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10 Hacks That Every Smart Home Owner Should Know
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My smart home routines are ready for a refresh. As new standards have emerged for connecting gadgets in the home, and Google and Amazon have been updating their respective hardware and apps, I've been lagging in keeping things sharp and running smoothly. So, I'm doing something about it now.
If you've been feeling bored by your smart home and its current routines too, keep reading. These are ways to configure the smart devices around you to make them for more than just turning the lights on and off (although there's always plenty of that). Although my personal smart home is in the Google Home ecosystem, these features also apply to smart homes powered by Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa.
Turn everything off when no one is home
It sounds like a no-brainer, but in nearly ten years, I still haven't set up my smart home so the lights turn off when I leave the house. Given how my energy bill is looking lately, I'd like to get out of this practice. I want to make sure the lights and any errant appliances turn off, especially when no one is inside.
In the Google Home app, there's an "Away" routine in the Automations tab that lets me select which devices to turn off when the system detects that my phone is gone and away. But what if everyone else is home? I don't want the lights to turn off on them. Instead, I use an automation that turns the lights off when two conditions are met: I'm not at home, and none of the house's centralized gadgets, like the Chromecast-connected TVs, are on.
Even if you aren't in the Google ecosystem, you can use similar "if-this-then-that" logic. For Apple HomeKit users, the Shortcuts app is a better way to make a "Leave Home" automation and add a "Get State of Home" condition to ensure companion devices, like an Apple TV, are not in use. Amazon Alexa users have it a bit harder, as there is no native way to detect a device's on/off status. You can create a location-based routine or use the "Away Lighting" feature (in your Home/Away settings). It effectively switches on an "enforce" mode when you leave.
Set the morning volume
Some people like to rock out first thing in the morning. But there's nothing worse than scaring the rest of the household into a wake-state because the volume was left on high. While you could yell over the device streaming music or run to turn down the volume, there's no need to deal with all that. Instead, set a volume-first routine so the speaker is set to the desired volume each morning before anyone activates it.
In the Google Home app, under Automations, set the formula to run first thing in the morning every day, week after week. Then select the offending speaker-equipped devices. (I set up all my smart speakers at the same volume each day, upstairs and downstairs, since you never know.) Apple and Alexa have similar setups. In the Apple Home app, you'll set a scene on the corresponding HomePod to run at a Time-of-Day Automation. And through Amazon Alexa, you'll create a Routine with a "schedule" trigger, then select Echo devices to set the volume.
Deter people from your porch
If you're not interested in visitors at certain times of day or night, you can set up your porch to perform a visible action that gets whoever is outside to scram.
If you have a doorbell camera, you are likely used to getting passive notifications that someone is visible. You can turn that notice into a smart home automation. Set it up so that when motion is detected, the outdoor lights blast to full brightness and the outward-facing lights inside the house flicker on. You will need smart bulbs or smart plugs to enable this.
In the Google Home app, the Automations tab is where this is done. I set my Nest doorbell camera to "Starter" when it detects "Person seen." Then, I choose the lights that I want blaring at 100% under Actions. Apple smart homes need HomeKit Secure Video (HSV)-enabled cameras to access something like this. In the Home app, you can create an automation that runs when the camera detects activity, then select the outdoor lights and the outward-facing lights that should turn on. Amazon users with Ring cameras can do the same in the Alexa app under Routines. You can even go a step further and enable the same "Away Lighting" feature from the last tip, which broadcasts a chime inside the house the moment motion is detected.
Focus mode for the house
Unfortunately, I can't focus. I need all external distractions disabled in some capacity. Rather than do that manually, I set up an automation to get the rest of the house whipped into shape when it's time to work. With that, I skip saying a command out loud and instead set it up on a schedule.
Beginning at 9:30 each morning, except weekends, I put the action to adjust all the lights in my office to a specific setting, enough to get me into the groove, and turn off any other lights in the house that may have been left on from the chaotic morning routine. I also turn off the TVs and any internal-facing security cameras that shouldn't be watching me while I work. It's a similar schematic for Apple HomeKit users, though it's even better because iOS lets your iPhone's state set the tone. In the Shortcuts app, you can create a personal automation. Select a Focus mode as the trigger (it might look like "Do not disturb"), then select "When Turning On." You'll then set the action to "Control Home," and that's where you'll put the status for smart lights and any other devices you want. Once you place the iPhone into silent mode, or the clock strikes 9:30 a.m.—whichever comes first—you'll see the devices linked here follow suit.
Alexa uses a similar logic to Google Home, with the schedule doing the heavy lifting. In the Alexa app, go to Routines and create one with a scheduled time as the trigger, set to run only on weekdays. Then add the smart home actions you want to adjust, turn off, and turn on. The only bummer here is that there is no way to extend the action to your smartphone, at least through Alexa.
Create a Guest Mode for smart devices
People are confused about how I control my house, and I don't blame them. So, I set up a "limited access" guest profile for friends who plan to stay only a night or two.
Google Home lets you invite people with the "Member" role to access smart home controls. Provided they have a Google account, the person can access connected lights in the designated rooms as needed. Apple HomeKit is much more granular, but it works similarly. You can invite people by their Apple ID and manage access to certain accessories. You can also lock them out of security cameras and thermostats, so they have access only to the essentials, like the smart lights.
In the Amazon ecosystem, Alexa is the most limited. (It once offered a now-deprecated Guest Connect feature.) Instead, you'll rely on the Amazon Household feature, so you'll have to invite a guest with an Amazon account to control devices. However, this also gives them access to the whole kit and caboodle, like your payment methods. If you want to avoid oversharing, teach your guests the basic "on" and "off" commands for your smart devices.
Protect your thermostat
If you don't want other people adjusting your thermostat, you can lock them out with your smart home. In Google-led smart homes, you can set up a PIN in the Home app to prevent manual adjusters from accessing the thermostat and changing the temperature. However, this works only with compatible hardware, like a Nest Thermostat.
In an Amazon home, you need an Alexa-compatible thermostat. You could dig through the settings of the manufacturer's apps to set up a PIN to keep people from messing with the dial. Or you can use a Routine within Alexa to set a specific schedule so that the temperature automatically returns to your preferred setting even if someone else has touched it.
Apple HomeKit lets you, the smart home owner, be the boss with Scenes. (Get used to making them, because they become essential later.) In the Home app, create a scene called "My temp" and then set the compatible thermostat to your preferred temperature. In the Shortcuts app, create a personal automation to run this scene at a specific time, then select how often you want it to run. This will check and adjust the temperature every few hours to ensure it's at your favorite level, not anyone else's.
Never forget another load of laundry
I have a connected washer and dryer for laundry, which I can configure to alert me when a load is done. There's the simple push notification, which might work for some, but I prefer Google Home to holler at me when the laundry's done drying. In the Home app, under Automations, I can select my LG dryer going off as the status, then ask the Home app to broadcast a message to a few specific smart speakers around the house to let me know the laundry is ready to fetch.
If you don't have internet-connected appliances, you can use a smart plug with energy- and power-monitoring capabilities from brands like Govee or TP-Link's Kasa. Provided they can handle high-voltage use (look for over 15 amps), you can plug in your unconnected washer or dryer that way and have it notify you when the appliance shuts off.
Apple HomeKit users should look into compatible Eve Energy smart plugs, then create a personal automation routine in the Shortcuts app to trigger when the smart plug's current drops below a set threshold. The action can be to "Control Home," and then choose a scene that flashes lights a certain color at high brightness, all-lights-on, as an indicator that it's time to get to the clothes. Amazon users are in the same boat. A compatible smart plug can be added to a Routine that triggers when the smart plug's energy usage is below a certain wattage. For the action, you'd set a smart bulb to red or something similar to serve as a visual cue that it's time to fold.
Don't water when it rains
My husband has set up a vast network of internet-connected sprinklers in both the front and back yards using B-Hyve. It's great for easily turning the sprinklers on and off, and for scheduling them in the summertime. But in the winter, we don't need to water the grass as much as we do in the dry summer. So we set up a weather override in the app. If you don't have a smart sprinkler setup, you can fake it. Again, all you need is a smart plug rated for outdoor use, plugged into the sprinkler system. An external temperature sensor can make this routine more accurate.
For Google Home users, you'll rely on seasonal schedules instead of live weather data. Start a new automation with a "time of day" trigger that runs only on weekdays. You will need to manually turn this routine off in winter to prevent it from overwatering the lawn. You can use a third-party service like IFTTT or Zapier to set up something that's based on the actual weather forecast. Alexa requires a similar third-party to make a Routine with a weather condition.
Apple is more accommodating. In the Apple Home app, you can create a time-of-day automation and then convert it to a Shortcut to add the weather as a condition. You can then set the action to "Get Weather Forecast" and select whether the current weather is "rainy" or whether the chance exceeds a certain percentage. If the forecast calls for rain, the Shortcut doesn't affect the system. Alternatively, if there is no rain, the Shortcut continues and sets the sprinkler's smart plug to "on."
Play music or soundscapes on command
I work best with one of those binaural tracks on loop in the background. Instead of manually starting these tracks every day, I can have Google do it by tying my soundscapes directly to a routine. You can make one, too, for any media you'd like to listen to.
In the Google Home app, under Automations, create a household routine that runs when you say "Hey Google, it's chill time!" Under Actions, select which lights should turn on and how they should be set up. Then, you can choose a smart speaker or a Chromecast device and set it up to play specific media from Spotify or YouTube.
The same goes for Apple and Amazon households. Apple Home lets you set a time-of-day automation or a voice command to run on its own. For audio, select the HomePod and set it to play "ambient sounds" or anything from Apple Music. HomePod supports a "Stop Playing After" setting, so you can set it to turn off after an hour or two.
Amazon also relies on a Routine. For the action, select the music and audio option, then specify the source of your noises. Add a second action by selecting "Timers & Alarms" and setting a "Sleep Timer." This ensures that Alexa stops the audio after a set time, like with Apple Home, so you don't have to turn it off manually.
Get an alert if someone leaves the garage door open
The best part of having a smart home is remote access to all the appliances and devices you're worried about leaving on or open when you leave the house. You can do this with your garage without dealing with one of those tricky garage door sensor installations, provided you have a compatible smart home hub.
You can buy a cheap security camera that uses an SD card to monitor the garage door and let you peek in. Or, for around $20, you can buy a small ZigBee-enabled tilt sensor and automate it to check the garage status once the system has detected that everyone is out of the house. In Google Home, you'd attach this sensor to the "Home & Away status." Like the routine we set up for the lights earlier, here you'd choose the tilt sensor to check when "Everyone is Away." If the sensor device status is set to "open," you can select an action to notify you with a custom message. Closing it is still on you, though. If you were the last to leave, you'll need to double back; if someone else was, you can quickly call or text them to turn around and close the door.
Apple and Amazon have the same location-based blueprint. On Apple, you'd set up the sensor along with the "People Leave" automation, then set the condition to "Open" after the last person leaves. Set the Action to send a notification to your device if so. And on Amazon, set a Routine to check for the garage status when you've left the premises.
