Direct Energy Affiliate Offers Control of Heating, Connected Devices Via Amazon Alexa
September 15,2016
Hive, Centrica's U.K. smart home brand, announced a partnership with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service, allowing users to control their heating, lighting and plugged-in devices through voice commands
Working in tandem in the home with Amazon’s voice-activated speaker, Amazon Echo, Hive technology will now respond to spoken commands through Alexa,
Voice control functionality will be available for Hive Active Heating, Hive Active Lights and Hive Active Plugs, enabling users to turn on or off anything plugged into their Hive-powered smart home.
As first reported by EnergyChoiceMatters.com, Centrica, parent of Direct Energy, said that it plans to launch not only its own smart thermostat, but its, "entire suite of Connected Home products," in the United States around the end of the year. This latest Hive offering may be among such services for the U.S.
Under the Hive brand, Centrica's connected home services in the U.K. includes a hub allowing customers to control various Hive products or non-Hive appliances via an app on their phone, including Hive LED smart lightbulbs, Hive door and window sensors, Hive motion sensors, a Hive smart thermostat, and a Hive active plug which allows non-Hive appliances to be controlled via the app.