- I'm Andru Edwards and you're watching Gear Live.
(upbeat music)
Smart home devices are starting
to do even more than they appear to at first glance.
For example, that the brand new ecobee
SmartThermostat with voice control.
Yes, it's a thermostat, but it also streams music,
act as a remote control for other smart home devices
and you can even make phone calls on it.
But is this jack of all trades and master of none?
Find out in this episode as I bring you my thoughts
on the ecobee SmartThermostat fifth generation.
What is going on tech squad, Andru Edwards here,
editor-in-chief at GearLive.com.
As I mentioned today we are talking about
this right here, this is the brand new
fifth generation ecobee SmartThermostat
with voice control.
Now as you know, I love smart home tech,
and when I got my hands on this
I was actually really impressed
by the things that it can do.
So let's jump in and talk about
ecobee's new SmartThermostat.
But before we do, if you're into tech,
please do hit that subscribe button down below
so you don't miss any future videos.
And by the way, shout out to ecobee
for sending over the new SmartThermostat
and for sponsoring this video.
If you're interested in the thermostat
as we go through the video
and you wanna check it out for yourself,
I will leave a link down in description below.
As I said, this is a smart thermostat
that has Amazon Alexa built in.
So not only can you control it
with Amazon Alexa, but since Alexa's build
into the thermostat itself you can also use it
to control other things in your smart home.
The ecobee SmartThermostat connects
to your home wifi network,
allowing you to control the temperature
from anywhere that you have a internet connection.
This isn't new, as there are a few other devices
out there that do the same thing.
However, there are a few things that set
the ecobee SmartThermostat apart
from its competition, starting with Apple HomeKit.
What that means is that you can tie
the ecobee4 into your Apple home system,
allowing you to control it from anywhere
using Siri voice Control.
So, no matter where you are,
you can pull up Siri on your iPhone,
your iPad, your iPod touch, Mac, HomePod,
or Apple TV to send voice commands
to the SmartThermostat over HomeKit.
It's also compatible with IFTTT, If This Then That,
as well as Samsung's SmartThings app
and smart home platform.
But like I said, you can also control
the ecobee SmartThermostat using Amazon's Alexa.
So it can tie into Alexa
and you can use your Alexa devices to control it,
things like the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show,
but even better, the ecobee SmartThermostat
acts as its own Amazon Alexa device.
So what I mean by that is once you have
the thermostat installed you can treat it just like
an Amazon Echo.
So you can talk to it to ask it to control
other smart devices in your home.
Now this version also has a much improved speaker
over last gen, so you can also use it
to play music.
You can ask Alexa to play music
through your SmartThermostat.
But the speaker usage doesn't stop there,
because just like Amazon Echo devices
you can also use the SmartThermostat
as an in-house intercom if you have other
Echo devices or the ecobee Switch+
or other ecobee thermostats around your home.
And lastly taking the microphone and speaker
to the ultimate level for a thermostat,
you can also make phone calls
anywhere in North America for free
using Alexa built into the SmartThermostat.
You simply ask it to make a voice call
to someone who's in your Alexa contacts,
then your thermostat will make the call
hands-free right on your wall.
It's astounding.
There's no other smart thermostat
that I've seen that can do these things,
this is very impressive.
So, if you're looking to start building out your smart home,
this is one you might wanna pay close attention to
because it's that good.
Inside the box you'll find the ecobee thermostat itself
along with one room sensor with detachable stand.
Aside from Alexa and HomeKit capability
this is another area where the ecobee stands out.
The sensor is placed in a room
that's separate from where the thermostat is placed
allowing the system to monitor temperature
and motion in more than one area.
So for example if your thermostat is located
on your first floor, but you spend a lot
of time up on your second floor,
take a sensor and put it up
on the second floor in the room you hang out in
and this will tell your SmartThermostat
that there's still someone in the house
and therefore it will keep the temperature
right where you want it when you're at home.
Alternatively it will also save you money
when you aren't home, by optimizing
the temperature accordingly,
rather than wasting your resources and cash.
You get one sensor in the box
as I mentioned, but you can have up to 32
of these sensor spread throughout your home
if you're a baller.
And even cooler, the sensors also act
as HomeKit triggers.
So you can go into HomeKit and say,
"Hey, if this sensor sees somebody walk into the room,
"turn the lights on in that room as well."
So this is really more than just something
that can help control your thermostat,
this can actually trigger a bunch
of different things in your smart home.
You'll also find the power extender kit,
screws and drywall plugs, trim plates,
a quick start guide, installation guide,
wire labels, and some ecobee stickers
inside the box as well.
Since I installed it myself,
I turned off the main power switch
first so that I wouldn't hurt myself
and that's actually something that ecobee recommends doing
before you're working with wiring in your home,
and of course if you're uncomfortable
with that whole process, you can just hire someone
to come by and professionally install
the ecobee SmartThermostat as well.
Ecobee says it should take about
45 minutes to install the SmartThermostat.
I actually did it in 20 minutes,
and I am no handyman by any stretch
of the imagination.
So if I can do it, you can probably do it too.
The first thing you wanna do
is remove the thermostat you're currently using
and then label your wires if they aren't labeled already.
Mine were already labeled from
when I originally installed an older Nest thermostat,
so I was able to save a step there.
Then you chose the trim plate
that's applicable to you, and screw it in place.
The ecobee backplate has a built-in level
which is nice, so you know that you're
orienting everything the way that it should be.
From there you plug the wires for your system
into the corresponding holes,
again, keeping the wires labeled
makes this a snap.
I got everything plugged in,
push the wires back into the wall
and then connect to the ecobee thermostat
which just snaps into place without much force.
At this point installation is done
and it's time to turn the power back on
to start the boot up process.
The touchscreen interface is nice
and it walks you through setup
in an intuitive way.
During the process you're invited
to download the ecobee app
which mirrors the interface of the display,
making it super easy to control it from afar.
You also get the option of using your iOS device
to quickly get the ecobee set-up
on your wifi network as well as getting Alexa
and HomeKit set-up as well,
so you can control the thermostat
with Siri or Alexa voice control.
Both of these just add to the convenience of set-up
and makes a novice like me feel like I know exactly
what I'm doing when installing hardware on my wall.
Once everything's back up and running
you can control the ecobee SmartThermostat
in a few different ways.
When you're not standing directly in front
of the SmartThermostat, it has a view-only mode
on the display to make it easier to see from far away,
but when you walk up to it,
it actually automatically changes
into interactive mode using
that built-in proximity sensor.
From there you can control it
by using the touchscreen right on the device.
Changing the temperature is as easy
as sliding your finger up and down
the right-hand side of the display.
You can also get a weather forecast
right on the ecobee as well.
And of course you can change the settings too.
You can also use your smartphone
to control the thermostat.
Pulling up the ecobee app on your smartphone
gives you the exact same experience
that you would have if you walked up
to the thermostat itself.
An what I mean by that is the interface matches exactly.
So if you know how to use a smartphone app
then you know how to control the SmartThermostat
from its built-in display,
and if you know how to use the built-in display
then you automatically are familiar with
and know how to use the smartphone app as well.
And finally the star of the show
with the ecobee SmartThermostat,
is voice control.
And again, you can control it with Alexa,
Siri, Bixby, Cortana, and the Google Assistant.
And it's as easy as asking your favorite
virtual smart assistant to do
whatever you want it to do
with the temperature in your home.
Now this is where a lot of the allure lies for me
with the ecobee SmartThermostat.
The fact that it's available to so many different
smart home platforms, more than pretty much
any other currently shipping smart thermostat,
means that you can add it to scenes
depending on what you're platform of choice supports,
or you don't even have to have a platform of choice,
because you can connect it to multiple platforms
at the same time.
And also, not only can it be controlled from anywhere,
but you can also add it to different scenes
and have it participate and playing nice
with everything else.
For example, one thing I do in the evening
before I go to bed, I say, "Good night." to Siri.
And then what happens when I do that is
my front door locks if it's unlocked,
my garage door will close if I accidentally left it open,
the blinds will be lowered,
all the lights are turned off,
two lights are then turned on and dimmed,
and the temperature on the ecobee
is automatically lowered to where I prefer it to be
while I'm sleeping.
Now all that happens with one command,
and it's super nice to be able
to have my thermostat participate
in that nightly ritual.
So if you're in the market for a smart thermostat
that allows you to interface with it
in multiple ways from connected devices,
I think the ecobee is the one to get.
And again, you can also use it
to ask Alexa to control your other
smart home devices.
Just talk to the ecobee SmartThermostat
and you can have it do things like
turn off the lights in the room.
Alexa, what's the weather in New York right now?
- [Alexa] Currently, in New York it's 75 degrees
with partly sunny skies.
Today, you can expect intermittent clouds
with a high of 75 degrees and a low of 51 degrees.
- But now I want to hear from you guys,
what do you think of the ecobee SmartThermostat?
Are you as impressed as I am by all
the different functionality
that they've packed into this
by really tapping into everything
that Amazon's Alexa service can do?
Sound off in the comments below,
I'll meet you there for further discussion.
Again, 249, if you wanna pick up
the ecobee SmartThermostat.
One thing you should know is if you do buy one
you should check with your local utility service
and see if they offer any discount,
because I know here where I live
if you buy one of these the electric company
will actually give you a $75 credit
on your next bill.
The new ecobee SmartThermostat
is one of my favorite smart home devices
and it takes the place as my current favorite
smart thermostat as well.
The previous generation was included
in a recent video that I did
showing my top five favorite HomeKit compatible
smart home devices.
If you wanna see that video
I'll leave a card up here along with a link
down in description below.
If you enjoyed this one please do hit that like button.
It helps out a lot, and don't forget
to hit the subscribe button as well
if you wanna stay up to date on all future videos.
Thank you so much for watching as always guys,
I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards, and I'll catch you in the next video.