Amazon has made a minor but very useful change to how smart plugs are configured in the Alexa app. You can now specify that certain plugs should be treated as lights. This is especially handy in the context of device groups because it means you can now include a lamp connected to a smart plug in your group as a light. This means you can now have smart plugs turn on when you simply ask “Alexa, turn on the lights,” which was not possible before this change. To configure a smart plug as a light, edit its settings under the smart home section of the Alexa app and look for the new “type” option.

Amazon’s Alexa smart home assistant now has the ability to turn scenes off and on. Scenes allow customers to issue a single voice command that set a predefined configuration to several different smart home devices. Saying “Alexa, turn on bedtime” for example could turn off lights, dim other lights, and set a nighttime temperature on a smart thermostat.

The new support for scenes is similar to the existing groups feature, but it’s distinctly different. For starters, the groups feature can only turn devices on or off, not configure a specific setting. Second, scenes are configured through a device manufacturers app, not through the Alexa app, like you do for groups. So, if you have a smarthome hub, for example, that already supports setting scenes to control multiple devices at once, Alexa can now tap into those scenes and let you extend that control to your voice.

Lutron’s Caséta line of connected light switches and plugs are the latest piece of home automation hardware that can be controlled by Alexa on the Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Echo family of devices. You will need either the Lutron Smart Bridge or Wink Home Hub to fascilitate the comunication betweeen Alexa and the switches. Like most smart home devices, once their setup to work with their own apps, simply link them with Alexa using the Alexa app and you’ll be able to control them with your voice.

Last month, Ecobee3 became the first smart thermostat compatible with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. Now, along with the announcement of the new Amazon Tap and Echo Dot, Amazon has revealed that Alexa will gain compatibility with Nest and Honeywell thermostats later this month. It’s been possible to control smart thermostats like the Nest with the Amazon Echo and Fire TV indirectly through an IFTTT recipe for some time, but the method has always been missing key components to make it a viable solution. With built-in support added by Amazon, you’ll soon be able to control most aspects of these smart thermostats with your voice.