Setting up a smart home can be daunting but I am going to change your mind by taking you through a 8-step journey to teach you how to set up a smart home task with a few clicks on your smartphone.
In just 8 steps, I am going to show you how easy it is to set up a smart home task that will show you how easy it is to create a smart home task to send yourself an email at sunset. I know that's not very exciting but if you had a KASA Smart WiFi Plug you can modify this task to turn on a light at sunset. Now that's exciting!
Grab your smartphone and follow along.
By clicking on '+This', you are going to specify a trigger. What is a trigger? A trigger is really a condition such as 'if it rains tomorrow' or 'if it is garbage day'. Triggers are tested and evaluated and if the result is true then an action is taken.
In our first lesson of smart home programming, we are going to send ourselves an email when it is sunset in our area. Click on the Weather Underground service and scroll down to 'Sunset'.
Next enter your location. This will let Weather Underground service know where you want to test the sunset condition because sunsets vary on location.
In just 8 steps, I am going to show you how easy it is to set up a smart home task that will show you how easy it is to create a smart home task to send yourself an email at sunset. I know that's not very exciting but if you had a KASA Smart WiFi Plug you can modify this task to turn on a light at sunset. Now that's exciting!
Grab your smartphone and follow along.
- Step 1 -
Download the IFTTT app onto your phone. Here's the icon of the app:
- Step 2 -
Launch the IFTTT app and create an account. There is no charge to use IFTTT so go ahead and use your email address so you can save your smart home instructions.
- Step 3 -
When you launch IFTTT, this screen appears.
Click on the 'Get more' button at the bottom of the screen.
- Step 4 -
The next screen appears which shows smart home tasks that are available to use. Since we are going to create our own, we will click on the 'IfThisThenThat' button. By the way, that's what IFTTT stands for.
- Step 5 -
You are steps away from creating your own. Click on the plus sign in front of the This.
- Step 6 -
A list of services appear. These are services that are available to you to use. Scrolling through the list, you will find services such as:Amazon Alexa
If you have an Amazon Alexa device such as the Echo Dot or Echo Show then you will get a list of triggers that these devices can offer you.Date & Time
This service allows you to run your smart home tasks every hour, day, week, month or year automatically.
Location
This service allows you to run your smart home tasks when you enter or exit an area.Weather Underground
This service allows you to run your smart home tasks based on the weather such as its forecast, temperature, wind speed, pollen count, humidity UV index, sunset, sunrise times and more.
Next enter your location. This will let Weather Underground service know where you want to test the sunset condition because sunsets vary on location.
By entering your location, you are creating a trigger that when sunset occurs, your smart home task will run and take action.
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on 'Create Trigger'.
- Step 7 -
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on 'Create Trigger'.
Next, click on '+That'. A list of action services will appear.
Click on 'Email' or 'Gmail'. When prompted, enter your email address and change the contents to whatever you want.
- Step 8 -
Now to test your applet, wait until sunset for an email. That's it! You've programmed your first Smart Home task or IFTTT applet.
Once chosen, the Kasa service will list the various actions that you can choose from. Select 'turn on' then connect to the service and specify the name of the switch (that you assigned when you set up your switch). Naming your switches will allow you to specify which light you are referring to in IFTTT.
Similarly, with Wemo smart plug you have a list of actions to choose from:
I hope you've enjoyed this smart lesson on how to program with IFTTT. With a few clicks, you can have a smart home turn lights on and off based on external factors.
I hope you have learned how easy it is to set up a smart home task (ie. applet). To learn more, be sure to read more of my posts.
Click on 'Email' or 'Gmail'. When prompted, enter your email address and change the contents to whatever you want.
- Step 8 -
Now to test your applet, wait until sunset for an email. That's it! You've programmed your first Smart Home task or IFTTT applet.
What to do next?
With this simple applet, you can turn on lights at sunset. Before you go changing the applet, you will have to purchase a smart home device known as a smart plug that is compatible to IFTTT. There are a whole bunch of smart switches on Amazon but they don't all work with IFTTT. To ensure you buy the right ones, click on my affiliate links throughout my blog. Amazon will pay me a small fee if you click and buy the switch. It won't cost you any more than what is posted.
The two smart switches that I like and recommend are:
Change the Applet to Use the Smart Switch
When you get the Wemo smart plug or the TP-Link Kasa switch, set it up by downloading the Wemo app or the Kasa app and connecting the device to your network. You will be required to create an account with either of these companies, just like you did with IFTTT. To turn on a light at sunset, simply plug in a lamp in to the switch and at sunset, the lamp will turn on.
To do this, modify the applet that you created previously. Or create a new applet. Your choice.
From the services menu, enter 'Kasa' and you will see the TP-Link Kasa service that you will choose if you have a Kasa switch.
Similarly, with Wemo smart plug you have a list of actions to choose from:
I hope you've enjoyed this smart lesson on how to program with IFTTT. With a few clicks, you can have a smart home turn lights on and off based on external factors.
I hope you have learned how easy it is to set up a smart home task (ie. applet). To learn more, be sure to read more of my posts.
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