We did modernise in that respect by installing an upstairs loo (made in France), so that it’s not so far to go to go.
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Must have been late 70’s early 80’s… OH bought a light-switch which was remote controlled… on/off/dimmer… for the lounge.
It was an instant hit… and I was talking about it to a pal at work when the Boss overheard.
He was somewhat aggrieved that his lowly employee had anything so modern… and rushed out to buy these “specials” for virtually every room in his large house… 
so he could sit on his sofa and zap, zap… like a kid with a Christmas toy. 
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Just imagine what Elon Musk’s house must be like…
On second thoughts, don’t 
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Although I hate to say it the Philips latest range are very good
I must admit to being a bit of a fan of Hue lights, though they are quite spendy.
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I’m looking at this as an alternative to rewiring. Just get the power to lights in the ceilings and use wifi to switch ‘em off and on instead of chasing walls. Plus Alexa and/or Siri can manage the whole shebang.
@Corona & @Robert_Hodge - is it possible then if the “light” is Bluetooth enabled you can walk into the room and say “Hey Google/Siri/Alexa turn light on” ??
No need for a light switch perhaps?
To be honest, I have absolutely no idea.
What I do know is that my brother-in-law has one of those Alexa things that only seems to respond to a Virginia accent. Speak to it with an English accent and it just either totally fails to respond or answers a completely different question. Quite a laugh really.
Yes, I’ve just turned my lounge lights on that way.
FYI mine aren’t bluetooth controlled, they use our local wifi.
P.S. Using the Alexa (& I assume Google Assitant too) app also allows you to turn your lights on from anywhere on the internet, &/or program them for security purposes.
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Speak to it with an English accent and it just either totally fails to respond or answers a completely different question. Quite a laugh really.
Oddly, ours is completely happy with my Scottish accent which is incomprehensible to the majority of humanity.
Indeed. As Badger says, rather than buying a new lamp, you can buy a “smart plug” (prise connectée in French). They start at about €10, and it allows you to plug any existing lamp into it. It has WiFi built in to the actual plug so essentially your Alexa/Google will control whether the lamp gets electricity or not.
If you’ve got more than one smart plug then Alexa wouldn’t know which room you’d walked into, so you’d have to specify which light to turn on or in which room rather than just saying “Alexa, turn on the light”.
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If you’ve got more than one smart plug then Alexa wouldn’t know which room you’d walked into, so you’d have to specify which light to turn on or in which room rather than just saying “Alexa, turn on the light”.
Unless, of course, you set up a room in the Alexa app containing the Alexa and the smart plug.
I was sceptical for a long time about Alexa but I now love it. Our living room has a very poor lighting layout (it’s a rental so we can’t charge it) and we use a lot of lamps. I’ve set up an Alexa routine where I say “bedtime” and it turns off all the living room lamps, turns off the TV and turns on the bedside lamps upstairs.
Not life changing but I do like it.
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A mixture of smart plugs & smart lamps (what some people incorrectly refer to as “bulbs”) can be controlled via various apps.
I can control lights in my lounge either individually (“Alexa, corner light to 30%”) or as a group (“Alexa, lounge lights off”) etc.
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In an office where I used to work I set their Alexa to alarm at 9:30 play Ace of Spades at full volume, hahaha.
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Thanks @Gareth & @Badger and all.
Potentially a solution for those difficult rooms where the wiring is not optimal.
So expanding my thoughts on this, I have an outside light high up on an outbuilding and would like to be able to switch this from an App on my phone, any suggestions on the type of switch I could buy ?
Currently the light is plugged into a timer, but I don’t want to add to light pollution in our remote area so ability to switch on as you walk towards the building or if you hear something outside remotely would be a good asset.
Thanks again for the good chats on SF.
@JohnH - that’s sounds like you have found the real benefits of Alexa !! We don’t have this Alexa or Google devices but could be interested when I read your positive comments.
There are also kinetic light switches that do not use batteries but transmit a signal to a receiver so handy where wall chasing isnt an option.
Smart light switches could also be used for your situation including Sonoff smart switches. I use those for setting lights on and off randomly where needed.
Ah, yes, that would work. Good point.
If the item is already plugged in then a simple smart plug will work.
You can get app controlled exterior lights but they do have to be in range of your wifi.
I had a surreal conversation a few months ago with a guy who was very much against ‘all this new fangled remotely controlled stuff’. He made a big point of pointing out that a light switch was more reliable, and asked how I would turn my lights on if there was a power cut 
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Oh dear…