I am completely new to Arduino and I'm extremely interested in a project that turns on smart plugs when the Arduino detects a certain event. The simplest thing I can think of is a daylight sensor that will turn on a smart light when it gets dark. I've seen the tutorial that uses Alexa to turn on an LED on the Arduino, but I need to do something the other way. (Arduino turn on something connected to Alexa) Is this possible?
Can it be done? Yes, I don't see why not. You may want to start by giving this a read.
You can just program Alexa to for example turn something On/Off at sunset. Anyway the link should give you an idea of what's involved using Arduino.
Ron
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You don't normally need to go through Alexa or the Internet...
You need to know what protocol your smart plugs use. I think the "big companies" are trying to standardize on Zigbee but Alexia should work with any of them . Do you have a home automation hub? If you don't have a hub they are Wi-Fi and you'll need to connect your Arduino to Wi-Fi.
Direct Wi-Fi isn't that popular for home automation. There are a few competing standards and no clear winner yet.
Wi-Fi should also be an option with one of the home automations protocols and a hub. These things are usually accessed through a browser or an app so it may not be "easy" to control them with an Arduino.
I have a Z-Wave system and a programmable "smart hub". Mostly the hub runs stand-alone with some lights programmed for sunrise/sunset (1) and other times. Or I can access the hub with my laptop (Wi-Fi) to "manually" control things.
My home automation isn't set-up for Alexis or access over the Internet or the cell phone network... I don't need that. And everything is off-the-shelf. I didn't build any of it myself.
You can get various sensors for the various protocols. The sensor communicates with the hub, and the hub is programmed to "do something". There are a couple of 6-way sensors that can measure light, temperature, motion, and I can't remember what else. And you can usually find a "universal" transmitter that you can trigger with a relay, or an alarm system, or an Arduino, etc.
(1) You program-in your location and the firmware knows the sunrise/sunset times throughout the year. (I don't have a light sensor). The time-of-day timers automatically adjust for daylight savings time.
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Now looking at sonoff in DIY mode. Just send api json using arduinojson library. Something to have a play with. Ill update later and no need for cloud.
I used some code ( few yrs ago now ) that mimicked a commercial device that already has a skill .
Sorry can’t recall where from , but on an 8266 it worked fine
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