Despite the budget restrictions that are looming at Amazon and could slow down its development, Alexa should always learn to do new things thanks to Skills. These kinds of voice apps for download are created by third-party developers; Hello Watt has also recently offered a new one. Start-up specializing in energy consulting, it is obviously surfing on the energy crisis and offers with its Skill to use Amazon’s voice assistant to monitor household consumption.
More precisely, Alexa will be able to respond to requests of the type “give me my electricity consumption” by indicating the electricity consumed during the day in kWh, but also its equivalent in euros and in CO2 to raise user awareness and encourage them to reduce their consumption. A monthly report is available and the user should be able to access his gas consumption, as well as a breakdown by use.
To work, this Skill requires the creation of a Hello Watt account and, above all, access to the Linky household meter for electricity and/or gas. All Amazon Echo devices are also compatible, but the Skill seems more interesting with the Echo Show screens than the speakers, because the latter allow access to information at a glance. It is even possible to add a Hello Watt widget to the Echo Show 8, 10 and 15, and thus display the consumption continuously on the home screen so you no longer have to ask Alexa for it.