Command your sprinklers with your voice via GreenIQ's integration with Amazon Echo
The GreenIQ Smart Garden Hub now works with Amazon's digital assistant, Alexa.
Thanks to GreenIQ and Amazon Echo, you can now tell your garden to water itself. Say the right words, and you can turn your sprinklers on or off and get a report of the money your smart sprinkler system is saving you.
Adding to its growing and impressive list of integrations, the GreenIQ Smart Garden Hub replaces your existing sprinkler controller and uses Wi-Fi to monitor the weather on its own and make your watering schedule smarter. It already works with various plant and weather sensors, and has a channel on the automation site IFTTT allowing you to customize rules such as turning off your sprinklers when your phone's GPS determines you're home.
Now via Amazon's digital assistant Alexa, you won't even need to use the GreenIQ app to command your home's water system. You can simply say, "Alexa, ask GreenIQ to turn on zone number 2."
"Alexa" is the wake word for Amazon's trio of Echo devices. They all serve as voice command hubs, letting you play music, add appointments to your calendar and control your smart home. You can use the Alexa app to unlock new skills -- which are basically apps -- and thereby train your Echo to work with more devices.
GreenIQ works with Alexa via one of these skills, which is why you'll need to include the phrase "Ask GreenIQ" as part of your command. Alexa can also control one of GreenIQ's smart irrigation competitors -- the Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller.
The GreenIQ Smart Garden Hub costs $200 and is available now on the company's website or via Home Depot. It's available worldwide with free shipping via the GreenIQ site. That price converts to around £140 and AU$275 for our readers in the UK and Australia.
The $180 Amazon Echo isn't yet available beyond the US, but its price converts to roughly AU$255 and £125.