When it comes to thermostats, I’m a set it and forget it kind of guy. I’m very happy with my Nest thermostat schedule, and when I deviate from my normal day to day it is usually pretty good about picking up on that. But some people (my wife) like to fiddle with the thermostat all day because they’re too hot or too cold all the time.
That said, I have been a little miffed that the only way I had found to make Alexa work with the world’s flagship thermostat was through a clunky IFTTT recipe. Not anymore it’s not! The Reflect Connect skill exists solely to connect your Echo with a Nest thermostat.
To make this work, you have to do the following:
- Either go to the Reflect Connect homepage or locate the Reflect Connect Skill
- Create a free account
- You will then be walked through the setup procedure, starting with authorizing Reflect Connect to talk to your Nest
- Next you will have to provide your Nest login information, so that Reflect Connect can control the device when you issue voice commands
- Activate the Reflect Connect skill in the Alexa app
- Log in to Reflect Connect through the Alexa app
You only have to do this setup procedure once and you will be all set to control your Nest thermostat with voice commands issued to Alexa. Currently, the list of commands includes:
- Alexa, talk to Reflect
- Alexa, open Reflect
- Alexa, ask Reflect what the temperature is
- Alexa, ask Reflect to set the temperature to seventy degrees (you can ask for any temperature you like)
- Alexa, ask Reflect what the humidity is
- Alexa, ask Reflect what Nest is set to
- Alexa, ask Reflect why I am hot (or cold)
Until Amazon and Google work out whatever has been keeping them from creating a true integration, this is the best method to control your Nest with your Amazon Echo.