Dina Bader: Ask Alexa to turn on your smart lights

Amazon's Echo line of smart speakers can be used to control a plethora of different supported lights. If you have an Echo and supported smart lights (with the smart hub for those that need it), it's easy to get set up.

Products used in this guide

Voice portal: Amazon Echo (3rd Gen) ($90 at Amazon)
Let there be light: LIFX BR30 Muti Colored Bulbs 4 Pack ($176 at Amazon)

The guide

If you don't already have smart lighting that supports Alexa integration, Amazon has a full list of lighting options, but we're working with LIFX smart lights for this guide.

Once your smart lights are connected to your home wi-fi (follow the manufacturer's instructions), you're ready to connect your lights with your Echo so that you can ask Alexa to control them. Here's how.

Launch the Alexa app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap the menu icon in the top left corner of the screen. It looks like three lines.
Tap Add Device.
Tap on Light under All Devices, or tap on the device brand at the top of the screen.
Once you locate your device or brand, tap on it.
You may be prompted to download the light's app, and/or to enable the Alexa Skill for that light.
Log in to your app.
Enable the Alexa Skill.

How to group lights

Launch the Alexa app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap the Devices label in the lower right corner of the screen.
Tap on the plus symbol at the top right of the screen
Tap on Add Group at the bottom of the screen.
Select a group name for your lights, or create one in the Custom Name field.
Tap on Next at the bottom of the screen.
Define the group by selecting which lights (and/or smart plugs) you want as part of this new light grouping.
Tap Save.

Now your new light group will be available as a tile directly from the Devices tab of the Alexa app, and you can ask Alexa to "turn on the lounge" or whatever you decided to name your new group.

Our top equipment picks

The perfect pairing for your Smart home lighting setup using Alexa is an Echo speaker and LIFX smart lights.

The smart speaker

Amazon Echo (3rd Gen)

$90 at Amazon $90 at Best Buy

The perfectly priced mid-range Alexa supported smart speaker

Amazon's basic model Echo is more than just a smart device, it's a decent speaker for its size. With Dolby support and 360-degree omnidirectional audio, you're getting the best speaker for the price.

Echo is the perfect smart home speaker for anyone hoping to get into the smart home market without spending too much money. Alexa is the widest supported virtual assistant for smart products across the board, and the Echo is the best speaker at a reasonable price. It's more expensive than the Dot but sounds much better.

The smart lights

LIFX BR30 Multi Colored Bulbs 4 Pack

$176 at Amazon

Millions of colors!

LIFX bulbs are some of the best multi-colored lights available. Pick up a pack of four and leave that smart hub that other brands require behind.

LIFX bulbs work great with Amazon's Alexa smart voice assistant, and these particular lights support multiple dimming settings as well as 16 million color combinations. They don't require any sort of smart hub, so you can just plug them in, set them up in the app as we've show above, and you're ready to rock. Create the perfect mood lighting for any occassion. Oh, these also work with HomeKit too!

Additional equipment

The most feature-rich and future-proof combo for Alexa supported smart light integration is an Echo and LIFX, but there are less-expensive alternatives that work great with limited features.