The best smart speakers like the latest Apple HomePod or Echo Dot are not great devices for streaming music They now come with built-in environmental sensors that can detect and inform you about movement or temperature changes in your room When you connect this speaker to the smart home platform, you can take advantage of this additional feature to trigger the best smart home devices 

A good example of this is setting up a routine that automatically turns on your smart light when you enter the room Now that the weather is heating up, I'm using my Echo Dot's handy temperature sensor to turn on the air conditioner attached to my old window when it gets too hot I read to see how easy it is to set up this routine to automate your own home to make it more comfortable

This compact 11-ounce sphere is worth its weight in gold I use it as my assistant easily to me about my day in the morning and control my smart home device and eye to the exact temperature of my room Its sensors can detect when my room is too warm and automatically kick into my ancient Frigidaire air conditioner

I'm by setting the conditions when my room is too hot (over 70 degrees) to turn on the smart plug connected to my air conditioner Basically relay that my echo dot always checks the temperature and needs to turn on my air conditioner when it's too hot This is a godsend of workarounds for my old house that lacks central air or a smart thermostat But if you have a portable air conditioner or window unit you can still benefit from this setup for a particular room

Simply plug the air conditioner into one of the best smart plugs to turn it on or off from anywhere1 You can use your smart home routine menu to create smooth automation Set the "when" (trigger) part of the routine when the temperature sensor on the smart speaker reaches a temperature that is considered too high Then make the result of "then" (action) to power your smart plug to make your space more comfortable

Note that smart plugs simply kill the power flowing to the device After shutdown, not all A/C will return to the operating settings The smart plug does not have on-board memory to remember the device settings, which is one of my biggest problems with the smart plug1 I had success with an 8-year-old model that I remember keeping my room at 66 degrees in high cool mode But it is possible that the old model is turned on and sits waiting for manual input

Smart plugs do not work in all scenarios Even if you have a ductless air conditioning system or you can't use the A/C prongs with a smart plug, you still have hope This assumes that you have a remote in your existing setup You can program the input of the wireless remote to the IR blaster 

The device stores different signals each time you press a button, such as power on, temperature rise, or mode change

For those of you like me who live in an old house or in a central air-deficient place like a garage or basement apartment, this is the best app for you to use the phone app to control the A/C while away from home, then with your voice or simply switch the system on at a certain time or temperature A much cheaper solution to buy a smart air conditionerEspecially if you already have an existing window or a portable air conditioning unit