Just set your routines to kick off at sunrise or sunset!
I don’t know about you, but I always look forward to the end of Daylight Savings Time — I love having longer days 🙂
But if your Alexa smart light routines are connected to a time on the clock rather than the light outside, it can be a little bit of a headache.
The good news is that Alexa lets you schedule routines to kick off based on when it’s sunrise and sunset, no matter what time that may be!
Pro Tip: Unfortunately you can’t update a routine that runs every night at 6pm to kick off at sunset, you’re going to have to re-create that routine with the new sunset kick off. But at least you’ll never have to update the time again!
Just follow these steps to create a smart light routine that runs at sunrise or sunset:
- In the Alexa app, tap “More” > “Routines” > + icon in the top right corner
- Create a Routine Name (Mine is called “Lights on At Sunset”)
- Tap “When This Happens” > then “Schedule” in upper right corner
- Tap “Sunset” to set lights for end of the day. If you want, you can update the Time Offset slider bar to kick off your routine up to 60 minutes before or after actual sunset time
- Choose the days of the week you want the routine to run (the default is every day, but you can also tap days of the week to de-select them) > tap “Next”
- Tap “Add Action” > scroll down and tap “Smart Home”
- Tap “Lights” (or “All Devices” if you want to turn on a smart plug or other device) > select the light you want (you can add one at a time) > tap “Next”
- Tap “Power” and, if you have the option, update Brightness and Color settings to your preference > tap “Next”
- Tap “Save” in upper right, and you’re done!
Pro Tip: I like to set my light color, depending on time of day. Warm light is relaxing and ideal for evening, whereas energizing cool light is great for morning.