Amazon Alexa is a great smart home assistant for communication and convenience, but did you know Alexa also has cost-saving benefits? With a few features and settings, Alexa can actually save you money.
There are a few ways a smart home can save you money, but when it comes to Alexa specifically, you can take advantage of the assistant to lower your utility bills. While it helps to have a device like the Amazon Smart Thermostat (or any of the best smart thermostats, for that matter), there are ways to use Alexa to save money with all the smart home devices you own.
“I find that the best energy-saving hacks can come from features you set up once and then run continuously, without you having to do anything,” said Maiken Moeller-Hansen, director of energy and sustainability at Amazon Devices and Services.
Since saving money and energy are usually two major concerns for homeowners, you’ll want to learn how to use Alexa to manage both with your smart home devices. Here’s how to save money with two of Alexa’s standout features – Routines and Hunches.
How to save money with Alexa Actions
Depending on how long you’ve had Alexa speakers and other Alexa-compatible smart home devices, you may already know how to create an Alexa smart home routine. An Alexa smart home routine is basically an automation that can be triggered either by a voice command, a specific action of the smart home device, or a pre-set schedule.
“I’ll set up Alexa Routines when I put holiday lights around one of my outdoor trees — that way they turn on every night at sunset and then turn off by midnight so they don’t run all night,” Mueller-Hansen said. . “I noticed a noticeable difference in my energy bill when I didn’t have my outdoor lights on all night.”
For those who set up holiday lights, a smart plug is a good investment. One of our editors used these cheap smart plugs to control his Christmas lights. Smart external plug like Sync outdoor smart plug (Opens in a new tab) ($29) It can help cut costs powering even the most extravagant holiday light show.
An example of a routine I recently set up in my smart home changes settings on multiple devices when I tell Alexa I’m leaving. With this command Alexa will turn off my Philips Hue lights and destroy my thermostat. (It will also secure my smart lock and smart garage door opener after a few minutes, if you aren’t already.) Before, I tried my best to do these actions manually, but it’s easy to forget when I’m in a hurry. If you can relate, I recommend setting up routines in your Alexa app.
How to save money with Alexa Hunches
The only hitch with Actions is that some require you to trigger them with a specific voice command. In other words, if I forget to tell Alexa the correct phrase, my routine won’t work. That’s when Alexa Hunches comes in handy.
Hunches are still a newer feature, but they’re easily one of Alexa’s best skills for an intuitive home. There are two main ways Alexa Hunches can save money on your electric bill.
First, Alexa can have a hunch that it should make changes to your smart home devices without your input. For example, Alexa can guess when you’re leaving the house or everyone’s asleep based on your usual behaviors. If you enable Hunches and set automatic routines, Alexa can turn off the lights and lower the thermostat when the assistant thinks it’s appropriate.
Second, Alexa could have a hunch that one of your smart home devices isn’t working as it should. For example, if your smart light bulb stays on when you otherwise ask Alexa to lock the house for the night, you’ll get a notification asking if it’s still on on purpose.
If you’re looking for more information on how much smart home devices cost, see our roundup on how Matter devices can save you money. Also be sure to check out our ultimate smart home guide for more guidance on getting started in a connected home.
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