One of the most powerful functions of the Home app is the possibility to create so-called HomeKit Zones. With this you can, for example, switch off the lights on the entire top floor at once when you go to sleep. iPhone explains how to create zones in the Home app.
Zones in the Home app: this is how it works
Before you can create a zone, you need to have a few rooms in use. You can do this by tapping the three bars in the top left corner in the ‘Room’ tab and selecting ‘Add room’. Then enter a suitable name. After this you can add multiple accessories to the room, such as a smart lamp or thermostat.
Once you have added multiple rooms including accessories, it is time to group them into zones. You do this like this:
- In the Home app, tap the ‘Rooms’ tab on the three lines at the top left and select ‘Room settings’;
- Select a room, such as your living space, and tap ‘Zone’;
- Choose a suggested zone, or create a new one yourself and tap ‘Done’.
Repeat the above steps for all rooms you want to add to the zone. The easiest way is to divide your house by floor. You can only link a room to one zone.
You can do this with zones
Zones are especially useful with Siri. Among other things, it is possible to dim all lights, close the doors or, for example, lower the blinds with a simple voice command. You do this by saying ‘Hey Siri’ first, followed by a command such as ‘Turn off the light downstairs’. A suggestion is to make the zones based on indoor and outdoor, floor or whatever you want.
Always give zones a clear name so that you can easily control them with Siri. Do you want to automate your smart home even further? Then you have to get started with scenes. This allows you to adjust multiple HomeKit devices at once. Read our article about creating scenes in the Home app.
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