The Ecobee3 smart thermostat, the first internet connected thermostat to work with Apple’s HomeKit platform, is available today in Apple Stores across North America.
The device costs $249 and is an alternative to Nest’s thermostat that supports Apple’s HomeKit platform. The Ecobee3 detects the home’s temperature and whether anyone is actually in the house and then adjusts the heating and cooling accordingly.
Just like Nest’s thermostat, the device’s goal is to save homeowners some money by reacting appropriately to different conditions and states of the home.
A different version of the Ecobee3 is already on sale, however, the new version adds HomeKit support which means that it can be controlled by Siri. The Ecobee3 with HomeKit support is available today from the Apple Store for $249. Users can purchase an additional pack of sensors (starting at $79) that can allow it to detect temperature and presence in other rooms of the house.
[via The Verge]
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Once they add multi-zone control then this will be awesome. However with the new house I’m building I have 7 In floor radiant zones and 2 cooling zones…with the remote sensors this could be an easy thing.
Is Apple releasing an app to control home kit enabled devices?
I have the Honeywell Lyric. Honeywell was one of the original endorsers of HomeKit so how is the Ecobee the first one?
I also got a HoneyWell Lyric recently. Honeywell is giving the impression that they are trying to get their software implementations right the first time. HomeKit and Dev API for example. It’s been quite a while, I really really really hope it happens. Even if they just release a Dev API, then we can just build our own implementations and release on Github for all to use. THAT’s how you build a product. ( I realize that Nest already has an API, I got the Lyric for less than half-price, so I’m just kinda hoping to make the most of it).
so the next question will be, when does nest come out with an additional pack of sensors starting at $78?
Heh, even with exorbitant hydro rates in Ontario, it’d take me forever for the savings to pay off one of these…
Glad that there will finally be some competition for Nest. I like the aesthetics of Nest, but not their OS. Time for a refresh and only competition will force them.