Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

LonderJan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 25, 2015
131
62
I need to decide whether to buy smart light bulbs for all the individual light fixtures in my garden, or if I can buy just 1 smart switch (such as Eve Energy) to switch all of them without replacing the bulbs.

I have some similar issues inside the home where I have light fixtures that have a built in led light that cannot be replaced and can only be switched using a smart switch.

So, my question is, can I have a power switch react to a “turn on/off the light” Siri command?
 
Last edited:
Yes you can. Name the smart plug "outdoor lights" or whatever you prefer and Siri will be able to control it. I have the one below and it has worked well.

https://www.amazon.com/iHome-iSP100...ihome+outdoor&qid=1567973902&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Thanks for your response. Your suggestion is to use “turn on #name#” where #name# is the name of the switch. I know you can do that but that is not my question.

You can turn on lights by saying “turn on the lights” or “turn on the lights in the #room#” and it will turn on/off lights without having to know their name. My question is: can I have a switch respond to that command?

I don’t want to be saying “turn on the lights in the bedroom” and “turn on the lights in the garage” and then have to say “turn on garden lights” as opposed to “turn on the lights in the garden”. There is no consistency in that.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Put the plug into a new room called "garden". Name the plug "lights".

Or name the plug "lights in the garden"

If you're asking if Siri will know the plug is lights.. I have an iHome controlling a light in my kitchen. If I say "turn on the kitchen lights" the plug does turn on. the plug does have "light" as part of its name though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LonderJan
I need to decide whether to buy smart light bulbs for all the individual light fixtures in my garden, or if I can buy just 1 smart switch (such as Eve Energy) to switch all of them without replacing the bulbs.

I have some similar issues inside the home where I have light fixtures that have a built in led light that cannot be replaced and can only be switched using a smart switch.

So, my question is, can I have a power switch react to a “turn on/off the light” Siri command?

Clap On: Clap Off!! :D
 
Put the plug into a new room called "garden". Name the plug "lights".

Or name the plug "lights in the garden"

If you're asking if Siri will know the plug is lights.. I have an iHome controlling a light in my kitchen. If I say "turn on the kitchen lights" the plug does turn on. the plug does have "light" as part of its name though.

Ok for the garden. How that does work for other rooms in the house where I have a mix of lights with smart lightbulbs (that respond to the “turn on the lights” command) and lights that I cannot fit with smart light bulbs and which are switched via a smart switch? Your solution is a neat Siri bypass but if I say “turn on all the lights” I want all my lights turned on (those that have smart bulbs and those that are switched through a smart plug). I know I can make a scene “turn on all the lights” but then other people in the house need to know scene naming. It’s not the same as the “smart” vocabulary that Siri understands because it will understand what you mean when you say “lights on” or “turn lights on” or “turn the lights on” or “turn all the lights on” or...
 
I am fairly confident that if you name your smart plug "lights" (or something more specific like "bedroom lights") that it will include itself in the "lights" command. Is that a command you are using often? To turn on all of your lights? With the smart home stuff I have just learned to not worry about the usability for others too much. I have switches in every room that can control specific lights like a normal lightswitch would do, but when myself or my girlfriend are home we know the commands so we can use Siri.

I break my stuff down pretty generically in the Home app. I have each room named and each device in the room is very generic (fan, light, lightstrip, etc.) So every command I give is something like this.. "Hey Siri turn on the office light" or "Hey Siri turn on the bedroom fan".
 
I try to keep things simple, so I use Lutron Caseta for switches, iHome for outlets, Hue for lamps. All have been rock solid with Homekit, and automations. I have an exterior light scene that turns on the landscape lights (iHome outdoor outlets) and driveway lights (Caseta Switch) and trigger it "on" 15 minutes before sunset and "off" at 10:30pm daily.

As bbednarz points out, naming things correctly can help with Siri commands if you don't like creating scenes, but having said that, I can't remember the last time I had to ask Siri to turn any lights on. Between light-level sensors in main rooms, and time/sunset/motion automations for exterior and lesser-used spaces, I've automated pretty much everything lighting-wise.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LonderJan
I am fairly confident that if you name your smart plug "lights" (or something more specific like "bedroom lights") that it will include itself in the "lights" command. Is that a command you are using often? To turn on all of your lights? With the smart home stuff I have just learned to not worry about the usability for others too much. I have switches in every room that can control specific lights like a normal lightswitch would do, but when myself or my girlfriend are home we know the commands so we can use Siri.

I break my stuff down pretty generically in the Home app. I have each room named and each device in the room is very generic (fan, light, lightstrip, etc.) So every command I give is something like this.. "Hey Siri turn on the office light" or "Hey Siri turn on the bedroom fan".

So I purchased a Hue Smart Plug and can say that naming a device “lights” will not add itself to what Siri considers to be lights, in fact, it replaces it.

I had a lightbulb and a smart plug in the same room. My lightbulb always retains the name “Hue White Lamp”. my Smart Plug, by default has the name Hue Smart Plug.

Naming the plug <> “Lights” results in Siri turning on all lightbulbs when saying “Turn on the lights”.
Naming the plug “Lights” results in Siri turning on the plug when saying “Turn on the lights” while not doing anything with all other lightbulbs.

However, looking into the settings of the plug, it seems that you can specify a type on the smart plug settings. By default it is set to “Power Point”. If you set it to “Light”, it will act as a light.

If you say “Turn of everything in the garden”, it will turn off everything (lights and power switches).
 
In the home app you can tell what sort of device is attached to the smart plug. I can say "turn on all the lights" and my old school lamp will turn on with the smart lights.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.