I understand this is a general question, But I have my OpenHAB2 up and running. I can turn lights on and off. Now How do I take the next step and get Alexa to do it. Is there some software out there? What “Kind” of software (Bridge, Hub, Etc…) I tried to get the ha-bridge up. (which I did) but I see no way to connect it to OH2. I think that’s supposed to replace it or something.
Total Noob here, just looking for the next steps to take,
Short example for the Alexa skill (after setting it up properly according to the instructions):
Your working switch from your items file:
Switch TestSwitch "My Test Switch" { your_binding="...." } becomes
Switch TestSwitch "My Test Switch" [ "Switchable" ] { your_binding="...." }
Then let Alexa search for new devices and you should be able to turn the light on and off via “Alexa, turn My Test Switch on” or “Alexa, turn My Test Switch off”
Not necessarily. The hue emulation is an intermediate solution because there was no official skill available. I doubt that it will be expanded to support new functionality.
Instead the Alexa skill is in constant development and the maintainer is implementing new functions as soon as they come available through Amazon.
The downside: it’s a cloud based solution (through openHAB cloud connector) and not everyone likes that. But if you are using Alexa you should not be too concerned about using other clouds too
That can be done through the Harmony binding. You can visualize the functionality of all installed bindings through one graphical user interface, e.g. BasicUI. This has to be done through sitemap files.
Those are items definitions. They go into a text config file, e.g. named myhome.items or whatever you want to name them.
Note that in openHAB2 there are items you can define through graphical user interfaces, like PaperUI or manually through text items files.