Control Grouped Blue Series 2-1 switches with Alexa

Switches General Discussion
#1

I would like to be able to turn on and off lights or groups of lights using Alexa. Is the only way to do this is by paying for Nabu Casa and handle this directly in HA? I do have a Echo Studio but it is no where close to any of my switches. I’m looking for an option that doesn’t cost me a monthly/yearly fee. I would prefer to pay for something upfront like a compatible Echo device but I’m not sure if it can trigger my grouped lights or if that all happens automatically by turning on just one of them. I’m also open to buying a Hubitat but not sure that will solve my issues.

Thanks in advance.

#2

You can pair Zigbee devices (Blue series) directly to some Amazon Echo hubs.

If you want a more powerful rules engine without paying for Nabu Casa, Hubitat (or Smartthings) integrates with Alexa without any additional fees.

#3

You don’t have to pay for Nabu Casa with Home Assistant either. You can follow these instructions to set it up manually, but its a lot more complicated to do. This does require access to Home Assistant from the internet.

#4

I just re-did this yesterday since I was using the old haaska method and wanted proactive event support so I could use HA helpers to trigger Alexa routines.

While the instructions are long and intimidating, they are incredibly well written! Like just about perfectly written. Just follow it through step by step and you’ll have full Alexa control in 20mins or so.

#5

Thanks for the feedback. I am wondering if using Alexa is the best method. Am I correct in assuming I just need one compatible Alexa device to communicate to a single Zigbee switch and everything should work? Assuming I have a full mesh with my Zigbee network. The reason I ask is because I already have a dozen or so Echo devices and don’t want to have to replace all of them since some are brand new. I was thinking I could just add a Blue Series in the same room as my Echo Studio and things will link up.