EchoSistant Evolved 4.1 introduced a new way of creating your own personalized reports about the status of your home that can be delivered in audio format via Alexa or a connected speaker AND/OR in text format via sms or push notifications.
While it is a fun and flexible approach, it does take imagination to make the reports work for you. I invite people to share their use cases as well as the custom messages so others can see how to use this new powerful feature…
Here are some of my favorites:
The Power Consumption Report:
Text: Here is your power consumption report for Saturday, March 18 at 9:23 AM. You are currently using 1563 watts. You have 6 switches on and your HVAC is not running.
Custom Phrase: Here is your &profile report for &date at &time. You are currently using &power watts. You have &lights on and your HVAC is &running.
The Security Report
Text: Currently your home location mode is standby and your Smart Home Monitor is disabled. The garage door is closed and you have one door unlocked and two windows open. The average temperature in your home is 68 degrees and your home is currently using 590 watts.
Custom Phrase: Currently your home location mode is &mode and your Smart Home Monitor is &shm. The garage door is &garage and you have one door &doors and two windows &windows. The average temperature in your home is &temperature degrees and your home is currently using &power watts.
Say one is in Armed Stay mode… or whatever SHM/Mode status one may want to designate…
Could EchoSistant be coaxed to cough up a verbal report that gives status of a given set of ingress points AS WELL as saying there is either no motion detected on the monitored detectors or there is and the specifics?
Skipping the power, temp and other details… in others words focusing on real time current status of contextually relevant security data.
Rule of thumb! EchoSistant can be “trained” to do whatever you want to hear/see. You just have to suggest a new variable and we will make it happen. Now, at release time, we offered what I call the “bare minimum” to get us started…We are planning on adding many more variables…
Here are the (16) variables you can use today (mix and match them in your custom message field as you wish):
&time = current location time
&date = current location date
&profile, = Name of the Report Profile
&mode = current Location Mode
&shm = current SHM Mode
&power = current watts
&lights = current number of switches on (selected in the Notification app - can explain this decision)
&doors = current number of doors open (selected in the Main app )
&windows current number of windows open (selected in the Main app )
&open = current sensors open (selected in the Notification app - can explain this decision )
&garage = current garage door stats (selected in the Main app )
&unlocked = current unlocked doors
&temperature = average temp of thermostats (selected in the Notification app )
&running = HVAC operating state summarized by running/not running for all thermostats (selected in the Notification app )
&thermostat = thermostats current MODE for EACH thermostat (selected in the Notification app )
&present = # of people present (selected in the Notification app )
