I started puttering with Smart Home tech a few years back, when we got our first Google Home. Since then, Google Assistant (the “brains” behind the Google Home as well as Android devices) has come a long way.
One thing I hadn’t done yet, was to add smart controls for lights, and other physical gadgets.
Anxious to play with some “smarts” in our RV, I picked-up some inexpensive (Gosund) smart plugs from Amazon & had everything working with our Google smart home in a matter of moments.
I hooked-up the first one to some lights my wife has hanging over the couch. “Hey Google, turn-on the inside lights” worked instantly.
Next, I connected another to our outside patio/party lights, and, “Hey Google, turn-on the outside lights” was working, too.
I wanted them to turn-on automatically, so I set-up a Google routine to activate them both at sunset. Google Assistant is smart enough to know that time varies throughout the year, so that only took a few moments.
Next, we wanted to add them both to our “Hey Google, goodnight” routine to shut them down at bedtime.
Lastly, my wife asked, “What if we’re not here?” A good point. It’s not uncommon for us to leave an RV site for a night, or a few days.
So, I created one final Google Assistant routine — “Lights off at 10:30 PM” which only fires if they’re not off already.
Total of about five minutes (and maybe $15) invested, and we’re all good-to-go!