Congratulations on getting your new Smart Lights! Now that you have a Smart Light connected to your Nest Mini, what’s next? By first understanding the components of what goes into Google Assistant light commands, you can then better equip yourself for remotely controlling your Smart Lights and learning these five basic commands. Let’s get started.
Google Assistant Light Command Components
Before diving into the actual Google Assistant light commands themselves, it’s important to first note the basic components of what goes into each Google Nest Mini commands.
Essentially, all Google Assistant light commands are built with two very similar patterns, or components. Going further, you can always expect these two components in every Google Assistant Light command that you can think of. Once you realize these exist, you can craft new, clever commands all on your own—opening up many more possibilities than just the examples I have for you today.
So, what are these two components? Let’s dive in.
Target
In other words, what Smart Light do you want to target? Google Assistant needs to know what lights you want to remotely control with your voice.
The most commonly used phrase for Smart Light targets is to say the name of the light itself, such as: “Bob’s Light.”
These other examples are also applicable:
- Every light available – e.g. “All the lights”
- Location of lights – e.g. “The lights in the bedroom”
Action
Or simply put, what is the action you want to happen? Actions are the things Google Assistant can do with your Smart Light. For instance, here are a few example actions:
- Turn on / off
- Brighten
- Dim
- Change color
- Get the status
Combining these two components together lets you create any light command you would like. Now armed with this information, let’s go through five Google Assistant light commands.
Google Assistant Light Commands
First, double check that Google Assistant knows about your new Smart Lights. If you’re needing more help with this, LIFX has a handy tutorial that includes account linking. Once setup is complete, you’re ready to try out these five Google Assistant light commands.
“Hey Google, [‘On’ action] + [Target]”
With the first component from above in mind, let’s try it with the example of “Bob’s Light.” For instance: “Hey Google, turn on Bob’s Light.” With this example command, you’re telling Google Assistant to target the light you’ve named “Bob’s Light” with the action turn on.
After giving Google Assistant this command, you’ll hear a response like this: “All right, turning Bob’s Light on.”
“Hey Google, is [Target] [‘Status’ action]?”
Continuing with the example from above, you can also check the status of your Smart Light.
For instance, “Hey Google, is Bob’s Light on?” With this command, you’re still telling Google to target the light named “Bob’s Light,” but the action is now asking Google Assistant to say if the light is on or off.
After giving Google Assistant this example command, you’ll hear a response like this: “Bob’s Light is on.”
“Hey Google, set [Target] to [‘Brighten’ action]”
Let’s talk about another action you can take with your Smart Lights, called brightness. This action will change the light brightness of your Smart Light.
For instance, if you say, “Hey Google, set Bob’s Light to 50%” you’re telling Google Assistant to set the brightness of your Smart Light to 50%. This means the light will be half as bright as it can be. And once you give this command, you’ll hear a response like this: “OK, setting Bob’s Light to 50%.”
“Hey Google, [Brighten action] [Target]”
Instead of specifically setting the brightness of your Smart Light, you can also tell Google Assistant to adjust based on increasing or decreasing the light’s brightness.
For example, the command, “Hey Google, brighten Bob’s Light” will tell Google to target the light named “Bob’s Light.” But the action changes. This time, you’re telling Google Assistant to increase the brightness. But you aren’t telling Google Assistant by how much. So without a value, Google will increase the brightness just a tad, about 5% or so.
After giving Google Assistant this command, you’ll hear a response like this: “OK, brightening Bob’s Light.”
“Hey Google, set [Target] to [Color action]”
By far the coolest and my personal favorite command involves an entirely different action. Google Assistant can change the color of your Smart Lights. With this action, Google Assistant understands that when you use a color name, you want to change the color.
For example, “Hey Google, set Bob’s Light to Blizzard Blue” will tell Google to target the light named “Bob’s Light” and set it to the color named “Blizzard Blue.” After giving Google Assistant this command, you’ll hear a response like this: “OK, changing Bob’s Light to Blizzard Blue.” The above five Smart Light commands are the basics of getting started with controlling your new Smart Lights with Google Assistant. For more info, view the Google Assistant section or general Smart Home section to continue making your home even smarter.