Since around 2007, the Canadian company Ecobee has made an impact in the energy world by re-creating something that, at first glance, is exceptionally boring: the thermostat. What they have created in the thermostat is a smart approach to energy consumption. It is also a thermostat that you can talk to.
The Ecobee 4, Ecobee Switch+, Smart Thermostat come with Alexa installed so you can tell your thermostat what to do. Now the Ecobee Plus update has increased the chatter between you and Alexa, allowing for more skill commands.
Ecobee and Ecobee Plus have different commands and different ways of saying them. The Ecobee Plus app (which you have to set up, even though you can disable it once you have done so) changes the way you interact with your thermostat by giving you more functionality and allowing for more informal speech.
Ecobee Vs Ecobee Plus Skill
Before we start, we need to understand exactly what is the meaning of each. Ecobee Plus is an update that was introduced in November of 2019 and rolled out in early 2020 to many Ecobee models, though the skill commands do not interact with Ecobee 3 and Ecobee 3 Lite and only interact with the older Ecobee models that are listed here:
- Ecobee 4
- Ecobee Switch+
- Smart Thermostat
Ecobee Plus has five features that give the user a variety of ways to use energy smarter and more efficiently. Some of these features collect data from your habits, such as when you are home and when you are away.
While Alexa could certainly collect this information from you, it is unclear whether or not Ecobee is privy to voice-related info.
For the purposes of this article, the point will not be addressed, except to say that one would assume your voice commands to Alexa would be part of the information collected.
Nevertheless, if you do not tell Alexa you are going, Ecobee will use its sensors to determine if you are home and adjust the thermostat accordingly.
How Well Can Alexa Hear?
For all your Ecobee devices, you may be wondering how well Alexa can hear you. Is her hearing sharp, or is she a tad aged?
After all, there is not much point to a hands-free device if you have to be within arms reach for it to hear you.
As it turns out, whether you are using the Ecobee Plus update or the normal Ecobee device, Alexa can hear you from the other side of the room.
In fact, Ecobee recommends that you talk to Alexa from at least a foot away. Her voice recognition works better when you aren’t shouting in her ear.
Is Alexa a Permanent Snooping House Guest?
Many of you may be delighted that Alexa is on board, but some of you may have other concerns. As in, once you get Alexa connected with you and introduce her to your Ecobee, are you stuck with her?
Is she always listening like Hal 9000?
Thankfully you can deal with Alexa eavesdropping pretty easily. There is a privacy mode with Alexa. So if you just need a break from calling out commands to her all day long, simply go to the settings on your Ecobee. you can begin privacy mode by simply muting the microphone.
Alexa and Ecobee
For the Ecobee models that have Alexa onboard, the skill commands relate mostly to functionality. You can use voice commands to
- Raise the temperature
- Lower the temperature
- Set the temperature to a certain number of degrees
You can also use Alexa to get information from Ecobee. Namely, you can find out what temperature it is at that moment. You can also tell Alexa to turn Ecobee on or off.
How Skill Commands Work with Ecobee
When interacting with Ecobee, the skill commands allow you to address Alexa directly as the person who will do whatever you want her to do and leave Ecobee out of it. For example, you can address Alexa by name and have her be the AI responsible for:
- Setting the temperature to [x degrees]
- Raising the temperature by [x degrees]
You can also ask Alexa direct questions about the temperature. For example, you can say, “Alexa . . .:
- What is the thermostat temperature, or
- What’s the thermostat set to?
The interaction with Alexa addresses the basic function of the thermostat, but not much more than that.
Alexa and Ecobee Plus
In the case of Ecobee Plus, Alexa gives you access to more functionality with the thermostat by increasing the number and kind of skill commands that she responds to.
Some of these skill commands are the same as with the normal Ecobee, but many branches out beyond that functionality.
What changes is the way you interact with Alexa and Ecobee Plus. You have to tell Alexa to ask Ecobee to do the thing instead of just asking Alexa to do it.
In this scenario, Ecobee Plus is like that kid at school that you are too shy to talk to, with Alexa playing the role of the girl who passes the notes.
How Skill Commands Work with Ecobee Plus
When you want something from your Ecobee Plus, you have to ask Alexa to get it for you. For example, if you want to know the temperature, you have to:
- Address Alexa and tell her to ask Ecobee what the thermostat is set to, or
- Address Alexa and tell her to ask Ecobee what the temperature is
Other basic commands involve telling Alexa what you want Ecobee to do. So you can ask Alexa to tell Ecobee to set the temperature to a certain number of degrees.
Or you can frame in the form of a complaint, telling Alexa to tell Ecobee that you are too hot or too cold.
All the interaction goes like this. As you get into the commands that deal with the increased functionality, everything that Ecobee does has to go through Alexa to Ecobee. She can no longer just take care of things herself.
Increased Functionality with Ecobee Plus
In addition to the commands listed above, you can have Alexa intervene on your behalf about Ecobee’s thermostat programs and current operations.
You can even have her tell Ecobee to make certain program changes.
If you are away from the thermostat and you want to know what is going on with it, you can have Alexa find out for you what equipment is running. Maybe the fan is on, and you did not know it, or maybe the heat just turned on, and you want it to cool.
You can also tell Alexa to ask Ecobee to put a programmed schedule on hold or to resume it. You can have her tell Ecobee to run certain modes of the thermostat, such as:
- Auto
- Cold
- Heat
- Fan only
All these things you can do without actually going to your thermostat and making the changes. You can even establish a simple program by telling Alexa to inform Ecobee that you will be gone from this date until one in the future. Ecobee will take care of keeping everything off while you are away.
Conclusion
When it comes to being able to use a hands-free voice automated system, Alexa works well with both normal Ecobee devices and the Ecobee Plus update.
With the normal devices, she can perform basic functions for you so that you do not have to be close to the device in order to raise or lower the temperature or turn the system on or off.
However, her functionality increases with the Ecobee Plus update, even though you have to talk to Ecobee through her, which is a little weird.
Nevertheless, you can pause programs, make modifications to the temperature, complain about the temperature, and even make basic programs based on how long you will be gone from your home.