Alexa and the Smart Home Features of My Aprilaire System

You know that I love smart home products. I used a few in my old home, but since moving in here I have outfitted our home with several smart bulbs, outlets, switches, a connected security system and doorbell, and more. As previously mentioned, we were just outfitted with an awesome whole-house air system courtesy of Aprilaire that is helping us keep the air in our home cool and clean. One of the things that I love most is how high-tech the system is. I mentioned before that I was iffy about replacing my existing Nest thermostat with the Aprilaire 8920W. I wasn't sure if I would be able to control it from my phone, or if I would have all of the same smart home features. I actually have more.

The Thermostat

We received the Aprilaire 8920W Touchscreen Thermostat. So far I am loving it. It's a touchscreen thermostat which means navigating to the different functions is a breeze. The thermostat controls all functions of my Aprilaire system including the furnace, air conditioner, humidifier, dehumidifier, and ventilation control system. Each function gets its own screen. This is all accomplished by connecting the thermostat to my WiFi.

It also tells the temperature inside and out, the indoor humidity, and allows me to change the mode on the system. I can even pull up a full weather forecast for my area.

The Aprilaire App

The app does everything that the thermostat can do whether I am at home, or away. It's been very useful to be able to monitor the temp and humidity on nice days when not home and turn the system on if I need to. I can also easily turn on the Fresh Air setting if I feel that the house needs more fresh air. It can be a temporary 3 Hour or 24 Hour event, or I can set it to turn on automatically when needed. And if your system is equipped with an air cleaner you can turn that on after a party, construction, or other reasons that you feel that air needs cleaning. We all love fresh air!

To use the app and connect it to your thermostat, you will need to connect your thermostat to your WiFi, download the app from the Google Play Store, or iOS Store, create an Aprilaire account, and connect it to your thermostat. This takes only a few minutes. You can check out the Aprilaire Command site for complete information.

Using an Amazon Echo

I have had the Amazon Echo for a few months. I'm still learning all that it can do. While there are features built into the Echo a lot of the functionally comes by way of third-party skills. You download and install skills to add control of smart home products to your Echo. I have skills enabled for the various lights, cameras, and my security system. And now I can control my Aprilaire system.

I downloaded and enabled the Aprilaire skillset. Here are two major tips that I found out the hard way.

1. When you create your Aprilaire account, be sure to the same email address as your Amazon Echo account.
2. When naming your thermostat, use a nice short name with no spaces and no fancy characters.

Before I knew the above 2 tips my Alexa app would not find my thermostat. Luckily tech support was very helpful. Fixing those 2 things made everything work smoothly. You can see full instructions for how to setup your Aprilaire skill on the website.

Now I can say things like “Alexa, what is the temperature in my home?” and she will answer. I can also tell up her turn the temp up or down and many other things.

I have an Amazon Echo Dot on my nightstand. It is awesome being able to adjust the temp or turn off the air without even turning on the light or reaching for my phone. I am really enjoying all of the functionality that this smart system has brought to my home. We are much more comfortable, and of course, I love all of the techy features.

If you are interested in seeing what an Aprilaire system can do for your home, check out my post Why You Just Might Need a Whole House Humidifier, or More! and visit the Aprilaire website.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Aprilaire. All opinions are my own.