Creating a Personalized Smart Home Experience with Custom Scenes
Posted on 19th June 2023
The modern home is becoming increasingly connected, with an ever-growing number of devices working together to make our lives more convenient and comfortable. While this is certainly an exciting time to be a homeowner, it can also be a little overwhelming trying to keep track of all these different devices and figure out how to get them to work together seamlessly.
One of the best ways to take control of your smart home and create a personalized experience is by creating custom scenes. With a custom scene, you can have all the devices in your home work together to achieve a specific goal, whether that’s turning on the lights and music when you arrive home from work or opening the curtains and starting the coffee maker in the morning.
In this article, we’ll show you how to create a custom scene in your smart home so you can start enjoying a more personalized experience.
What is a Custom Scene?
A custom scene is a group of settings that you can apply to your smart home devices all at once. For example, you could create a scene that turns on the lights, starts the coffee maker, and opens the curtains when you wake up in the morning. Or you could create a scene that turns off all the lights and closes the curtains when you go to bed at night.
The possibilities are really only limited by your imagination, and creating custom scenes is a great way to get the most out of your smart home.
How to Create a Custom Scene
The process for creating a custom scene will vary depending on the type of smart home platform you’re using. We’ll show you how to create a custom scene using two of the most popular smart home platforms, Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant.
Creating a Custom Scene with Apple HomeKit
If you’re using Apple HomeKit, the process for creating a custom scene is relatively simple. Just follow these steps:
- Open the Home app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap the + button in the top right corner.
- Select Create Scene from the menu that appears.
- Enter a name for your scene and tap Next.
- Tap the + button next to the Devices section.
- Select the devices you want to include in your scene and tap Done.
- Tap the + button next to the Actions section.
- Configure the actions you want your devices to take when the scene is activated and tap Done.
- Tap Save in the top right corner.
Once you’ve created your scene, you can activate it manually whenever you want by opening the Home app and tapping the Scenes tab at the bottom, then selecting your scene from the list and tapping the Play button.
You can also automate your scene so it’s activated automatically based on certain conditions, such as when you arrive home or when you wake up in the morning.
Creating a Custom Scene with Google Assistant
If you’re using Google Assistant, the process for creating a custom scene is a little more complex. First, you’ll need to create a Google Applet using the IFTTT service. Then, you’ll need to add the Smart Home control to your Google Applet. Once you’ve done that, you can follow these steps to create your custom scene:
- Open the IFTTT website and sign in with your Google account.
- Click the My Applets tab.
- Click the + button in the top right corner.
- Click the +this button.
- Search for and select the Google Assistant service.
- Select the Say a simple phrase trigger.
- Enter a phrase to activate your scene and click Create trigger.
- Click the +that button.
- Search for and select the Smart Life service.
- Select the Run a scene action.
- Select the scene you want to activate and click Create action.
- Click Finish.
Once you’ve created your scene, you can activate it by saying the phrase you configured in the Google Assistant app. For example, if you configured the phrase “Okay Google, activate my scene,” you would just need to say “Okay Google, activate my scene” to your Google Home speaker or your Android phone to trigger the scene.
Conclusion
Creating custom scenes is a great way to get the most out of your smart home and create a personalized experience. With custom scenes, you can have all your devices work together to achieve a specific goal, whether that’s turning on the lights and music when you arrive home from work or opening the curtains and starting the coffee maker in the morning.
If you’re using Apple HomeKit, the process for creating a custom scene is relatively simple. Just open the Home app and follow the steps outlined above. If you’re using Google Assistant, the process is a little more complex, but you can still do it by creating a Google Applet using the IFTTT service and adding the Smart Home control to your Applet.
Once you’ve created your scene, you can activate it manually whenever you want or automate it so it’s activated automatically based on certain conditions. Either way, you’ll be able to enjoy a more personalized smart home experience.
