Ecobee, maker of smart thermostats that notably go head-to-head with offerings from one particular Google sibling company (Nest, for those unaware), has today announced support for its products in Google Home. The voice activated speaker joins other competing platforms that have already had support for ecobee products, like Apple’s HomeKit and Amazon Alexa.
It’s going to work about as you’d expect. In today’s press release, the company said that you’ll be able to say things like “Ok Google, make my home warmer”. Assumably, other commands you might be familiar with from using a Nest thermostat should also be available — like “make my home cooler”, “what’s the temperature inside?” or “set the temperature to X degrees”.
While today’s announcement brings official ecobee support, it’s worth noting that ecobee thermostats were already compatible with the Google Home using a workaround. Previous to today, you could get ecobee working mostly fine using an IFTTT setup and custom commands or through a SmartThings Hub.
It’s great to see Google and ecobee work together to add support for the ecobee thermostats for the sake of user choice. Obviously, ecobee’s products are direct competitors to Nest’s offerings, including the standard Nest Thermostat and the Nest Thermostat E. Other smart home relationships involving Google and competing products haven’t been as rosy, like the Amazon Echo Show’s support for YouTube.
We’re seeing the ecobee option appear in our Google Home app right now, so if you want to get it set tup, just head to the “Add devices” section of the app and login with your ecobee account.
TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ecobee, Inc. today announced an integration with the Google Assistant, enabling homeowners in Canada and the U.S. to control all ecobee smart thermostats through eligible Android phones, iPhones and voice activated speakers like Google Home. The Google Assistant is the latest addition to ecobee’s portfolio of platform integrations, which includes Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT.
With the Google Assistant integration, ecobee customers can now use the Assistant on their phones and Google Home to make everyday tasks simpler and more convenient. Google Assistant users will now be able to say, “Ok Google, make my home warmer,” among other commands, to activate their ecobee3 lite, ecobee3 and ecobee4 smart thermostats.
“It’s our priority to partner with best-in-class smart home platforms to offer ecobee customers the greatest freedom and flexibility on the market. The Google Assistant is no exception,” said Stuart Lombard, ecobee president and CEO. “The addition of the Google Assistant – and with it, devices like Google Home – reflects our commitment to customer-led innovation and our expectation for continued growth of the voice-enabled smart home.”
Since introducing the world’s first smart thermostat in 2009, ecobee has enabled consumers to control their home comfort any time and from anywhere while reducing energy use. This year, ecobee introduced the ecobee4 smart thermostat and unveiled a voice-enabled smart light switch set to be released early next year to underscore the company’s vision for a whole-home-voice future.
“We’re excited to work with ecobee to offer Google Assistant users even more choice in managing and controlling their home environments,” said Mark Spates, Google Product Manager. “Today’s announcement continues our commitment to offer Google Assistant users some of the most innovative smart home technology on the market. The Google Assistant already works with more than 1,000 smart devices from 150-plus popular brands, and we can’t wait to add another great option.”
Pricing, Availability and Compatibility
ecobee4 is available for $249 in the U.S. online and in-stores at Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Amazon and ecobee.com. It’s available in Canada for $329 and can be purchased at Home Depot, Lowes and Amazon. The device comes with a wireless room sensor and supports up to 32 sensors. It is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, the Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT.
ecobee3 lite is available for $169 in the U.S. at Home Depot stores and online at Amazon.com, HomeDepot.com, BestBuy.com and ecobee.com. It’s available in Canada for $219 and can be purchased at online and in-stores at Home Depot, Best Buy, Amazon and ecobee.com. The device also supports up to 32 room sensors and is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, the Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT.
To ensure ecobee devices are compatible with your home, visit ecobee.com/compatibility.
About ecobee
ecobee Inc. introduced the world’s first smart Wi-Fi thermostat to help millions of consumers live better and save more. The company’s mission is to create smarter devices that are beautifully designed, easy to use and provide savings for families, while being good for our planet – most recently realized with its next-generation smart thermostat, ecobee4. With ecobee’s pioneering room sensor technology, built-in Amazon Alexa voice service, far-field voice recognition, and a wide array of smart home integrations, ecobee combines smart home technology and voice to help customers manage their home’s comfort, energy and busy lives. Find out more at www.ecobee.com.
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