Ecobee Smart Internet-Enabled Thermostat

ecobee, a company dedicated to helping consumers conserve energy, save money and reduce their environmental impact, has just unveiled its first product, the ecobee Smart Thermostat. Homeowners can program this new programmable thermostat easily and simply using its touch screen, or over the internet, from anywhere, in seconds.

The ecobee Smart Thermostat is an attractive, modern-looking consumer electronic device with an easy-to-read full-color LCD screen, featuring touch-screen technology. The thermostat connects to the homeowners standard WiFi (wireless network), which gives them remote access to their thermostat settings from any computer. Its guided Wizard function leads the homeowner through each step of the programming process with a series of simple questions.

Ordinary, old-style programmable thermostats, if used correctly, save homeowners about 15-20% of their heating or cooling bills on average, said ecobee President & CEO Stuart Lombard. But it takes a rocket scientist to figure out how to program them, so people dont use them and dont get the energy savings they could.

Lombard explained that he founded the company because he wanted to reduce his home energy consumption and had trouble programming his own home thermostat. He thought there must be a better way. The ecobee philosophy is green made easy! he remarked. We can make a positive environmental impact if we make conservation a simple and easy choice.



Using the technology platform ecobee has established for its Smart Thermostat, North American utilities can communicate one-on-one with their residential customers, to send them branded messages, alerts and notices of demand response events. Throughout North America, utilities are incorporating new rate structures to drive reduction of peak demand. The ecobee Smart Thermostat allows them to strengthen their green leadership at the community level by empowering individual customers with the tools they need to adjust to new rate structures so they can conserve energy and control their utility bills.

Pricing and Availability
The Smart Thermostat can be pre-ordered online at ecobees website (www.ecobee.com) for delivery in early 2009. It will also be available from selected HVAC technicians. The company says the product which sells for $385, will pay for itself with energy cost savings within the first 12 18 months.