Ecobee is discontinuing support for the very first good thermostat. As of July thirty first, 2024, the Ecobee Sensible Thermostat and the Ecobee Energy Management System (EMS) thermostats will now not be capable to be managed remotely or use any good integrations. Principally, something that requires an web connection will cease working. They are going to nonetheless proceed to manage your HVAC in the identical means a non-smart machine does — by you controlling it on the machine.
The corporate is providing affected customers a 30 p.c low cost on a brand new Ecobee thermostat, legitimate for as much as 15 thermostats. Clients ought to have acquired an electronic mail with the supply, but when not, Ecobee’s VP of product design, Bryan Hurren, says to contact support to get a code.
The Ecobee Sensible Thermostat was the world’s first related thermostat, launching in 2008 — a 12 months after the primary iPhone and three years earlier than the unique Nest Studying Thermostat. The EMS thermostat got here in 2010 and was designed for industrial installations. Each fashions have been discontinued in 2013 previous to the introduction of the Ecobee 3 in 2014.
Hurren says Ecobee will nonetheless assist its different legacy thermostats — together with the EMS SI, the Smart SI, and the Ecobee 3. Moreover, none of its current fashions, such because the Ecobee3 Lite, Sensible Thermostat Premium, and Sensible Thermostat Enhanced, are impacted.
“This determination was not taken evenly, and was made based mostly on evolving expertise requirements and the problem of supporting older {hardware},” Hurren mentioned in an announcement to The Verge. “We acknowledge the frustration this may increasingly trigger and are actively exploring methods to help affected customers.”
The truth that Ecobee was nonetheless supporting expertise from 16 years in the past is uncommon in in the present day’s upgrade-focused world. However the transfer does illustrate a giant caveat when shopping for cloud-dependent gadgets: if the corporate turns off cloud assist, you’ll lose these good options you paid for.
That might not be a giant concern for gadgets you intend to improve commonly, however for merchandise you put in into your own home’s infrastructure, like a thermostat, there’s an expectation they need to final quite a bit longer. Non-connected thermostats can final many years.
It is a ache level with the good dwelling. Connecting merchandise like thermostats, fridges, and washing machines to the cloud might deliver advantages like comfort and vitality financial savings, however it may be on the expense of longevity. Particularly when an organization has the ability to flip the change on any good options.
Hurren declined to say how lengthy they’ll assist their newer fashions however identified that the 10-year-old Ecobee 3 continues to be being up to date. All fashions because the 3 have the choice for native management by way of Apple HomeKit, one thing the Sensible and EMS lacked. So, if Ecobee did flip off assist for these, you’d nonetheless have entry to some good options if you happen to used an iPhone. Nonetheless, a greater choice can be if the corporate supplied an area API so good dwelling platforms that function in your native community, reminiscent of Home Assistant and Hubitat, may join on to the thermostat.