The ecobee3 is a smart thermostat that can be controlled by the sound of your voice by way of Siri or Amazon Alexa. With Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa services built-in, you can simply ask one of the digital assistants to set your temperature, and it's done. With Siri, you can do it from anywhere you have an Internet connection, using any iOS device or Apple Watch!

Of course, you can use it the old-fashioned way, but instead of clunky dials and knobs, the #ecobee3 has a modern touch display built in. It can also monitor the temperature in multiple rooms of your home, making sure the rooms that are occupied stay comfortable! Check out the video for my full review - I also show you how to install the ecobee3!

You can pick up the ecobee3 Smart Thermostat now.

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Video Transcript:

Using voice commands to control your home is the wave of the future. I show you how you can do it today with the Ecobee3 smart thermostat. Stay tuned.

The ecobee3 is a smart thermostat that connects to your home Wi-Fi network, allowing you to control the temperature from anywhere that you have an Internet connection. This isn’t new, as there are a few other devices out there that do the same thing. However, what sets the ecobee3 apart is that it has built-in support for Apple HomeKit, as well as Amazon’s Alexa. This means that you can control the ecobee3 thermostat with your voice by using Siri with an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or iPod touch, or an Alexa-enabled device like the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, or Amazon Tap. And with Father’s Day around the corner, 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 HomeKit capability, this is another area where 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 place. So if your thermostat is on the first floor, but you spend a lot of time on the second floor, the ecobee will still know that you’re home and will keep the temperature right where it should be. 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 in your home if you’re a straight up baller.

You’ll also find the Power Extender Kit, screws and drywall plugs, standard and large trim plates, a quick start guide, installation guide, wire labels, and some ecobee stickers inside the box.

Since I installed it myself, I made sure to turn off the power to my heating and cooling system, because the last thing anyone is gonna accuse me of is being a handyman and I wasn’t trying to kill myself. Ecobee says it takes about 45 minutes to install, but I was up and running in about 20 minutes, and again - I’m no handyman. First thing you wanna do is get rid of whatever crappy thermostat you’re currently using, and then label your wires if they aren’t already. Mine were already labeled from when I originally installed my older Nest thermostat, so I was able to save a step there. Then you choose the trim plate that is applicable to you, and screw it in place. The ecobee back plate 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, pushed the wires back into the wall, and then connected the ecobee3 thermostat, which just snapped into place without much force. At this point, installation is done, and it’s time to turn the power back on, which will start the boot up process.

The touchscreen interface is nice, and it walks you through setup in a nice, intuitive way. During the process you are invited to download the ecobee3 app, which mirrors the interface of the display, making it super easy to control from afar. You also get the option of using your iOS device to quickly get the ecobee3 set up on your Wi-Fi network, as well as getting HomeKit set up as well so that you can control the thermostat with Siri. Both of these just add to the convenience of setup, and makes a novice like me feel like I know exactly what I’m doing when installing hardware on my wall.

Once everything is up and running, you’re then able to control the ecobee3 in a few ways. First, directly from the built-in touchscreen. When you approach it, the ecobee3 changes from the view only interface into the interactive one, which is cool. 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 ecobee3 as well, and of course, you can change the settings too. You can also use a smartphone app to control the thermostat, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android. Finally, you’ve got voice control, which is the most convenient, especially when it’s hands-free. For example, you can use Siri with the Hey Siri command...

…or you can use an Alexa-enabled device like the Amazon Echo...

This is where most of the appeal lies for me, and having both Siri and Alexa voice control is something that no other smart thermostat to date can do. As someone who’s been building my smarthome around devices that can take advantage of both HomeKit and Alexa, the ecobee3 is the perfect smart thermostat for my home thanks to that flexibility. 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 ecobee3 is the one to get.

Now I wanna know what you think. Have you started buying devices that make your home a bit smarter? Leave a comment below letting me know what you’ve outfitted your home with, or if you’re still waiting for the market to develop. If you like what you saw here and are feeling the ecobee3, do me a favor and hit that like button - and if you loved it, be sure to hit the subscribe button if you haven’t yet to stay notified of future tech reviews, tutorials, first looks, and more. Big shout out to ecobee for sending this one over, and if you wanna see more on the ecobee3, be sure to check out my #DreamTeam brethren as we all took the ecobee3 for a spin. I’ll leave a link to the playlist where you can check out all the videos on the description below.

Thanks for watching as always guys - your support is greatly appreciated! Until next time, I’m Andru Edwards and I’ll catch you in the next video.

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