Voice control - how does that work?

"Hey Google, turn on the fireplace."

   "Alexa, turn on the fireplace."

Voice control is regularly in the news. All Enjoyable Warmth devices can be controlled by voice via Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant. What do you need for that and how does it work behind the scenes?

Required

To control the Enjoyable Warmth smart devices by voice, you need the following:

  • A smart speaker with Alexa or the Google Assistant, for example:
    • Amazon Alexa: the Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show from Amazon, or smart speakers from e.g. Bang & Olufsen, Bose or Sonos
    • Google Assistant: the Home, Home Mini or SmartHub from Google, or smart speakers from e.g. Harman Kardon, Sonos or LG
  • A login name from Enjoyable Warmth
  • And of course a smart device from Enjoyable Warmth. The bio-ethanol fireplaces are already smart as standard, the infrared heaters can also be controlled by voice with the smart remote control.

How does it work?

The moment you give an order to your smart speaker, the speaker forwards your message to the servers of Amazon or Google. They analyze your statement and translate that into text. They then send that text to the Enjoyable Warmth servers. In addition, they also send to which device it is about (a unique device ID) and who has given the command (it must of course be your device!). The Enjoyable Warmth servers then send the command to your device. All communication between the speaker and the servers of Amazon or Google, between their servers and those of Enjoyable Warmth, and between our servers and your device are encrypted. Someone else cannot intervene.

To make this possible, you must link your Enjoyable Warmth account to that of Google or Amazon once. Your password is not stored with Google or Amazon - and even if your password changes, you do not have to link your account again. This linking of accounts is done with the same underlying technology at both Amazon and Google.

Amazon

For Amazon devices, go to alexa.amazon.com and then look up the "Enjoyable Warmth" skill under "Skills":

Amazon Alexa skill Enjoyable Warmth

Here you can also get example sentences in languages other than English:

Kies andere talen

By clicking on "ENABLE", your Amazon account will be linked to your Enjoyable Warmth account (see the Enjoyable Warmth manual for details).

Google

With Google it works almost the same, but your account must be linked from the Google Home app on your phone. There you add a new device (the "Add" button):

Google Assistent - apparaat toevoegen

Then find the "Enjoyable Warmth" service:

Google Assistent - Enjoyable Warmth service

Your Enjoyable Warmth account will now be linked to your Google account (see the Enjoyable Warmth manual for details).

Usage

Now that your Enjoyable Warmth device is linked to your Amazon or Google account, you can simply operate your device with your voice: "Hey Google, turn the fire on", or "Alexa, set the heater to 75%".

Of course, manual operation and operation with your SmartPhone app will also continue to work!