How to add lights to one group in google home app

[Daniel_999]

Hi

I have a kitchen lamp with several bulbs that I want to control as one lamp..

Homekit and others can do this. but I can't find that function in Google Home.

I've spent hours finding a solution.. There are different workarounds. Same name, create a separate room for those lamps.. This is a bad and clumsy solution that I don't want to use. I want to press the kitchen button and there is a button "Kitchen lamp" when I press it, five lamps turn on, (The entire kitchen lamp) as if it were one lamp.

Sorry if I'm being overly clear..

But I want a solution to this now.. Can you plese help me?

Thanks for the help.

[Ashepherdson]

All lights in room would be automatically grouped.. so for example kitchen lights , if they are listed in the kitchen , would be grouped under kitchen lights as one button naturally.  Do you have your smart home divided into rooms ?  If not , that would be the first step! 

[Daniel_999]

HI

I have several rooms in my home and several lamps in the rooms. But some lamps have several lightbulbs and I want to control them as one lamp (Group)

A kitchen lamp has five lightbulbs, I want to control them as one lamp.

[Ashepherdson]

Ah , okay then, create an automation in Google home, call it whatever you like (kitchen lamp on) , add the 5 lights, and set it to turn them on.   You can also create a similar one for off.   I did that in my kitchen for off and low light.. so I can have my undermount lights turn on to 40 percent and the rest of the lights off at 1130 pm automatically  , or whenever I call for it in Google home (I called it kitchen night) 

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

I still need more information:

1. Is this lamp of 5 lights the only smart lights that you have in the Kitchen? If so, then @Ashepherdson answer is correct.

2. But, if you have other lights to contend with in the same Room then you'll need another solution. I have a possible way if you want to turn them on through a smart speaker.

3. Are you only controlling lights through the Google Home app?

4. Is this lamp plugged into a wall socket? If so, a smart plug might be another option. 

[Daniel_999]

The whole home has smart lights.. I have several lights in the kitchen.. But the lamp over the kitchen table contains five bulbs but it is a ceiling lamp. I want to group these five bulbs and be able to turn them all on and off with one button in the google home app.. In homekit it is called grouping lights (I don't use Homekit anymore) So I want to merge five bulbs into one. Yes only Google home app.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@Daniel_999 then another Room named Kitchen 1 would be your best bet. 

It's only a slight inconvenience to scroll down a bit. (Or kEtchen alphabetically would appear above kitchen)

Another option would be to do what @Ashepherdson suggested and make a Household Automation to turn on those lights and the add that automation to your Favourites on the Favourites page.

BUT, I would base that automation on this YouTube video from my channel to turn on and off devices with the same trigger...

https://youtube.com/shorts/5z69ruHrU3I?feature=share

[Daniel_999]

Ok, So it's not possible to group light bulbs in the Google Home app? I know there are several workarounds. But it's a pretty basic function.. Homekit, Smartthings, Home-Control have that function. But then I know.. I know that many have requested that function several years ago. I thought it was fixed. Ok.. Thanks! then I don't have to look any further.

[Daniel_999]

This is how it works in Homekit.

Add 5 bulbs, call them Kitchen Lamps for example. Now you have five "Buttons" in the app. Then you choose "Group" And then you only get one "button" called Kitchen Lamp. And it controls all bulbs as a unit.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

• Well you'll have to use Homekit I'm afraid. 
• Just like how Homekit can do some things Google or Alexa can't, Google and Alexa can do other things Homekit can't.
• There's no such thing as a perfect "free" smart home ecosystem.
• We all have to make compromises.
• I use both Alexa and Google in my smart home as there's advantages and disadvantages to both.

[Daniel_999]

Yes, I understand that. I don't use Homekit anymore.. This is an extremely useful feature. Being able to turn on and off the "Group" and also being able to dim the entire group as if it were a single lamp. Extremely useful when you have different scenes.. And when you say "Hey Google! turn off all the lights in the kitchen" all the lights are turned off including all groups of lights. It doesn't work if you have several "rooms" in the kitchen. But who knows, maybe one day..

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

Google probably heard you say "ALL" lights. 

Just say "Hey Google, turn off lights in Kitchen" 

If I was talking to a Nest smart speaker in the same Room I would only need to say "Hey Google, Light" to turn them on or off (using video hack).

[Daniel_999]

Thanks for the help..
But that's not the problem. I just want to be able to group light bulbs.. That's all. Everyone else has that feature.. And I'm invested in Google now, so I can't switch. So I just have to hope they fix it someday..

[Ashepherdson]

I still think adding the automation in Google home will do what you are looking for.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@Ashepherdson the OP only wants to to use the Google Home app to control  their smart lights. I suggested adding that automation to the Favourites page, but they're being stubborn and only wants to control them the way they had it with HomeKit.

You have to make compromises when you think you're migrating from a superior smart home system to a lower class. 

I don't see Google as substandard, but instead it's another option with different possibilities.

[Ashepherdson]

That's my point .. if you create the automation, you don't have to have it go at specific times , you can have it trigger when he gives a command or presses the button in the home app.   This will accomplish exactly what he's looking for. 

[Daniel_999]

Hello!

Automation is something else.

I want to be able to:

1. In the app, go to rooms.

2. go to the room "Kitchen".

Under the tab there are eight lights. (five of them are the kitchen ceiling light)

(So I want there to be 4 lights there. )

3 regular lights.. plus a group of five lights.
(the kitchen ceiling light)

[Ashepherdson]

Yes..and maybe automation should be called something else..but it will in fact do exactly what you want.  I have this exact same situation, as I mentioned, and use automations to link multiple lights , and control them via one button. 

[Ashepherdson]

Heck you could get really crazy and set an automation that turns the other four lights on when the main one turns on.. many options for you 

[Daniel_999]

Yes!.. It could work if one lamp controlled all the others and did the exact same thing, dimming on/off..

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@Daniel_999 that's just not possible right now in Google. It might change in the future. I know people have been asking for it here and on Reddit, but they're also asking for media Alarms, but this was removed by Google as a feature some time ago 

Compromises is what we all have to make. Alexa has media alarms, so I use their speakers to wake up to.

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

@Daniel_999  if you only want to use an app then try your third party manufacturer's app.

This totally works in the Smart Life app.

You can even change the colour of the lights in the group from a colour wheel.