A long string of dental floss was tied to my light switch, and the other end hung beside my bedside as a reminder to brush my teeth. Pulling on the dental floss, I’d next get beneath the covers and turn out my bedroom light. As a result, I might have become the ruler of all the land.
In my 30s and married life, the floss trick isn’t quite as amusing.
I’ve never lost the urge to switch off my bedroom lights but don’t need to get out of bed, even after all these years.
However, if you don’t use dental floss, then what?
Home automation may dim the lights in your bedroom.
Automating your home’s lights is the easiest approach to turn them off in your bedroom. It’s possible to employ a mix of smart switches, smart lamps, and smart plugs. The ability to switch off the lights in your bedroom from the comfort of your bed is a great perk of any smart device.
First, I’ll show you how I set up my bedroom, why I did so, and how you may do the same. If you want to do the same thing, I’ll go through some more options.
My smart light switch configuration
With a total of five light bulbs in my bedroom, I use a single switch to control them all.
In my all bedroom closets, there are extra light bulbs, although they are seldom kept on. Automating them wasn’t worth the money or effort.
Because all five bulbs are controlled via a single switch, I opted to simply replace my light switch with a smart light switch.
I would have had to change five individual bulbs if I had utilized smart lights for this automation. $40-$55 is the price range for a good set of smart lights. For $19.99, I was able to get a single smart light switch that works well!
Using a smart light switch not only saved me money, but it also allowed me to retain my old light switch.
Ensure your light switch that controls your smart lights is ALWAYS on while using them. Your smart lights will not operate if the light switch is unintentionally turned off. That’s due to the fact that smart light bulbs need a constant supply of power to function.
If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I believe that smart home automation should always enhance rather than detract from existing features.
I can tell you this from personal experience: your wife, family, and visitors will never remember that they can’t operate the light switch, and it will be continually turned off. Is it really necessary to purchase a magnetized switch cover like this?
A smart light switch allowed me to save money while still allowing us to use the light switch as we see fit.
For the “turn off bedroom light” automation, you’ll need the following:
For the switch off bedroom light automation, you’ll need these:
1) Smart light switches
- It’s the Kasa Smart Light Switch from TP-Link that I’m familiar with. A year later, I haven’t had a single problem with this inexpensive switch. You can’t go wrong with the pricing and the product. However, this switch does need the use of a neutral wire to be installed properly. On Amazon, you can see what it costs.
- I propose the Lutron Caseta Smart Home Dimmer Switch if you don’t have a neutral wire. It’s a terrific clever switch, although it does cost a little extra. On Amazon, you can see what it costs.
2) A tablet or smart phone
- Google Play or Apple’s App Store may be used to download the Kasa Smart app. Installing and configuring a smart light switch may be done using the Kasa app.
3) A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi access point.
- In order to communicate with other devices, the Kasa Smart Light Switch relies on WiFi technology.
- You’ll need the Lutron Smart Bridge if you want to use smart switches from the Lutron Caseta line.
On Amazon, you can see what it costs.
4) There’s also an smart speaker (optional, but recommended)
- You’ll need a smart speaker if you want to be able to switch off your bedroom lights using your voice instead of just your phone. In the event that you don’t want to do this, you may still manage your smart light switch from the Kasa Smart app without any hassle.
- Both Google Home and Amazon Alexa may be used to control the Kasa Smart Light Switch.
Is it possible to install a smart light switch?
Assuming you’ve never done this before, it may be nerve-wracking. It’s a good idea to be careful if you’re dealing with electricity. With a few basic precautions, replacing a light switch may be done safely and quickly.
I won’t go into depth on how to remove a light switch and replace it with a smart light switch. Others have done a great job of documenting this before. Let me share with you one of my favorites:
However, I want to stress a few points:
- Check to see whether your power is turned off before you begin any wire work! Taking one simple precaution will prevent 99 percent of electrical injuries.
- Secondly, I like the Kasa Smart Light Switch app because it shows you precisely how to install and connect the light switch (with images!). User satisfaction is at an all-time high here. It’s impossible to go wrong.
- Read about neutral wires if you’ve never heard of them before. It’s a simple thing to do, and it’s commonplace in most houses.
With the Kasa Smart app, you can dim your bedroom lights with a single click once you’ve fitted your smart light switch and linked it.
A timer can be used when you want to turn on or off in your bedroom lights, and a schedule of days and hours for your bedroom lights to turn on or off, may also be set up using Kasa Smart App.
Connecting a smart speaker to a smart light switch
In order to further automate your home, you may connect the smart light switch to your smart speaker through Bluetooth.
To turn off bedroom lights, you may just say “OK Google, turn off the bedside lights” instead of using your mobile phone.
The Amazon Alexa voice-activated assistant works exactly as well as Google Assistant.
This tutorial will teach you how to connect your home’s smart light switch to both an Amazon and Google Home speaker.
The process of linking your Google Home to a smart switch
The first step is to open the Google Home app and choose your profile picture at the top-right of the screen.
2) Select Assistant settings from the drop-down menu.
3) Select + Add from the menu.
In order to link a smart home device, press the Link button.
After typing “Kasa” into the search field, click “TP-Link Kasa.”
Log into Kasa Smart with your username and password.
The email and password you used to create your Kasa Smart account should be entered here.
The smart light switch should now show in your Google Home’s devices list after you’ve approved Kasa.
Turn off the bedroom light by saying “OK Google, turn it off.”
Connecting your smart light switch to Amazon Alexa
If you don’t have Alexa installed, open the Alexa app and tap the three lines on top left.
2) The games and skills that have been chosen.
The magnifying glass in the top right of the screen may be accessed by clicking on it three times.
In the search bar, type in “Kasa skill” and then pick TP-LINK Kasa and activate that skill.
Your Kasa smart light switch should show up as an Alexa device once you’ve approved it.
Try asking, “Alexa, turn off the bedroom light”.
Incorporating smart plugs and smart lamps into the automation system
Some people choose a smart switch for the bulk of their bedroom lighting, but they also have two lamps on each side of their bed and a closet light that they wish to automate.
Smart plugs may be used to power your bedside lighting.
You can transform your regular lights into smart bulbs by installing smart plugs.
Use a smart bulb in your closet to brighten things up. There will be no more purpose for the closet light switch, but I don’t think it will be a major deal for a closet.
Apps for both the smart lights and the smart plugs may be used to set them up in a matter of minutes.
You’ll want to call this group “Bedroom lights” once you’ve set everything up. As a result of this, when you say, “OK Google, turn off bedroom lights,” everything from the smart light switch to the smart plugs and the smart bulb is turned off simultaneously.
In the Google Home app, you may create a group.
The “+” icon is located at the upper left of the page.
2) Select the option to set up a device.
Once you’ve completed the first two steps, you’re ready to go on to step three. smart plug or smart light) if you’ve previously done so
4) Select a place to live
5) Google Home will then try to locate your phone.
Once Google home has discovered your device, you’ll be able to pick the room in which you need your device to be integrated. Take a look at the bedroom. You should be able to switch off all of your gadgets at once after they’ve been added to the “Bedroom” section.
When using the Amazon Alexa app, creating a group
Click the “+” sign at the upper right of the screen to add more devices.
2) Select the Add Group option.
Finally, either choose Bedroom or enter in the group name you wish and press Next.
4) Choose the smart light switch, smart plugs, and smart light bulbs you wish to use together in a unified grouping.
Using home automation, turn on the bedroom light.
To be clear, the arrangement I described above may also be utilized to turn on the bedroom lights for you, if you so want.
This is a terrific way to keep the lights on in your bedroom while you’re still in bed.
Alexa or Google’s voice-activated assistant, Alexa, may be used to switch on the lights in your bedroom.
Conclusion
For those who don’t want to get out of bed in order to switch on or off their bedroom lights, home automation will be your best option.
It’s up to you whether you utilize smart plugs, smart light switches, or smart light bulbs.
When these smart devices are paired with a smart speaker, such as Google Home or Amazon Alexa, voice controls may be added.
Turn off the lights in my bedroom.