Ecobee is best known for its work in the smart thermostat field with powerful devices like the Ecobee 4. Now the company has branched out from just thermostats to offer the Ecobee Haven, a smart home monitoring platform the company claims “eliminates the need for keypads, programming, and single-use devices.” The idea behind Haven involves tying the entire home together through a combination of intelligent sensors. To accomplish this, Ecobee plans to use its existing devices in new ways, and the brand also launched two new devices.
The first of these new devices is the Ecobee Smart Camera with voice control. It has 1080p video, a 180-degree field of view, and automatically pans and zooms to capture where the action is. Privacy is where the Ecobee Smart Camera truly shines, however. Combined with the Ecobee Haven, it automatically turns off when it detects family members arriving home.
The next set of new devices are the Ecobee SmartSensors for doors and windows. These sensors can tell you whether a window or door is open, and if a window opens while the system is armed you will receive a notification. These sensors can be paired together with an existing Ecobee smart thermostat or with the new Ecobee SmartCamera.
Combined with these new sensors and existing ones, Ecobee’s Haven shows tremendous potential to streamline day-to-day tasks within the home. The AutoPilot feature makes use of every Ecobee device inside the home to learn user patterns and automatically adjust throughout the day to suit their preferences.
Another major feature of Haven involves entry into the home. Through the use of geolocation, Haven can differentiate between someone who is supposed to be in the home and someone who isn’t. This eliminates the need for a keypad and lets the system unlock the door automatically.
The third and final feature concerns privacy. The Ecobee Haven system not only shuts down the security camera when you arrive home, but it also has enough processing power to eliminate cloud-based analysis. This removes a potential weak point that can be hacked. The system also requires two-factor authentication, reducing the risk of unwanted intrusion.
With all of these features in place, the Ecobee Haven might become the streamlined, cohesive smart home that has been promised since the start.
Starting today, users can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Haven either on Ecobee’s website or directly through the app. There are two tiers for home monitoring: The Essential tier, starting at $5 per month, and the Extended tier which starts at $10 per month.
Correction: The article previously misstated the price of the Essential tier plan. It’s $5 per month.
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