Can Alexa Turn On Lights for x Amt of Time?

[malliekm]

For instance, Alexa, turn on the bedroom light for 2 minutes?  I haven't hit on the right phrasing if it can.

[jwlv]

As far as I know, Alexa can't do that on its own. But many smart devices have an auto-off timer that you can enable thru the device's app that can turn off after x amount of time.

[malliekm]

I have one lamp on a timer but I thought it would be good to be able to tell Alexa/GH (GH can't do it yet) to walk in a room and tell your assistant to turn the light on and off in x amt of time if you're just going into a room for a very brief amt of time.

[Jerome]

I wish I could say something like :
"Alexa, turn off the lights in 5 minutes" to get some sort of timer.
But she can't do that yet either

[jwlv]

I'm sure Amazon can do that but won't.  Turning on/ off smart devices is not reliable at times. At least 10-20% of the time when I ask Alexa to turn off a light she'll say she cannot find the light. Imagine if i asked Alexa to turn off something an hour from now.  And you know someone is going to connect a heater or a electric cooktop to a smart plug and expect Alexa to reliably turn it on or off.  It's just a disaster waiting to happen.

[HectorAvila2]

I did it by doing the following:
1. open the switch app in your phone that controls your light  (I have an eFamilyCloud switch).
2. on eFamilyCloud app, create a new Smart Scene and add the following steps:
a. turn on the switch/light
b. add a timer to turn off the switch light in 60 seconds.
c. name your scene whatever you like (something like "Garage Light 5 minutes")
3. Open Alexa then discover devices and scenes. The new scene should show up in the Alexa app.
4. then simply say: "Alexa: turn on the "Garage Light 5 minutes"
5.This will execute your scene created in eFamilyCloud that tuns on the light and shuts it off in 60 seconds.

Enjoy

[Jerome]

Use Stringify if your IoT is supported :
https://www.reddit.com/r/Stringify/comments/97oxe5/using_a_stringify_flow_from_an_alexa_routine/

[Grandpa Techie]

I used an Alexa Routine to have my Amazon Smart Plug turn ON the heat in my chair (same as a light) for a fixed amount of time.  (The chair heat plugs into an electrical outlet, so I inserted the Amazon Smart Plug between the chair heat plug and the electrical outlet.)

After setting up your Amazon Smart Plug, I renamed the smart plug to something meaningful.  In my case I renamed it “Chair Plugs”.  Then I changed the Amazon Smart Plug to Type = Light.

To create a Routine, I went to the Alexa App main menu and selected ”Routines” then selected the “+” in the top right of the screen.

My routine is as follows:

ROUTINE NAME: “Turn on my chair heat for 30 minutes”
WHEN THIS HAPPENS: “Alexa, turn on chair heat”
Add action: 
Select:
1) Smart Home, Lights, Chair Plug, Next, Power: On
2) Alexa Say, “Chair heat has been turned on”
3) Wait, Duration is 30 minutes
4) Smart Home, Lights, Chair Plug, Next, Power: Power: Off
5) Alexa Say “Chair heat has been turned off”

If you are turning on anything other than light, I would suggest testing your routine with a light connected to your Amazon Smart Plug.  This same routine will probably work with any brand of smart plugs.

[TheGow]

I used an Alexa Routine to have my Amazon Smart Plug turn ON the heat in my chair (same as a light) for a fixed amount of time.  (The chair heat plugs into an electrical outlet, so I inserted the Amazon Smart Plug between the chair heat plug and the electrical outlet.)

After setting up your Amazon Smart Plug, I renamed the smart plug to something meaningful.  In my case I renamed it “Chair Plugs”.  Then I changed the Amazon Smart Plug to Type = Light.

To create a Routine, I went to the Alexa App main menu and selected ”Routines” then selected the “+” in the top right of the screen.

My routine is as follows:

ROUTINE NAME: “Turn on my chair heat for 30 minutes”
WHEN THIS HAPPENS: “Alexa, turn on chair heat”
Add action: 
Select:
1) Smart Home, Lights, Chair Plug, Next, Power: On
2) Alexa Say, “Chair heat has been turned on”
3) Wait, Duration is 30 minutes
4) Smart Home, Lights, Chair Plug, Next, Power: Power: Off
5) Alexa Say “Chair heat has been turned off”

If you are turning on anything other than light, I would suggest testing your routine with a light connected to your Amazon Smart Plug.  This same routine will probably work with any brand of smart plugs.

This was great advice. It solved a similar problem that I had with setting up a time sequence triggered by a motion sensor.  I have setup an Amazon sensor in my kitchen to detect motion in the kitchen after I've gone to bed.  I wanted the kitchen lights (Wiz lights) to turn on when motion was detected.  I called the Amazon support team they were clueless about the concept of timed lighting. I borrowed from your logic and below is how I got this to work. Amazon should hire you!

"When motion in the kitchen is detected, execute the following actions"
1) Smart Home, Kitchen Lights (a customized label), Next, Power: On
2) Wait, Duration: 00:00:30 seconds
3) Smart Home, Kitchen Lights (a customized label), Next, Power: Off

[David N]

Command after light has turned on: Alexa, set a 2 minute sleep timer for light.