Amazon Echo Sparks Steamy Relationship With Ecobee Smart Thermostats
Amazon surprised a lot of people when, seemingly out of the blue, it launched a smart speaker called Echo. It may have seemed like an oddball product at the time, but not anymore. Echo's built-in digital assistant, Alexa, dutifully executes an assortment of commands—she'll even order Domino's Pizza! Echo works with an assortment of third-party products and services, and now you can add the ecobee3 "smarter" Wi-Fi thermostat to the mix.
"We’re excited to provide ecobee3 users with added functionality and convenience through Amazon Echo," said Stuart Lombard, president and CEO of ecobee. "Amazon has been a tremendous retailer to work with, and we are looking forward to expanding that relationship through thermostat integration with Echo, which offers complete home voice control."
No small deal, the ecobee3 is the second best selling Wi-Fi thermostat in North America. The company also points out that it's the only one to use room sensors to help eliminate hot and cold spots throughout the home, whereas other Wi-Fi thermostats use just a single sensor. To that end, it comes with a free wireless room sensor and supports up to 32 in all (each additional one costs $79).
This is an impressive though not unexpected addition to Echo. The smart speaker supports a range of smart products, including WeMo, Phillips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink.
Echo runs $180 and the ecobee3 costs $249, both of which are available on Amazon.
"We’re excited to provide ecobee3 users with added functionality and convenience through Amazon Echo," said Stuart Lombard, president and CEO of ecobee. "Amazon has been a tremendous retailer to work with, and we are looking forward to expanding that relationship through thermostat integration with Echo, which offers complete home voice control."
When setup with an ecobee3 thermostat, you can tell Alexa things like, "Alexa, set my thermostat to 72," or "Alexa, increase the temperature in my house." It's essentially another piece in converting your home into a smart home, and Amazon is more than happy to be at the middle of it all with Echo.
No small deal, the ecobee3 is the second best selling Wi-Fi thermostat in North America. The company also points out that it's the only one to use room sensors to help eliminate hot and cold spots throughout the home, whereas other Wi-Fi thermostats use just a single sensor. To that end, it comes with a free wireless room sensor and supports up to 32 in all (each additional one costs $79).
This is an impressive though not unexpected addition to Echo. The smart speaker supports a range of smart products, including WeMo, Phillips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink.
Echo runs $180 and the ecobee3 costs $249, both of which are available on Amazon.
