the surface of things that can be done with Google Assistant but it’s a start and something in time for Christmas.
Special thanks to Conrad for sponsoring me with products to do these types of projects. I hope that this gives you some inspiration to create your own projects or at least pimp your house in time for the holidays.
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