Hi all, is there a way to populate alexa scenes by openHab2? If so? How do I have to mark the items to get them listed as scenes?
Cheers
Dennis
Good question. Scenes are rules in OH. Since scenes are basically a set of presets for devices and rules are conditional if/then operations it puzzles me how they can be banded together. Personally I think they should be different things. Maybe that’ll happen eventually. Until scenes are officially supported no 3rd party app will recognise them.
I just found a work around that doesn’t require coding like most solutions. I also feel like it’s a bit more editable than hard coding.
Create a Scene in Smart Home App
I used Kasa from TP-Link, but most smart home apps, including Smart Life, have a scene creation feature. Once you create one, it should automatically sync with your Alexa app.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Scenes are local to smart home apps, meaning you won’t be able to mix devices that use separate smart home apps. Alternatively, you can create a group within the Alexa and continue to the next step. I didn’t do this because I could use a feature of my TP-Link devices this way.
Create a Routine in the Alexa App
Next, make a simple routine in the Alexa app with a voice trigger and scene (or group) control action. Keep a note of what you type in for the voice trigger, you’ll need it later. The scene (or group) you are controlling in your action is obviously the one you are trying to call. If you are using a group, you’ll need to determine what the group needs to do (turn off or on) in the routine. Scenes already have this information.
Create a StartARoutine Item for Your Echo Device
How to Create an Item and Link It to Binding
Create a Button in Your HABpanel
Name it what you want to, leave the action type alone, select the StartARoutine item you just created, and then type in the trigger phrase you wrote earlier (only what you typed, without the Alexa). Customize the rest as you would like.
Congrats, you now have a button that will trigger a scene/group!