Best Smart Light Switches For Alexa
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Best Smart Light Switches for Alexa
In this post we review the best Smart Light Switches that work with Alexa. With smart switches for Alexa you can control your smart lighting using Alexa commands and your voice. You can say “ Alexa, turn on my lights.” and Alexa will turn on your lights with just your voice.
What Are Alexa Smart Switches?
Alexa is Amazon’s smart voice assistant that works with the sound of your voice. You can ask Alexa questions like “what’s the weather today?”, “Who won the baseball game?” or “What’s the largest city in the world?”.
Alexa also serves a variety of assistant functions like setting alarms, timers and enabling smart home voice control of your smart devices like smart light switches and smart thermostats using your voice.
Alexa smart switches are smart light switches that work with Alexa. Alexa is the smart assistant software built into Echo Devices like the Echo Dot, Echo Show and Echo Spot. These smart devices have microphones and speakers built in that listen for your voice and can respond with answers to your commands. You can set up several smart home Echo Devices throughout your home to enable voice control throughout your home.
Smart Light Switches Work With Echo Spot & All Echo Devices
There are dozens of smart light switch options that work with Alexa voice commands and Echo control but not all smart light switches are created equal. We help you pick the right smart light switch that work with Alexa for your smart home upgrade.
We’ve tested the best smart light switches for Alexa and have ranked them below. We’ve include both Smart dimmers that work with Alexa and standard on/off smart light switches that work with Alexa.
How Do Alexa Smart Light Switches Work?
To use a light switch that works with Alexa, you remove your old light switch, install the new smart light switch and then set it up through the manufacturers app on your phone. Once you have it setup, you connect the smart light switch to the Alexa app through an Alexa Skill and you can then control your smart light switches with your voice on your Alexa device by saying “Alexa, turn on my bedroom lights.”
There are two ways that smart light switches work with Alexa. Most of the smart light switches connect directly to your wifi network and then connect to Alexa though the app on your phone after being installed with manufacturer app. Alexa compatible light switches that connect directly to your wifi network don’t require any type of home control hub and are typically the easiest to setup and install.
The other type of smart switch that works with Alexa requires a smart home hub to interface with the smart light switch and your home network. We typically recommend direct connect wifi smart light switches but that does not work for all situations as we will explain below.
Best Smart Light Switches That Work With Alexa: Typical Features
When you upgrade from a standard light switch to a smart light switch that works with Alexa you are getting a ton of value packed into a tiny little device, that looks inconspicuous on your wall. But don’t be fooled by the simple looks of these smart light switches, they are packed with tons of technology.
Smart light switches that work with Alexa are designed to be installed and controlled from a smart phone app. In the smart phone app you can check the status of your smart lights to see if they are on or off, turn the lights on, or turn the lights off all from your phone.
As long as you have a wifi connection in your house these features will allow you to turn on and off your smart lights that work with Alexa inside your home or even if you are on vacation thousands of miles away as long as your phone has a connection to the internet.
Inside the smart light switch apps you can typically set daily schedules, routines and group the light switches into rooms, to allow for easier control of group of light switches that might all be located in one room.
Once you connect your smart light switches that work with Alexa to Alexa, it will allow you additional voice control functionality. You can then control your smart lighting with voice commands and a compatible Alexa device like the Echo Show 5 or Echo Dot. Alexa voice commands will work with all Alexa Echo devices and you can even use Alexa commands on your phone through the Alexa app.
To control your smart lighting you just need to say “Alexa, turn off kitchen lights.” and your Alexa assistant will control your smart light switches to turn them off. It’s important that you name your smart light switches with easy to remember names that make sense because you will be controlling the switches by name.
If you install a smart light switch that has built in dimmer functionality you will also be able to control the dimming with Alexa voice commands. To set the dimming level you just need to say the % adjustment you would like your smart dimmer light switch set too. So you would say “Alexa, set kitchen lights to 80%.”
Smart Light Switches For Alexa App Interface
Best Smart Lights Switches That Work With Alexa: Why Smart Lighting Is a Good Idea
Millions of people have upgraded their homes with smart thermostats and smart doorbells but many fewer have upgraded their home with smart lighting even though it’s one of the best upgrades you can make to a house and it can significantly increase the value of your home when you go to sell it.
So why have so few people done smart light switch upgrades? Because most people think it’s too complicated or that they don’t really need it, but in reality smart Alexa light switches offer a number of benefits that most people aren’t even aware of.
To upgrade all your home to smart lighting all you need to do is install a new light switch and if you’re uncomfortable with that you can easily find local electricians on Amazon Home Services that will install smart light switches for great prices.
Upgrading your lighting to smart light switches that work with Alexa can help you in the following ways:
You can save energy with smart light switches because you can turn off lights remotely if you left them on.
If you have a kids and you hands are full you can quickly turn on and off lights with your voice without the need for your hands.
You can set schedules to turn on lighting at night or when you are away to deter criminals.
With smart light switches that work with Alexa you can turn on an off lights while laying in bed, or sitting on a couch and avoid tripping in the dark.
Top Pick: Leviton Smart Dimmer Light Switch - Works With Alexa
I personally have a few of these in my home and they have worked flawlessly for years without any issues. They work with Alexa and the other major voice assistant services so you have complete flexibility in the future for which voice assistant you want to use for smart home voice control.
These Leviton smart light switch dimmers connect to standard home wifi networks and are controlled via smartphone wifi app and don’t require any kind of smart home hub. The Leviton app is simple to use and connecting the lights switches to the app is easy, just make sure you follow the instructions to put the light switches into pairing mode when trying to connect to the app.
Once you have the smart light switch dimmers connected you can control them through the phone app at home or remotely with just a swipe of the app on your phone. Once they have been setup on the Leviton app, you connect them to Alexa through the Leviton Alexa Skill and these smart light switches are ready to be controlled with Alexa voice commands.
These smart light switches allow you to turn on or off the the light switch with a tap of your finger or your voice. For dimmer control they have well placed side toggle that allows for easy control by tapping up or down to increase or decrease brightness. The brightness can also be controlled from your phone or with voice.
These smart light switches can also work in 3 way smart light switch configurations, for the smart light switches to work in a 3 way configuration you will need both the smart light switch dimmer and the compatible smart dimmer “remote” switch which works in the three way switch configuration. Both the smart light switch dimmer and the remote smart light switch (only needed for 3-way light switches) are listed below.
One thing to note is that the Leviton Smart Dimmer Light switches require a neutral wire in the switch box for proper wiring. Most homes built after 1975 have neutral wires built into the switches. For older homes without a neutral wire you will need to use smart dimmers that are compatible without a neutral wire.
1.Leviton Smart Light Switch 1000W Dimmer
Leviton 3 Way Smart Light Switch Dimmer (Remote)
*Only needed for 3 way smart light switch configurations
2.Runner Up - One Hour Smart Home Dimmer Switches
Our smart light switches work with Amazon Alexa for full voice control functionality of your smart home. The middle of the switch is a touch screen and you just touch, or swipe left or right to turn on or off the the smart light switch. The touch screen display will also show the dimming level so you know what brightness your smart light switch is set too.
You can adjust the dimming settings of the smart switch from by pressing either of the buttons on the top and bottom of the smart light switch to find the perfect brightness setting for your home.
Our smart light switches are controlled via the smart life app and have a direct integration to Alexa for flawless voice control of your smart light switches that work with Alexa. Just add the Smart Life Alexa Skill on the Alexa app and you are ready to start controlling your smart light switches with Alexa.
Through the app you can set schedules, turn on and off the lighting, and group the smart switches in multiple rooms. These smart lights switches connect directly to a wifi network and do not require any hub to operate.
These smart switches do require a neutral wire in the switch box for installation which most houses built after 1980 should have. If you home does not have a neutral wire in the switch box, the Lutron Caseta style of smart home light switches will work without a neutral and are compatible with Alexa.
3. Lutron Caseta Smart Dimmer Kit
*These smart light switches don’t require a neutral wire which is perfect if you have an older home that does not have neutral wires in the switch boxes.
Check Price On Amazon: Lutron Caseta Smart Light Switch Dimming Kit
The Lutron Caseta smart light switch dimming kit offers everything you need make your existing light switches smart. The Lutron Caseta smart light switch dimmers all connect to a central hub that can then control any other Caseta smart light switches that you add to the system. The hub then connects to your router and can be controlled via wifi though the app for in home or remote control. The Lutron Caseta smart dimmers work with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
The Caseta smart light switch dimmers do offer two unique features not offered by many other smart light switches.
The Caseta dimmers don’t require a neutral wire which can be very helpful if you are trying to rewire an older house which often don’t have neutral wires in the switch boxes. Most homes built after 1975 have neutral wires in the switch box but older homes typically do not have neutral wires in the switch boxes. The Lutron Caseta light switches are the best smart light switches for Alexa that don’t require a dimmer.
The Caseta smart dimmers also work with caseta pico remotes which are actually battery powered but look the exact same as normal light switches. This means that you can turn any switch into a three way switch even without rewiring the switch because you can just mount the pico remote on the wall and connect it to the hub and it will enable three way switch functionality through programming in the hub.
If you already have a three way switch and want to use the Caseta smart light switch dimmers you can just wire the circuit so that only one switch in the 3 way circuit is controlling the on/off function of the lights and on the other side of the circuit you will remove the old switch and cap or connect the wires as needed in the junction box and install the caseta pico remote where the old switch was and it will look identical to the fully wired smart light switch on the other side of the circuit.
Extra Pico Caseta Remotes
4. Alexa Compatible Leviton Smart Light Switch (On/Off Style)
This smart light switch from Leviton is almost identical to the #1 light switch on this list, it works the same way and is from the same manufacturer, it works on the same Leviton app and is an Alexa compatible smart light switch just like the dimmer switch.
The only difference between this light switch and the #1 light switch is that this is not a dimmer switch, however it does have the same styling and lines so if you choose to replace the majority of your light switches with the Leviton Smart Dimmer Light Switches this one will fit right in.
This Alexa Smart Light Switch works on wifi and does not require a smart home hub to work, it will connect to your standard wifi home network.
This Lutron smart light switch works with the Lutron Caseta smart light switch system just like the #3 light switch on this list. This (On/Off) Lutron Caseta smart light switch works just like the Lutron Caseta Smart dimmer except it does not have dimming capability.
This smart light switch works with Alexa and requires the Lutron Caseta smart home hub to work and connect to your home network but one Lutron Caseta Smart Home Hub can operate up to 50 lutron smart light switches on one hub.
These smart light switches are compatible with 3 way smart lighting control by using pico remote controllers and can also be used in installations where there is not an existing neutral wire in the switch box.
These Alexa compatible smart light switches work on the same app as the Lutron Caseta dimmers and have all of the same features with the exception of dimming functionality.
6. TP Link Smart Dimmer Switches - Works With Alexa
TP-Link is a well known smart home brand that has been around for a long time making both smart home light switches and smart home plugs. These smart home home dimmer switches from TP-Link work with Alexa to offer full smart home voice control functionality.
They will also work with Google Home for voice control and the TP-Link app allows you to control the light switches remotely for on/off control, dimming adjustment, and settings schedules.
You press the large paddle on the switch to turn on and off the light switch and there are two smaller buttons on the top of the light switch that allow for dimming adjustment.
These smart light switches do require a neutral wire but were easy to install and setup with Alexa. TP-Link also makes a similar On/Off version of the switch that works on the same app and has all of the same functionality minus the dimming capability.
It should be noted that these smart switches will only work for single switch configurations and will not work in a 3 way switch configuration where you have two lights switches controlling the same set of lights.
Summary: Best Smart Light Switches That Work With Alexa
The Leviton, One Hour smart Home, Lutron smart light switches are great Alexa compatible smart light switches and will work with Alexa and echo devices. We recommend the Leviton Smart Light switches as the #1 choice because they don’t require a smart home hub and work on standard wifi networks.
However if your existing wiring does not have neutral wiring in the switch boxes the Lutron Caseta light switches are a better option because they don’t require a neutral wire and will allow you to utilize your existing wiring without the need to add a neutral wire which can be a big project in some cases.
Top Pick: Smart Light Switch That Works With Alexa - Leviton 1000W Smart Wifi Dimmer
Alexa Light Switch FAQ:
If your internet goes out will your Alexa light switch still work?
Yes, all of the smart light switches we have listed above will still work like a normal light switch if the internet goes out. This means that you can go turn on and off the light switch just as if it were a normal light switch by pressing the button. If the internet goes out you will loose remote control functionality on the Alexa light switch until the internet is restored. You will not need to reprogram or reset the lights switches when the internet is restored. The light switches will automatically reconnect when the internet is back up.
How Hard Is It To Install An Alexa Light Switch?
It is medium difficulty if you are comfortable installing a regular light switch you should have no problem installing a smart light switch. Just make sure you turn off the breaker to the light switch before you begin work.
Can you still control Alexa Light Switches through your phone if you don’t want to use your voice?
Yes, you can still use either the app for your specific light switch to turn on and off the light switch from your phone or you can use the Alexa app and turn off the devices from your phone without needing to use your voice.
Are Alexa Light Switches Reliable?
Yes, in our experience the light switches we have listed above are extermely reliable and in years of living with and testing these smart light switches they have worked great and been reliable.
How Much Does It Cost To Have Someone Install an Alexa Smart Light Switch?
If you don’t feel comfortable installing a smart light switch you can always hire someone to install the smart light switches. We have found that one of the best deals for installing a smart light switch in on Amazon Home services where they will send a qualified installer to install the smart light switches for you.
Typically the cost to install a smart light switch is between $50 and $150 per light switch depending on where you live and the complexity of the job.
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