How to Build the Connected Home with Alexa

If talking to robots to do household chores seemed like a thing of the future for Jetsons, nowadays, is already a reality and with a very wide range of possibilities. You can voice control almost all sorts of “minor tasks” in your house – and smaller tasks are no less important, but I believe it will be a long time before we have robots that know how to deal with candida – like asking for the weather forecast and recent news. , to more advanced functions, such as controlling your appliances, lamps, and more.

A Amazon has already brought to Brazil several models of the Amazon Echo, the speakers with Alexa, from smaller versions with simpler speakers, models with a screen and even models with professional sound. Find out which model of Amazon Echo best suits your home and discover all the possibilities to build your home connected with Alexa.

Watch the video on the Showmetech Channel:

How does the Amazon Echo work

O Echo connects to virtual assistant Alexa — which for you to use, just download the app from your smartphone, regardless of whether you have an Echo — to play music, make calls, send and receive messages, provide information, news, sports results, weather and more, instantly. All you need to do is just ask. The device has seven microphones and beamforming technology so you can hear it from across the room even while music is playing. When you want to use the device, just say the word "Alexa" and it will await your command.

You can either perform one command at once, such as “Alexa, what's the weather forecast” or “Alexa, what's my schedule?” or simply saying “Alexa” for the blue light to manifest, indicating that she is waiting for your command, and then asking absolutely anything. When you ask a question, it will look for the best answer in the Google, and it only takes an instant to happen. As Echo, you can call anyone hands-free or search for contacts. Plus, you can send voice or text messages to anyone with a compatible device or app. Alexa.

Using the Echo as a Hub

But the most interesting part when we talk about how to build the connected home, is that the Echo can be used as hub of all the smart products you have, acting as a control center for your smart devices, keeping them all connected and integrated under the same “umbrella”.

The big advantage here are possible creative solutions (which we'll cover later) that wouldn't work so well if the devices weren't integrated, and besides, you'll be able to customize with voice commands everything you can imagine.

Choose your Amazon Echo

If your home automation with Alexa starts with Amazon Echo, it is very important to know the models available in Brazil and to know which one will best serve your connected home. Below, learn about the two product lines, the Amazon Echo and the Amazon Echo Show.

Echo line

Echo Dot (3th Generation) – The entry-level model of the Amazon smart speaker in Brazil. It has 1 speaker of 1,6″ (which for a small environment, it will be a respectable sound quality), in addition to having a unique and friendly design. you find it by R$ 350,57 in cash at the Loja do showmetech.

Echo Dot (4th Generation) – It changes the flat design for a nice sphere. It also has 1 speaker of 1,6″ but here, the difference is the presence of a frontal direction of the audio. you find it by R$ 400,80 in cash at the Loja do showmetech. Check out the Amazon Echo Dot review at Showmetech.

There is also a version of Echo Dot 4th generation model that includes a traditional digital clock on the front. You can find it from R$ 493,91 in cash at the Loja do showmetech.

Echo (4th Generation) - The older brother of Echo Dot comes with a sound quality that we can already consider quality premium, containing 1 woofer 3″ neodymium and two tweeters of 0,8″. In addition, it has processing Dolby Audio, which will help you to have a differentiated quality sound in your home. You can find it from R$ 645,05 in cash at the Loja do showmetech. Check out the Amazon Echo review at Showmetech.

Echo Studio – This is the top-of-the-line model of the Amazon Echo. There are three speakers mid-range 2″, 1 tweeter 1″ and 1 woofer of 5,25″. In addition, it has processing Dolby Atmos. All this sound quality makes it enter a professional audio category and is the best audio experience with products from Amazon currently available. You can find it from R$ 1706,64 in cash at the Loja do showmetech. Also check out the Echo Studio review at Showmetech.

Echo Show Line

Echo Show 5 – But maybe you are interested in a smart speaker that also has a screen. O Echo Show 5 is the entry-level model from Amazon, with a 5,5″ screen and a resolution of 960 x 480 pixels. It has a 1 MP camera and 1 speaker of 4W power. You can find it from R$ 569,05 in cash at the Loja do showmetech. Check out the Echo Show 5 review at Showmetech.

Echo Show 8 – For those who would like a larger screen with better resolution, in addition to enjoying premium quality sound, it is the ideal model. Its screen is 8″ and has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It has a 1 MP camera and 2 2″ speakers, with 10W per channel. You can find it from BRL 854,05 in cash at the Showmetech Store. Also check out the Echo Show 8 review at Showmetech.

Echo Show 10 – And for those who want the best premium experience with the Echo Show line, this model is the best and most technological. The screen is 10,1″ and the same resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels as the previous model, however, it can follow your face thanks to the swivel base, so your Echo is always facing you. In addition, the camera is 13MP and the sound has 2 tweeters 1″ and 5W per channel and 1 woofer of 3″ and 35W. You can find it from BRL 1804,05 in cash on Amazon. Check out the Echo Show 10 review at Showmetech.

Configure your Alexa

Now that you've chosen the model that will best suit your needs, let's get started with setting up Alexa:

1 – First of all, it is necessary that you have an account at Amazon, as the configuration and device will be tied to your account;

2 – Choose the place in your house where your Echo it will be positioned (remembering that they don't have a battery and only work directly from the outlet, so it's nice to think of a strategic location so you don't keep disconnecting it all the time);

3 – Install the app Amazon Alexa on your smartphone or tablet to  Android ou iOS;

4 – Connect your Echo on Wi-Fi and then open the app on your smartphone. There, you will be able to find the device and pair it with each other.

With the pairing done, your Alexa will be ready! Going forward, each smart product that you integrate into your home automation with Alexa will need an initial configuration through its own app, but don't worry, most of these products come ready to be integrated with Alexa, so when it's time to configure , just choose to integrate with your Amazon Echo.

Discover the possibilities of home automation

Once with your new Amazon Echo properly configured, it's time for us to start thinking up creative ideas for using and abusing your personal assistant. Remembering that there is no right or wrong here, only preferences in the configuration style of each person.

Smart Socket

If there's one item that's great at expanding possibilities, it's the smart plug. O Positivo's model surprises, but there are other outlets of great quality. The idea here is to turn absolutely any home appliance and electronics into a smart device. In the app, you can control the flow of electrical current, allowing or stopping the flow. The advantage is that you can leave your devices in the on position, but with the flow interrupted by the outlet, and thus, just a touch on your smartphone for the current to flow and the device to turn on.

You can also program the time the current will flow. For example, leaving your soap and clothes in the washing machine with the setup ready, and programming it to release the current at 6 am, so that when you wake up, your machine is already finishing the work for you.

Another great idea is to program the socket for your coffee maker, so you can save those extra minutes in bed and when you get up, the coffee will be ready and waiting for you in the kitchen. And to make it even better, you can set up voice commands with Alexa, for example, “Alexa, make breakfast”, and that command will trigger the outlet, making the coffee maker work.

Not to mention commanding your smart socket to have the air conditioner on 5 minutes before you get home (or the heater if you're in a cold city during the winter). Amazing, huh? It also generates data on the consumption of connected electronics, information that can be relevant for you to find the “criminals” on your bill.

Smart air conditioning

But maybe you prefer a legitimate smart air conditioner instead of using a socket, right? In this case, the LG DUAL Inverter Voice ARTCOOL It's fantastic for you. Once set up, you will be able to forget the whereabouts of your remote, and fully control it with Alexa.

Smart Bulb

One item that has become popular with connected home enthusiasts is smart light bulbs. O Philips model, the Philips Hue, is reference here. The possibility of colors is huge and you can explore several different environments in your room, creating intense or mild climates, based on your desire.

In addition to environments with different and colorful lighting, these lamps can help you in your routine. You can program them to gradually decrease in intensity as you get closer to bedtime, until they turn off completely at midnight, for example.

Each lamp can be in a different “zone” within the setup, so imagine you forgot the kitchen lamp on? Just say "Alexa, turn off the kitchen light" and you're done. And in addition to lamps, I also leave the recommendation of the Philips Hue LED strips, fantastic for lighting up unusual places.

In addition, an advantage of these lamps to control light with Alexa, is that for its operation, it is essential to acquire a “Bridge“, a special router to establish communication between your lamps and your Wi-Fi signal, however, the Echos can do this function, reducing an accessory that you would need to purchase separately.

A Impact and multilaser also have their own smart lamps, both in the entry-level model range. The quality of colored and even white lights will not be like the Philips model, but they are good gateways to the world of smart lamps. Here you can still get to know the Positivo lamp and Multilaser lamp.

Smart TV

Certainly, smart TVs have taken the lead in the connected home world, and of course, today, there are already several smart TV models with Alexa built-in from the factory. THE Crystal 4K UHD da Samsung, offers an exceptional image and already has our factory personal assistant.

Another exceptional model, but with OLED pixel technology, is the Smart TV 4K UHD OLED da LG. It offers the unique quality of OLED pixels, in addition to being super modern and of course, it comes standard with Alexa.

smart camera

In addition to making life easier with fun things, the connected home can also help us in terms of security. If before, installing cameras was complex and expensive, today you can find excellent models, such as the Smart Camera 360º Wi-Fi from Impact. It is super simple to install, accepts micro SD card to store recordings and can be controlled for you to watch recordings or in real time, regardless of where you are.

Digital lock

Still on security, the Elsys Biometric Digital Lock is an exceptional model, allowing you to use biometric reading and/or numeric password, install the fingerprint of all residents and even create temporary passwords for your visits.

Sensors

Now, how about we talk about fun and safety at the same time? Sensors are great requests to be aware of your home's security and create creative scenes. O Geonav Wi-Fi Smart Door and Window Sensor sends you notifications whenever a door or window has been opened in your home. This helps you not only to monitor but also to create scenes, for example, program the TV to turn on and the light to come on whenever the door is opened.

Already Geonav Wi-Fi Smart Motion Sensor, it can also send you notifications when there is movement in an environment when used to create scenes. For example, whenever there is movement, the lamps will be turned on. It can be something very interesting if you have a pet, as you won't have to worry about having left your kitty in the dark.

In addition to sensors related to movement, it is also worth talking about sensors aimed at air quality. O Geonav Wi-Fi Smart Smoke Sensor, like the others, notifies you when it detects smoke and triggers an audible and light warning.

Finally, the Geonav Wifi Smart Carbon Monoxide Sensor, is a super safety measure to have in the kitchen. In any gas leak, for example, it will trigger an audible and luminous warning, and of course, notify you.

How many amazing options, huh? After purchasing your Amazon Echo, it's going to be hard to want to stop expanding your connected home, as internet of things (“IoT” as it is popularly known) is increasingly in vogue. Let us know in the comments which ideas on how to build a connected home appealed to you the most, and which of these products you felt like going after!

See also:

Many of Amazon Echo have already been analyzed by showmetech such as Echo Show 10 — be sure to check it out!

REVIEW: Echo Show 10, Amazon's Awesome Smart Speaker