TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ecobee Inc. today announced its next-generation smart thermostat: ecobee4. With Amazon Alexa voice service and far-field voice recognition, ecobee4 combines smart thermostat functionality and voice to help customers manage their home’s comfort, energy and busy lives.
The company also announced plans to bring Alexa and far-field voice recognition to every room of the home through a voice-enabled smart light switch. This product will mark the company’s first venture beyond smart thermostats and is expected to lead the smart home category into a whole-home-voice future. Similar to ecobee’s signature room sensor technology, the smart light switch will measure occupancy and temperature to help deliver comfort in the rooms that matter most.
ecobee4 will be available for pre-order starting May 3, 2017 and in stores on May 15, 2017. The smart light switch is expected later this year. The company unveiled its product plans alongside Amazon today at the Collision Conference in New Orleans.
“We are committed to building technology that makes customers’ lives simpler and better. Technology that allows our customers to focus on the things that matter – their families and moments they share. The voice-enabled ecobee4 smart thermostat and smart light switch bring that promise to life,” said ecobee President and CEO Stuart Lombard. “More than just individual products, ecobee4 and the smart light switch work together to provide better comfort and savings, while allowing customers to ask for almost anything from anywhere in their home.”
With a built-in speaker and microphone, ecobee4 can be controlled through its sleek touch-screen, a smart device or voice. Alexa voice service allows customers to simply ask their ecobee4 to adjust the temperature of the home, in addition to the growing list of Alexa skills such as setting a timer, helping plan your commute or playing the news. Through far-field voice recognition, ecobee4 will conveniently respond to voice commands from anywhere in the room. ecobee4 is also compatible with the company’s signature room sensor technology, which measures occupancy and temperature to deliver comfort when the customer is home and energy savings when they’re away.
“Our vision is to bring Alexa to customers wherever they are, on-the-go, and in any room of their smart home. ecobee’s smart thermostats and switches with Alexa will help realize this vision for customers,” said Steve Rabuchin, VP Amazon Alexa. “We think the experience of simply asking Alexa to raise or lower the temperature in a room, or interacting with 12,000-plus other skills available on Alexa, will be delightful for customers.”
“Today’s announcement is our first step towards delivering a whole-home-voice experience for customers, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Lombard. “In our 10th year as a company, we are still committed to purpose-driven innovation that re-imagines the home – now with the ecobee4 and later this year with the smart light switch. These innovations give customers the ability to be more comfortable, have more control and save money – all while doing right by our planet, something we’re incredibly proud of.”
Pricing, Availability and Compatibility
ecobee4 smart thermostat ($249 USD) will be available on ecobee.com, Amazon.com, Lowes.com, HomeDepot.com and BestBuy.com for pre-order beginning May 3, 2017 and will hit retail shelves on May 15, 2017. The device comes with a wireless room sensor and supports up to 32 sensors. To ensure ecobee4 will work in your home, visit ecobee.com/compatibility. ecobee4 will be compatible with Amazon Echo, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings and IFTTT.
The smart light switch will be released later this year. For more information on the ecobee’s whole-home voice experience visit: www.ecobee.com/voice.
About ecobee
ecobee Inc. introduced the world’s first smart wi-fi smart thermostat to help millions of customers save money, conserve energy and seamlessly bring home automation into their lives. The company’s first flagship consumer device – ecobee3 – introduced pioneering room sensor technology to deliver comfort in the rooms that matter most, leading it to become a top-selling smart thermostat on the market and achieve a No. 1 ranking on Navigant’s Smart Thermostat Leaderboard. Learn more about ecobee and its smart home technologies at ecobee.com.
