Integrating Genius Hub into your Smart Home

Genius Hub offers controls for your Smart Heating, but how do we engage with other Smart Devices and Home Automation software?

Amazon Alexa

The Genius Hub Smart Home skill allows you to interact with your Genius Hub system through Amazon Alexa. Using spoken commands (or the app), you can instantly control your Genius devices. Heres how…

The Genius Hub Smart Home skill allows you to say things like:

  • Set the Living Room to 21 degrees
  • Set the Living Room to 21 degrees for 2 hours and 30 minutes
  • What temperature is the Living Room?
  • What is the Living Room set to?
  • What temperature is it in here? (if a group is set up that contains the Alexa device and the Thermostat)
  • Set the temperature to 21 degrees (if a group is set up that contains the Alexa device and the Thermostat)
  • Set the temperature to 21 degrees for Y [hours / minutes] (if a group is set up that contains the Alexa device and the Thermostat)
  • Make it warmer in Living Room
  • Make it cooler in Living Room
  • Make it warmer in here
  • Make it cooler in here
  • Set Living Room thermostat to off (sets the zone to Off mode)
  • Set Living Room thermostat to heat (sets the zone to override mode – duration and temperature are set on the Settings page for the zone in the Genius Hub app)
  • Set Living Room thermostat to automatic (sets the zone to Timer mode)
  • Resume Living Room schedule (cancels override)
  • Turn on/off the Electric Blanket

Enable The Skill:

  1. Log in to the Alexa app on your phone / tablet, or https://alexa.amazon.co.uk/spa/index.html#smart-home in a web browser (Note: you may have to click on the link twice, once to prompt you to log into your Alexa account and second to enable the beta evaluation)
  2. Either click the link above OR
  3. Go to ‘Skills’ (web) or ‘Skills & Games’ (app) 
  4. Enter ‘Genius Hub Smart Home’ in the search box
  5. Enable the skill – this will take you to a page to enter your Hub credentials
  6. You should then be prompted to ‘Discover Devices’, do this to see each of your zones as a controllable device.

IFTTT

Genius Hub already gives you advanced control of your heating, but with IFTTT we can help you go even further. IFTTT means ‘if this then that’ and allows you to connect surfaces and applications used in everyday life to make your smart home smarter.

Use Genius Hub IFTTT applets to:

  • Use your Genius sensors to receive an alert whenever motion is detected
  • Turn on your heating when you get near your home, based on your phone’s location
  • Turn off Genius Hub Smart Plug controlled appliances when you leave home.
  • Turn on outside heaters at sunset.
  • Have your bathroom underfloor heating turn on with your alarm in the morning.

No need to only use the applets we’ve provided, though! You can easily create your own applets to link your Genius Hub system with the thousands of other devices that are compatible with IFTTT. Here’s how:

Installing IFTTT:

  1. Sign up and log into ifttt.com and link your Genius Hub, if you’ve not done so already.
  2. Click on your username in the top right and select “New Applet”. You should be greeted with “if this then that” in big letters.
  3. Click “this”, search for your device/app (e.g. ‘Genius Hub’) and pick a trigger that will start your applet.
  4. Then click “that” and follow the steps to pick an action for your applet to carry out.
  5. Choose a name for your applet, and whether or not to receive mobile notifications when the trigger fires.
  6. Click “Finish” to make your applet live.
Please note: Some fields may take a few seconds to load as they fetch data from your Hub. If you need any more information on how to set up IFTTT, have a look on the IFTTT web site or our support page.

We would love to hear your feedback!

Email enquiry@geniushub.co.uk with the subject 'Genius Hub Integrations' to let us know your thoughts on our home automation applications.