Google Home Smart Home Integration (Google Home, SmartThings, Harmony Hub, and IFTTT)

December 3, 2016 Keith Uncategorized 42

I recently posted a video on YouTube demonstrating several smart home integrations I configured with Google Home, SmartThings, Harmony, and IFTTT.  The video was created, with quick turn around, based on a recent exchange I had with the fine people at SmartThings

I’ve since received several requests, via the YouTube comments, to detail my configuration/setup. As a result, I’ve decided to put together this post to help answer the many questions received.



Before I jump into the details, I’ll first list out the different components used within the demonstrated ecosystem. (I do have other smart-capabilities configured, but I will keep this post centered on only those demonstrated in the video. I’ll save other integrations, such as my garage door or alarm system, for possible future content.)

It takes both software and hardware working in harmony to make my smart home a reality. For the sake of this post, I’ve separated the hardware components into two categories: traditional and smart. Think of “traditional” hardware as everyday appliances and systems, such as light bulbs or televisions. I classify “smart” hardware as devices connected to a network for home automation purposes. Smart devices connect to a local network, such as one powered by Z-Wave and ZigBee protocols, or a traditional TCP/IP configuration (e.g., Wi-Fi). These devices are usually always-on and are waiting for commands. (While traditional devices, such as a TV or networking switch/router, can be connected to a network, I don’t classify them as “smart” if they aren’t used to control, or broker the control of, devices.) The home automation network can be considered the backbone of any smart home.

A hub can be used to help connect and control the devices on your network. While there are many on the market, Wink and SmartThings are two of the more popular devices available. I chose to leverage the SmartThings platform due to their community support, compatibility, maturity, and company backing (SmartThings is a subsidiary of Samsung). The SmartThings Hub is compatible with both the ZigBee and Z-Wave protocol and, as a result, can communicate with most smart devices.

In addition to the SmartThings Hub, I leveraged many other devices in the video. Here is a quick run down of those devices, plus some of the software that was in use:

Traditional Hardware

  • Stereo Receivers: I had three stereo receivers (a.k.a., tuners) in the video.
  • Television: One 46″ TV hanging over my fireplace
  • Speakers: Many in-ceiling and in-wall speakers
  • Light Bulbs: Traditional incandescent and florescent light bulbs, such as my can lights, sconces, and counter lights
  • Desktop Computer: I won’t share much about how it was used, other than to note that I use a desktop computer to stream cable TV and digital content. This is done via Windows Media Center. My media streaming setup deserves its own blog post at a future date.
  • Xbox 360: Goes along with my Media Center setup. I’ll touch on this a bit more below.
  • Networking Gear: I won’t go into the details here, but just think network switches, wireless routers, and all of the devices required to run a traditional home network.

Smart Hardware

Software

  • IFTTT: An integration service also know as If This Then That. In simple terms, this is an internet service that perform actions based on events.
  • SmartThings SmartApps: The aforementioned SmartThings Hub really just helps me connect to the important stuff, the SmartThings cloud-based rules engine.

My smart home comes to life when this software and hardware works together. The number of customizations you can configure in both IFTTT and SmartThings are only paralleled by your imagination (ok…maybe an exaggeration).

Below is a logical picture to help illustrate the smart home ecosystem used in the video.

smarthome

With that as context, let’s walk through each scenario from the video and explain how the components work together. I don’t go into every detail, but I do link to posts and forums that can provide a bit more information if required.

Scenario 1: Dim the Main Floor lights to 40%
With this one command, I dimmed the lights in 4 rooms on my main floor. Specifically, I dimmed my Living Room, Billiard Room, Kitchen, and Breakfast Nook.

Each room has multiple lights, such as can lights, sconces, or, in the case of my breakfast area, a chandelier. Every single bulb can be classified as traditional. While I have a few “smart” light bulbs in my house, none were used in the video. I’ve received several YouTube questions about the type of bulbs in my house, so it is worth repeating: the lights used in the video are regular light bulbs you may have purchased at Home Depot, Lowes, or Ace Hardware during the last several decades.

Each grouping of lights is controlled by a switch, just like your house, apartment, or office building. For example, I have a three-way switch that controls my Kitchen can lights, an on/off switch that controls my Kitchen counter lights, and a single dimmer that controls my Billiard Room can lights. This is just like a house you would have walked into 20 years ago, with one slight difference: the switches I have in my wall are “smart.” I’ve replaced the traditional switches in my wall with ZigBee and Z-Wave switches. To the naked eye, these switches look and act just like any other switch. However, these are now connected to my home automation network and can be controlled remotely by SmartThings. Using the SmartThings app to turn the switches on or off is a great example of remote control capabilities. (One side note worth calling out here: when you power most ZigBee and Z-Wave devices through your home wiring – think romex or a wall outlet, that device will help extend and strengthen your home automation network. The devices will repeat signals to help connect those devices that far way from the hub. This repeating capability does not work with battery powered devices. Battery powered devices benefit from the repeating capability, but do not repeat themselves.)

Let’s assume for a moment that instead of using Google Home, I used my SmartThings Android app to control my lights. Further, let’s assume I only wanted to control my Living Room lights. To make this work, I would open the SmartThings app, scroll through my connected “Things,” and find the Living Room Dimmer switch. I would then have the ability to turn the switch off or on, or set the dim level to the percentage of my choosing. The SmartThings app connects to the SmartThings cloud service, which then connects to my SmartThings hub. The SmartThings hub is connected to my smart light switch, as described above. It flows in this manner: Phone App -> SmartThings Cloud -> SmartThings Hub -> Smart Switch -> Traditional Lights

Let’s now add Google Home to the equation and issue the following voice command: OK, Google. Dim the Living Room lights to 40%. In this scenario, I’ve simply replaced my SmartThings app with Google Home. Meaning, Google Home connects to the SmartThings cloud, which connects to my hub, which controls my switch.

Now it is time to complicate things a bit. In the video, I dimmed multiple rooms, not just my Living Room. Each of these rooms has one or more smart light switches. There are several options I could have used to control multiple switches:

  1. Issues one voice command after another: OK, Google. Dim the Living Room lights to 40%. OK, Google. Dim the Billiard Room lights to 40%. OK, Google. Dim…
  2. I could have created a fake room via the Google Home settings menu and placed all of my lights in that room. I could have called that room “Main Floor.” However, Google only allows you to assign a device to one room. Therefore, if I went this route, I would not be able to keep my Kitchen lights in the Kitchen room, since they will be in this fictitious “Main Room.”
  3. I can use some really neat capabilities within the SmartThings ecosystem and, specifically, a virtual switch. This is the route I chose, so I will explain this in a bit more detail.

Via the SmartThings website, you can create a fake switch (a.k.a., virtual or simulated switch). For my setup, I created a fake switch and called it “Main Floor Lights.” By itself, this switch does absolutely nothing. If I was to open up my SmartThings Android app, after creating the switch, I could turn the switch off an on, but it will do absolutely nothing; t is not connected to any hardware in my house. However, when you couple this fake switch with a SmartThings SmartApp, you really unlock your home automation capabilities. I use a SmartApp called Community’s own Rules Engine (CoRE). I’ll have to turn your attention to the SmartThings community for more information on CoRE, as this is a meaty topic all by itself.

Using a CoRE rule, I connected my fake Main Floor Lights switch to all of the switches in my Living Room, Billiard Room, Kitchen, and Breakfast Nook. I have this fake switch configured as a master switch that copies a single command and broadcasts that copy to each of my designated switches. When using my “dim the lights to 40%” example, I can now open up my Android app, find the Main Floor Lights switch, set the switch to 40%. That switch will do nothing but pass on that same command to all of my other switches, turning that one command into many. If I now swap my Android app with Google Home, I can do the same thing via a voice command.

Putting that all together, here is what happens when I bark the command “dim the main floor lights to 40%”

  1. Google Home hears my voice and converts my voice into a single command to the SmartThings cloud service. Specifically, it asks SmartThings to set my Main Floor Lights to 40%.
  2. SmartThings knows it has a virtual switch called Main Floor Lights and it sets the level to 40% based on Google’s command.
  3. My virtual switch broadcasts that same exact command to the Kitchen, Living Room, Billiard Room, and Breakfast Nook SmartThings switches.
  4. The SmartThings cloud system connects to my physical SmartThings hub.
  5. The SmartThings hub tells my physical smart switches to set the light level to 40%.
  6. The smart switch simply controls my regular light bulbs.

That was definitely a lot to consume for my first scenario, but do note that most of these concepts translate into the rest of my examples.

Scenario 2: Set the Floor lights to 100%

This is the same situation as scenario 1, except that I set the level to 100% instead of 40%

Scenario 3: Shut the Counter lights off

My counter lights are connected to a smart on/off toggle switch. These lights are not on dimmers because they are florescent lights, which can’t be dimmed. I have two completely independent smart switches controlling my Counter lights, as these lights are on both sides of my Kitchen on different hard-wired connections. I use the Smart Lighting SmartApp to virtually connect both switches. Through this configuration, I can flip one switch, whether it be physically or remotely, and the other switch will automatically change to the same state. This keeps me from having to tun on one switch, and then walk over to the other side of the Kitchen (1st world problems) to turn on the other. They work in harmony.

In this specific scenario, I simply have Google Home issue a command to just one of my SmartThings connected counter toggle switches. Once that toggle switch is changed, the other, via the Smart Lighting SmartApp, changes too.

Scenario 4: Shut off the Kitchen lights

Google Home has the concept of rooms. You can learn how to create and modify the rooms via the Google Home Help site. In this scenario, I have a room called Kitchen. This room has my counter lights as well as my overhead can lights connected. Both are on separate physical switches controlled by SmartThings. The command flows in the following manner: Google Home voice command looks for all lights in the Kitchen. It then issues a command to the SmartThings cloud service to turn those lights off. Everything else is the same as the previous scenarios.

Scenario 5: Turn all of the lights on

Google basically looks at all of the Google configured rooms where I have lights connected. It then issues a command to SmartThings to turn them all on. It is not setting the level, but simply turning them on just like you would if you walked up to the wall switch. The rest is just like before.

Scenario 6: Turn on the Living Room screen

It is now time to jump into my home entertainment configuration. Let’s first start by introducing my Harmony Hub. I encourage you to read all about it on their website, but, in short, it is a glorified universal remote control that issues infrared (IR) commands to my traditional entertainment devices. It knows how to control my TV, stereo receiver, and anything that can be controlled through IR. The receiver is hidden in a cabinet right next to the hub. The TV is above the fireplace and has a hidden wire transmitting the signal. In this scenario, I have it turning on both devices, and setting the appropriate inputs. This is accomplished through Harmony Activities. For this activity, I set the stereo receiver input to the HDMI port where I have a Google Chromecast connected.

While it is great that the Harmony Hub can control all of these devices, it is only useful if you have something that tells the hub which activity to execute. This can be done in many way. Three examples include:

  1. Through the physical remote control that comes with the Harmony Hub.
  2. Through the Harmony Hub Android App.
  3. Through connecting SmartThings with the Harmony Hub cloud service.

For this specific scenario, I am using example three. Fortunately, the SmartThings and Harmony cloud services can communicate with each other. They work in harmony. (OK…that was bad, I admit.) In addition to communicating with each other, Harmony creates the aforementioned virtual switches within SmartThings for you automatically. Therefore, I have a virtual switch in SmartThings for each one of my Harmony Activities.

Now that the configuration and capabilities have been explained, let’s connect the dots on how this scenario is executed:

  1. Voice command issued to Google Home to turn on the living room screen.
  2. Google Home sends that command to SmartThings and tells SmartThings to turn on the fake switch called Living Room Screen.
  3. The fake switch passes that command on to the Harmony cloud service.
  4. The Harmony cloud runs the Living Room Screen activity and tells the physical Harmony Hub to send out a bunch of IR commands to my TV and receiver.
  5. Everything is on!

There is one slight nuance you may have noticed in the video. When my screen turns on, my living room sconces dim. That is part of my Harmony Activity rule. I have connected my SmartThings dimmer switch with my Harmony Activities. I have a rule that automatically sets the dim level if the Living Room Screen is turned on and the sun has set. This is a good example of how Harmony can issue commands to SmartThings just as easily as it receives them.

Scenario 7: Play a SmartThings video on my Living Room Screen

Now that my screen is on, content can be broadcasted. Out-of-the-box, Google Home can cast content to your configured Chromecast devices. When I asked for a “SmartThings video,” it automatically conducted a search on YouTube and it sent the first result to my Chromecast device called Living Room Screen.

Scenario 8: Stop YouTube

Google Home was aware that it was playing a YouTube video. I simply asked for it to stop playing.

Scenario 9: Turn on the Living Room TV

This is almost identical to Scenario 6, with a few nuances. Google Home has issued a command to SmartThings to turn on the Living Room TV switch. In this case, the switch is connected to a Harmony Hub Activity with the same name. That activity turns on my TV and my stereo receiver. It also turns on my Xbox 360, going straight into Windows Media Center, and sets my receiver to the Xbox 360 HDMI connection. I will save my Windows Media Center setup for another post. Just know that all of my digital content, including cable TV, runs through a central location/desktop in my house. The content is then distributed to the Xbox 360 head unit, also know as an extender. I don’t have a single cable box in my house. My Xbox 360 devices serve this purpose.

Scenario 10: Turn on Live TV

This is just another Harmony Activity. This activity does the same as before, but it hits a button on the virtual remote control to turn on the last channel that was viewed.

Scenario 11: Turn off the living room TV

This simply turns off the Harmony Activity via the SmartThings virtual switch.

Scenario 12: Start the party

It is now time to introduce IFTTT. Think of IFTTT as a middle man that helps turn events into other actions. You can use it for way more than home automation, and what is demonstrated in my video. For example, I have it setup to automatically text my wife when I leave the office.

For this scenario in my video, I have configured a Google Assistant IFTTT Applet. This applet listens for a custom phrase from the Google Home device. This phrase can be virtually anything, and you can also have alternate ways to say the phrase. For example, I setup “start the party,” which can also be activated by saying “let’s party” or “it’s party time.” All phrases will trigger the same action in IFTTT. For this integration, I chose that action to be a fake switch in my SmartThings environment. “Start the party” simply turns on a SmartThings virtual switch I creatively named “Virtual Party Switch.” In addition to turning the switch on, it also replied with a phrase to let me know it understood and executed my command. In this case, it responded with “Party started. I hope you party like it is nineteen ninety-nine.”

Through a moderately complex CoRE rule, I’ve configured the Virtual Party Switch to do the following:

  • Turn on all of the lights in my house and, for those lights that can be dimmed, set the dim level to 50%.
  • Activate three Harmony Activities. Each of these activities is connected to its own Harmony Hub. I have three Harmony Hubs in this example (Patio, Main Floor, and Basement) and each received a command from SmartThings.

The Harmony Activities executed in this example powered on all of the stereo receivers and set the inputs to the one that has my Chromecast Audio connected. As a result, my house now has three Chromecast Audio devices wired to all of my house speakers, including in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, waiting for audio content.

Scenario 13: Play music on the House Speakers

I have my Google Home connected to my Google Music subscription. Out-of-the-box, Google Home can connect to a Chromecast Audio device or group. I have the three aforementioned Chromecast Audio devices connected as a group called House Speakers. When I requested music, Google randomly selected a song and casted it to my designated group. I could have easily asked for a specific song, or I could have played it to one zone/receiver in my house. However, since this is a party, I chose to cast it house-wide.

Scenario 14: Stop the party

This is another custom Google Assistant phrase issued via the IFTTT integration. This phrase will issue an “off” command to my Virtual Party Switch introduced earlier. I have three phrases configured to issue this same command: 1. stop the party, 2. party is over, and 3. it’s closing time. All would have instructed SmartThings to turn off the Virtual Party Switch. As a reminder, this switch is powered by a CoRE rule. This rule shut down my home entertainment devices, such as the three receivers, as well as my basement and outside lights. It also sets my main lights to 100% (because you always have to clean up after a party and I’m going to need some light). To confirm the IFTTT applet heard me correctly, I’m met with the custom response of “Party has been stopped. What a bummer.”

Scenario 15: Turn everything off

If you have made it this far, I’m impressed. This is the last example demonstrated in the video, and it is actually the least sophisticated. It simply looks at all of the switches I have connected – in this case, all of my SmartThings switches, whether they are virtual or real – and turns them off. I don’t give Google Home visibility into all of my switches and devices, as many are behind the scenes, or I just don’t want Google Home controlling. In this case, it shut off 22 switches.


The saying “there are many ways to skin a cat” is very applicable with my setup. There are numerous ways to achieve the same results. You can choose to swap out different smart devices (e.g., a Google Home with a Amazon Echo) or create completely different rules. I’m sure there are ways to streamline the actions and activities and I encourage you to experiment on your own.

Either way, my configuration meets my needs and I have since added more smart capabilities since I recorded the video, and I will continue to tinker.

Drop me a line in the comments and let me know what you think. Also, if I receive enough request, I just might publish a post on my Windows Media Center setup. (Sorry, I won’t be sharing info on my closed-circuit camera and security system; I don’t think that would be a wise move.)

40 Comments

  1. I’m a little confused between ZIgbee and Z-Wave – which should I get ? Is there a benefit from one over the other that you have experienced ?

    Reply

    • Hi, prad. I started out with just Zigbee devices, since that is the protocol SmartThings uses for their shipped devices. However, I had reliability challenges. I can’t say if it was due the SmartThings devices or the ZigBee network, but I can say that my Z-Wave devices are much more reliable. Honestly, my method is to build a strong network for both protocols, hence why you see that I use both. Either works fine, so my recommendation would be to choose based on price (there are licensing costs for Z-Wave, I believe, that the manufacturer has to pay) and the availability (i.e, some devices only come in one protocol). I hope that helps.

      Be sure to check out this article for more information about the differences between Z-Wave and ZigBee: http://www.safewise.com/blog/zigbee-vs-zwave-review/

      Reply

  2. you should start a business. I would be your first customer. I am new but am trying. I’m having trouble with the basic. Ifttt.I am having trouble creating recipes.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Stanley, for the kind comment. Question..why are you trying to accomplish with IFTTT? Maybe I can help…and free of charge 🙂

      Reply

      • What would be the best way to do the lights? How do I use my google home to work with my dimmer switches. Do I have to create recipes? I would like to get my things automated as well. All the help you can give me would be great.

        Reply

        • I use SmartThings to control my lights. The SmartThings hub connects and controls my lights. I can then connect to SmartThings via the Google Home device. I also believe you can add devices (e.g., light switches) to Google Home directly. You actually don’t need IFTTT to control lights.

          Reply

          • Thanks I will be in touch. I am going to start with the lights and I will move from there. Thank you. Let us know when you have more videos up.

  3. Man, your YouTube video got me all excited. As much as I worry about all this technology it’s too fun not to use it! I see that you aren’t using the smart bulbs and just using the smart light switches correct? Will any normal LED Light work to be able to use the dimmer feature, or does the switch need to be a dimmer and does the bulb need to be a bulb that can be dimmed. Since I have an iPhone is possible to use my music to be played through blue tooth speaker or my receiver or it has to be only google music. And to get google home to play YouTube video via chromecast does have to be a paid service? Also, do you only use google home now for turning the lights or do you still go the old fashion way and manually turn the lights on 🙂

    And yes would love to see or read more about your windows media center and it’s capabilities. Especially, when your not using cable boxes!!!??

    Thanks randy

    Reply

    • Great questions, Randy. Regarding playing music from your iPhone, you can play any music that has casting abilities; This includes Spotify and Google Music and don’t use Bluetooth. Also, you can configure Google Home to connect to those streaming stations as an option, so that you don’t have to fiddle with your phone to select and play content.

      For lighting, you are correct, I don’t use any smart bulbs in the video. They are all regular incandescent bulbs. You can use LED bulbs if your light switch supports LED dimming. You also need to add up your lumens/wattage to make sure you don’t overpower your switch as well. For example, I had to purchase a Leviton switch that was capable of 1000 watts since my Kitchen has a bunch of lighting. Don’t forget to purchase an add-on switch if you have a three-way light configuration.

      For YouTube videos, you don’t have to be a paying/red member; It will work for any free users.

      Lastly, I don’t use my switches in a manual manner nearly as I did in the past. For one, my switches automatically turn on when I get home (through a SmartThings rule). Also, I find myself using voice commands, since I turn on and off several lights at the same time.

      Reply

  4. Hi Keith,

    Great video which has tempted me to start in on the home automation thing again. I am curious about your TV service source and how well it really works. I do know and understand Windows media center but I am curious if your service provider requires a cable box for signal decryption. In my case I require a set top box and an IR blaster if I wish to provide the cable channels via media center. This will also force all Xbox 360s to stream the same source which sucks.

    Jason

    Reply

    • Hi, Jason. Thanks for the note.

      Here is the very short version:
      In 2007, the FCC passed a law that enables consumers to “use [their] own set-top box.” As a result, the cable providers will provide you with a cablecard for use in your own equipment. I use the HDHomeRun Prime from SiliconDust. I configured my cable card to work with the HDHomeRun Prime unit; all of my channels are handled now through the single, networked device. My Windows Media Center then leverages HDHomeRun Prime channels for streaming. My Xbox 360s act as extenders of the desktop Windows Media Center so that I can broadcast the content to any connected TV. Hope that helps.

      Reply

      • Gotcha thanks, I am in Ontario Canada where there are no provisions in law to allow consumers to use their own equipment.

        thanks,
        Jason

        Reply

        • Hi Thomas,

          I have one HDHomeRun Prime for the entire home (which has one cable card inserted) and then I have an Xbox 360 for each room. You can also have one Xbox 360 for multiple TVs, but you will need an HDMI splitter and they will have to watch the same content. Basically, the Xbox 360 replaces your cable box (so you would swap them out in a one-for-one basis).

          Reply

  5. What about Google Home voice control over volume (up/down/mute), changing DVR channels, Roku channels, etc., with Harmony devices/activities?

    Reply

    • Great question, Dana. Unfortunately, there is no great way to do this…yet. Technically, you could setup an activity for all of the items you mentioned, but it is just a pain. I did create a few activities for ESPN and some of my other frequently used channels. However, what I would really like to see is a connection between Google Home and Harmony that enables you to control buttons within an activity (instead of an Activity for each button, which is just nuts). I find myself using voice commands to turn the TV on, and then using a traditional remote to control the buttons.

      Reply

  6. Great content, thank you for sharing.
    first
    re: changing channels, volume up down. Do you think if would be possible to have Google Home send commands to a tablet (with IR blaster) executed via Tasker to change channels? Path: “OK Google tell tablet volume to 5” –> In the G-Home settings is a Tablet “event” that event sends a Wiifi command to the tablet, then tasker executes the “key strokes” on the soft remote It is done here with an Echo
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSLdjHmf9K4
    but appears clunky. I tried to learn Tasker but don’t have the brain power and time to make Tasker sing for me. I be interested in your thoughts.

    Second:
    A few months back there was a fair amount of press about the Smartthings hub being pretty unstable. Do you have any info that shows how Samsung addressed the issues they were having back in the spring?

    Reply

  7. Volume controls have been released by Harmony for Alexa (a new skill to use along w/the original skill) so hopefully Google Home access to those options is coming soon as well.

    From Amazon/Alexa Skills for the new Harmony skill:

    Use Amazon Alexa with your Logitech Harmony hub-based remote to start and stop Harmony Activities, change channels, control volume, play/pause and set a sleep timer. Use your voice to jump to your favorite TV station or directly into a Roku channel. For example, say “Alexa, tell Harmony to turn on the TV” to power on your TV, AV receiver and cable box and set them all to the right inputs.

    Try saying
    Alexa, tell Harmony to turn on the TV
    Alexa, tell Harmony to turn on Netflix
    Alexa, tell Harmony to turn on the Discovery Channel
    Alexa, tell Harmony to turn up the volume
    Alexa, tell Harmony to pause my movie
    Alexa, tell Harmony to set a sleep timer for 15 minutes

    We recommend adding our Harmony Smart Home skill so you may turn on your TV or switch to Favorite channels without having to say “ask Harmony”. Search for the “Harmony — Optimized for Smart Home” skill. These skills support one Harmony Hub.

    Reply

  8. Hey Keith, I am slowing starting to make my home into a smart home, but had a few questions. I recently bought the google home and I am looking into controlled lights. I wanted to get your opinion on current technology for smart lights. I see that you use the smart dimmer for majority of your lights. What are you thoughts on the Phillips Hue lights? What would be the best cost effective solutions for controlled lights, in your opinion? Looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks, Dave?

    Reply

    • Hi Dave. Thanks for the note and question. I have limited experience with smart lights. I’ve heard really good things about Phillip Hue lights, however. I made a personal decision to control everything at a switch level. The bulbs can get expensive over time and I’ve also had trouble combining dimmable smart light bulbs with dimmer switches (you are supposed to select only one – dimmable bulbs or a dimmer switch). I believe it all comes down to personal preference. Again, I like the flexibility of using any bulbs I choose, and controlling all through one switch. I hope that helps. Happy to assist a bit more if needed.

      Reply

  9. Keith,
    Awesome information. Definitely inspiring me to upgrade my home. So far I have used my Google Home’s out of the box features so far, and I also used the IFTTT trick to send texts between each and my wife, works great!!
    However I want to take it one step at a time, and I wanted to begin on upgrading the sound system in my living room. I have recently purchased a 65″ LG smart tv, which does not have the built in chrome cast.
    My goal is to be able to use my Google home to turn the TV on and off, as well as its cable receiver. I want to add a cast enabled soundbar with maybe 2 extra speakers to this entertainment setup…

    Overall there will be a TV, cable box, and cast enabled sound system (bar with speakers) all with the home of being utilized through my Google home. What will I need to accomplish this? A harmony elite hub, a smart things hub, and a Chromecast for the TV? (Since it’s not built in?)
    Sorry for the juggled post!

    Kris

    Reply

    • Hi Kristopher, glad to hear that the text messaging trick is working for you; that is fantastic. As far as your TV question, I would suggest, at bare minimum, you purchase the Chromecast device and a Harmony Hub. The Hub helps you control all of the devices you mention via IR commands. The commands are issues through the Hub itself or through an IR extender for those hard to reach areas. You can connect the Hub via IFTTT. The SmartThings device isn’t required, but it does help add extra capabilities, such as lighting, routine automation, etc. Hit me up with a reply if that doesn’t help answer your question. Good luck!

      Reply

      • Keith,

        Awesome thank you for the reply.

        This reply will kind of build off of where you mentioned in your article about how you connected your sound system to your tv….in your article you stated, “I set the stereo receiver input to the HDMI port where I have a Google Chromecast connected.” Is there a way you can depict how you have this connected? If you already have a Chromecast plugged into an hdmi port, how can you also have your stereo receiver to the same port? Sorry I’m confused about that!

        To take it a step further, what if I am looking into purchasing a smart cast enabled system? How would that setup differ? For instance, if I currently have a Chromecast plugged into one of my hdmi ports (currently plugged into an hdmi 3 port [arc]) and I get a smart cast enabled sound system, I’m having trouble visualizing how I need to connect the sound system to the TV.

        Overall, the first step is getting a successful setup that will work with my google home, and Then from there I will get the Harmony hub to enable the IR one and off features using either IFTTT or Smart things (whichever I need).

        Thanks again!!!!

        Kristopher

        Reply

      • Hey Keith, it’s Randy again. Ok I have the smartthings, harmony hub, iffft, google home! Question, I am trying to figure out how to command google home to turn on and off my TV even turn on my Apple TV, I have even setup activities for both of those in harmony! So how do make it work by commanding Google Home?

        Reply

  10. Thanks for the info. Question for you. I have a virtual switch that controls all of my downstairs lights as a group. It works well, but I’m running into the problem where, for example, my living room and kitchen lights are the only lights on downstairs, (downstairs virtual switch off), I can’t turn off the downstairs virtual switch without first turning turning it on. So basically if some, but not all downstairs lights are on, to turn off all downstairs lights I have to say “turn on downstairs” which turns on All lights and then have to say “turn off downstairs”. Do you know if there is anyway around having to do this? Hopefully what I wrote makes sense. Thanks!

    Reply

  11. Keith,
    Thank you for the great video and wealth of knowledge…
    I just got a Google Home, Smart Things and Harmony hub…
    Have Sonos Sound bar and Control 4 throughout…
    I started messing with setting up Google home to launch Google Music and/or Pandora to my Main Room with the Sonos sound bar….and am finding it to not be as easy as I thought it might be… any tips?

    Reply

  12. HI … it was very interesting. ..but I Would like to know if ist possible to get the post in spanish version. ..thanks

    Reply

  13. first off, thanks for this post and video. a lot of helpful information here. I’ve been slowly trying to learn whats going on in GitHub and the smartthings developer site and using coRE. (i say “using” coRE, but in reality, all I can do is read a ton about it and how it works, but I can’t find help on how to actually GET coRE on my system. is it a smart app i need to find and install?)
    I’m starting with your first example where you make a virtual switch for the main floor lights. I understand how it works but I can’t figure out how to actually do it. I’m not sure if there have been recent updates/changes to the smartthings website, but any help i can find is from 2014 and none of the steps follow the new layout of the site. I know this is a bit of a reach, but do you happen to know a good reference video or article with good step by step instructions for getting coRE on my hub and making a virtual switch like in your “scenario 1”. essentially I’m trying to do the exact same thing you did in that scenario but I’m stuck on ‘Make a virtual switch’. any help you have would be great. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Bryan,

      Sorry I haven’t replied sooner. I haven’t been getting messages alerting me of posts on the site.

      In short, you need to install the CoRE application via the SmartThings IDE website: https://graph.api.smartthings.com/

      1. Log into the site using your SmartThings user id and password
      2. Click “New SmartApp” in the top right corner
      3. Click “From Code” in the top tab
      4. Paste the CoRE code from Github
      5. Click create
      6. Publish the app

      Check out more here: https://community.smartthings.com/t/faq-what-is-core/59981

      Reply

      • No worries. Thanks for replying. Thus is exactly what I was looking for. Sometimes there’s too much info out there and finding step one gets a little difficult. Haha.
        Thanks again!

        Reply

  14. Hi there,
    Your video is great however i have few questions.
    I’m planning to buy a smart things, few switches, and later on an amazon echo or google home.
    I would like to know how hard it is to setup a scenario when for example I say “play movie”, I would like that smart things dim my lights, turn my TV on and switch it to HDMI2.
    I don’t know, how far can smart things interact with 2things” and hardware and why do we still need to use IFTT.
    I saw that I can control my TV with device handler plugin, would I still need an harmony to make it easier ?
    Regards, Vivien

    Reply

  15. Keith ok… i did figure out how to configure ifttt and goodnhome to turn on my tv and Apple TV! But do you have issues where the inputs don’t switch correctly after you give the command? Sometimes it works and then it doesn’t? Also, I realized that Google Home can’t do the command I ask if I turn if I turn off/on the tv because I didn’t use the harmony app or harmony remote! Has this happened to you? Last thing I promise. Do you have issues with chromecast Audio continuelessly not showing up in devices in Google home? Thank you again!

    Reply

  17. Great write up. I was wondering is it possible for you to share your webCoRE pistons. I’m very interested in doing the same thing as you with my home. I’m a bit lost when working in webCoRe and any extra help would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

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  20. I haven’t read the whole article yet, will soon but in the meantime if you don’t cover it, how do you get ST to see devices that may not be supported directly? I just got my ST and the only thing it sees is my Philips HUE lights. I have a lot of Chinese lights, Sensi thermostat, Chamberlain garage door opener and so on. I also have a WINK hub not connect currently. Will the ST see the WINK hub and devices connected to it?

    Reply

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