New Ecobee Smart Thermostat With Premium Design Revealed Ahead of Launch, Supports HomeKit and Hey Siri

[MacRumors]

Ecobee is planning to release a new HomeKit-compatible smart thermostat model with a premium design and built-in air quality monitoring, according to a product listing on home improvement retailer Lowe's website in Canada.

Similar to Google's smart thermostat Nest, which does not support HomeKit, Ecobee's new Smart Thermostat Premium appears to feature an improved design with a glass front and a brushed metal enclosure. By comparison, all existing Ecobee thermostats have a cheaper looking plastic design with a white back cover.

As discovered last month by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, the Smart Thermostat Premium will also feature a new built-in air quality sensor that monitors your indoor air quality, provides tips on how to improve air quality, and reminds you when it is time to change your furnace's air filter, according to the product listing.

Like other Ecobee models, the Smart Thermostat Premium will be compatible with Apple's smart home platform HomeKit, and support "Hey Siri" voice commands for tasks such as setting the temperature and sending Intercom messages. "Hey Siri" voice control requires a HomePod or HomePod mini connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

The Smart Thermostat Premium will also be compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and automation platform IFTTT, the product listing indicates.

A separate product listing on the Lowe's Canada website reveals that Ecobee is also planning a lower-end Smart Thermostat Enhanced, which may be a successor to the current Ecobee3 lite. This model appears to retain a plastic design, lacks voice control, and does not have the new built-in air quality monitoring feature.

Ecobee has yet to formally announce the Smart Thermostat Premium or Smart Thermostat Enhanced, and the Lowe's product listings do not reveal any pricing or availability information, but both thermostats will presumably launch in the near future. Ecobee's existing Smart Thermostat with Voice Control was recently on sale for $199.99, down from $249.99, but it is currently out of stock on the company's U.S. website.

Article Link: New Ecobee Smart Thermostat With Premium Design Revealed Ahead of Launch, Supports HomeKit and Hey Siri

 

[A_Hunger_Artist]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

 

[Rychiar]

With thread I hope

 

[Icaras]

Looking good! I’m hoping this has an OLED screen so the GUI elements just pop out like that on its black front. Right now you can plainly see the squared LCD screen on the current unit.

 

[orbital~debris]

The higher-end model looks classy.
Great to have a mature product line that avoids bringing Google into the home.

 

[DeftwillP]

My current ecobees already have reminders to change the filters. Homekit enabled but requires a homepod.....uh they already will work with homekit. I told my homepod mini in the bedroom to raise the temp this morning while getting ready. Cash grab?

 

[MisterK]

I like that the Ecobee is HomeKit compatible, but doing anything other than a rotatable Nest dial feels like a hack now. And I get that Nest's click-wheel mechanism is likely patented or trademarked like crazy. It's just the most obvious and correct feeling way of adjusting the temperature and it looks the nicest. Besides the temperature automatically going down at nighttime now, I don't *really* use the smart features. We turn it down when it feels too hot and up when it's cold. It was mostly chosen for aesthetics.

 

[4jasontv]

reminds you when it is time to change your furnace's air filter

I hope this is more than just a timer but includes some algorithm for identifying exactly when a replacement would be optimal. Or, even better, if it can link directly with the filter to provide updates.

 

[munpip214]

Unfortunately all of the eco+ features block any homekit automations so I’ve had to disable them all. So I don’t use anything extra on the thermostat itself anymore. Really wish they would add better support for two thermostats in the same house. Stuff like syncing fan times, etc.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

About to move and was literally just about to pick up two new thermostats, so I'll be glad to wait to pick these up. We've had an Ecobee 3 for several years now and it's been great.

 

[Kirkster]

Looks like it is finally time to ditch that first generation Nest. Glad to get that last piece of google out of the house.

 

[twistedpixel8]

I like that the Ecobee is HomeKit compatible, but doing anything other than a rotatable Nest dial feels like a hack now. And I get that Nest's click-wheel mechanism is likely patented or trademarked like crazy. It's just the most obvious and correct feeling way of adjusting the temperature and it looks the nicest. Besides the temperature automatically going down at nighttime now, I don't *really* use the smart features. We turn it down when it feels too hot and up when it's cold. It was mostly chosen for aesthetics.

It is but have you tried using the menu system on a NEST? Oh how I long for a touch screen…

 

[jwhazel]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

I changed to a Nest about 6 years ago for the following reasons:
* programming it was far easier than the previous stock thermostat which required the manual and a huge amount of patience that was previously reserved for trying to program a vcr in the 80’s
* the geofencing with our phones easily saved us a bunch since now our programming schedule was dynamic

There was also some other niceties (eg Nest helped us figure out our furnace and breaker panel were wired wrong) but those were more specific to our situation and don’t necessarily apply to everyone. However I’m curious, can ecobee not do geofencing? I’d consider making the switch, but not if it can’t do that.

 

[itsthenewdc]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

The real benefit from smart devices like this is when you utilize the smart features. You're able to automate things to turn on and off based on motion, temperature, etc. Not everyone needs those types of features, so for those people this would be overkill.

 

[LogicalApex]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

The value of these are all in the dynamic scheduling. As you’re able to allow the thermostat to build the schedule automatically taking into account things such as when you set the temperature and how long it takes your house to reach it. Also doing things like keeping the fan running while cutting off your AC compressor early to save energy in the summer.

You shouldn’t need to do much other than turning things up or down once in a while, but the less obvious extras translate to real savings.

 

[Benjamin Nabulsi]

perfect timing, google is not including their nest thermostat with matter standard.
we just need a decent wired doorbell cam and ditch nest all together.

 

[jonblatho]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

It's not meant to be some revolutionary new way of using a thermostat; it's meant to automate oft-forgotten tasks, as are most smart home accessories — stuff like automatically adjusting the setpoint while you're out running errands or traveling so that the unit isn't heating or cooling for nobody. Same way I have a smart light bulb installed in the socket outside my front door that automatically turns on when I arrive home after sunset. One less thing to think about.

I'm unable to install a smart thermostat in my current residence, but I look forward to getting one when I can.

 

[Ashbash75]

Working on that!

 

[DigitalNib]

I’m hoping this has an OLED screen so the GUI elements just pop out like that on its black front. Right now you can plainly see the squared LCD screen on the current unit.

No luck — in the specs on the Lowes page:

Display Type

LCD

Was hoping the display would be less egregious too, lol. Been holding out on getting a smart thermostat but this is probably the best we'll get for a while on HomeKit. Curious how pricing/features will vary between the new models — if it's just air quality, the material, and the built-in Siri (I have too many HomePods competing to answer already lol) then I'd be tempted to go with the cheaper model.

 

[UltimaKilo]

So there’s no reason for me to upgrade from Ecobee3.

 

[Pirate!]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

The sensors work great for me. Have them in the bedrooms and key rooms on the first floor. Helps out a lot for managing temps across the house a certain times of day.

 

[BarrettF77]

They need a OLED display, and the UI should I hope be updated on the older models. If they can't do that, I think I'll def look for a new brand on the next home. The current unit and the new one on features is purely air quality and telling me to open my windows on a hot or humid day isn't going to help and I already have smart smoke/co2 detectors. Really nothing new here to see if you have the latest current gen prior to this announcement. Hopefully the guts are improved, but pretty sure it's plastic, glass front, plastic backside, and cheap LCD with light bleed if I had to guess. But I hope not.

 

[Vado]

I’d really like Ecobee to bring this to the UK. It always strikes me as one of the most feature rich Smart Thermostats for HomeKit.

I also hope it’ll be at least HomeKit over Thread ready and of course Matter compliant.

 

[WinstonRumfoord]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

We also installed one a few years back. Was practically free with an energy company rebate, so no skin off our back.

I feel similarly about it, we use it maybe 5 times a year, mostly to turn the AC/Furnace back up to speed when we are on our way home from being out of town. Is it useful? Yep. Is there ANY feature that Ecobee could introduce that would convince me to "upgrade"? Not likely. Could we live without it? Absolutely.

 

[coachgq]

I installed an Ecobee a couple years back and besides changing the furnace temp from the couch like 2x a year I never use it any differently than I would a normal programmable thermostat. Maybe I'm just a thermostat Luddite but I increasingly feel like these things are a solution looking for a use case. It was cool 5 years ago if you had a Nest but I feel like this particular fad is fading out.

I still have my nests for both floors from 5 or more years ago. They work fine.