A chairside floor lamp with a long adjustable gooseneck including a handheld remote with brightness and warmness for bright white to warm yellow light is a good solution for reading when you have vision imperfections. (see more about this light in our resources database)
Here is a quote from my aunt after using the light:
My son put the lamp together and positioned it next to my easy chair with the light over my head. I was amazed that I could now read the normal print in my National Geographic magazine!
Caption- Aunt on easy chair
Caption- My own easy chair
Use Voice to Control the Light
While the lamp includes controls on the “stalk” as well as a remote control, it might be easier to use if you implemented voice controls from Alexa. Here are two ways to do this:
Approach One: Turn it On / Off with Voice
Use a smart outlet to turn on or turn off the lamp.
The lamp retains both the light intensity and warmness when it’s powered back on. If you only want to turn/off the light using your voice, you can just add a smart plug to Alexa.
Note, the light will always turn on after a power loss when the power is restored.
Approach Two: Change Lighting Levels and Color via Voice
If you are looking for a way to set different light scenes with your voice, you can add a BroadLink Remote Control Hub that will let you control the lamp setting with your voice from Alexa.
The first step is to setup the BroadLink hub using their instructions (User Manual).
When setting this up, please note that the lamp remote is RF, not IR. When you name the functions, they will become “scenes” to your Alexa smart home controller
Please note that when requesting any scene, the lamp must first be turned on through the “Power On/Off” scene which “toggles” the lamp power. In my case, I called that on/off scene “Magic Lamp”
In Alexa, the different light modes can be controlled by speaking the “scene name” in a voice command
“Alexa, turn on Magic Lamp Scene” (Turns on/off the lamp)
“Alexa, turn on Book Scene” (Sets light to reading level)
You can simplify these verbal commands using “custom actions” or include them in timed or motion-driven Alexa Routines.
You can also add an easy to hold BroadLink 4-button remote. See the BroadLink button and hub setup instructions
If you choose to use the BroadLink hub, please note that the Alexa Routine “action” is a BroadLink “scene”, not a smart home device
Caption- button routine
*Disclosure: The research and opinions in this article are those of the author, and may or may not reflect the official views of Tech-enhanced Life.
If you use the links on this website when you buy products we write about, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate or other affiliate program participant. This does not affect the price you pay. We use the (modest) income to help fund our research.
In some cases, when we evaluate products and services, we ask the vendor to loan us the products we review (so we don’t need to buy them). Beyond the above, Tech-enhanced Life has no financial interest in any products or services discussed here, and this article is not sponsored by the vendor or any third party. See How we Fund our Work.
Retired Intel Engineer wanting to share DIY technology tips for the children of parents wanting to remain living independently. I like posting ideas and answering technical questions. If a product or software has an issue making it hard for seniors to use, I try to offer workarounds and also try to contact the manufacturer for solutions. I write a column for this website in the Innovation- Homebrew Solutions & Ideas section
