TORONTO – Smart thermostat maker, ecobee Inc., is partnering with a consortium of Illinois utilities - ComEd, Nicor Gas, People’s Gas and North Shore Gas - to support them in achieving a target of installing one million smart thermostats in Northern Illinois homes within five years. With this new rebates program partnership, ecobee expands its North American utility rebates into Chicago and Northern Illinois for electric and gas customers. The new program offers three ways for customers to participate.

"ecobee is pleased and excited that our ecobee3 will support our utility partners target of one million smart thermostats with this comprehensive rebates program, and being selected as the sole supplier to their existing direct installation program,” said Stuart Lombard, President and CEO, ecobee. “Our growing number of partnerships with utilities demonstrates our commitment to making it easy for customers to make smart energy and cost-saving decisions for their home."

Through this partnership, customers will receive the electric and gas rebates whether their ecobee3 is installed by participating in the Home Energy Assessment program, by their HVAC service provider or by installing it themselves.

“ecobee works closely with utility partners across North America to achieve large-scale energy savings  and provide the necessary access to data via our Utility APIs for program insights and EMV analysis,” said Lombard.

Designed for homes with more than one room, the ecobee3 smarter Wi-Fi thermostat and remote sensors measure temperature and occupancy in multiple locations, resulting in increased comfort when at home and energy savings while away. The ecobee3 addresses hot and cold spots in the home and conserves energy to deliver savings immediately after installation. The ecobee3 saves homeowners an average of 23 percent on their heating and cooling bills. The ecobee3 is Apple HomeKit-enabled.

HomeKit allows users to communicate with and control connected accessories in their home. It enables them to discover HomeKit accessories, configure them and create actions to control their devices. Users can group actions together and trigger them using Siri. HomeKit is built on a secure foundation with end-to-end encryption which provides customers a secure connection between their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and HomeKit-enabled accessory.

The ecobee3 is designed to be compatible with 95 percent of residential heating and cooling systems in North America and does not require a C-wire when using the included Power Extender Kit. To ensure ecobee3 will work in your home, visit www.ecobee.com/compatibility.

Customers can purchase an ecobee3 in-store or online from Best Buy, Home Depot, Apple, Amazon or www.ecobee.com. Residents of Northern Illinois and the Chicagoland area should check with their gas and electric utilities to verify their eligibility and apply for the rebates. The rebates available are up to $120.

2015 Highlights:
The ecobee3 became the #2 thermostat brand in retail by dollar share according to NPD; won the 2015 editor’s choice award from PC Magazine; and has the highest star rating on Apple, Amazon, Best Buy and Home Depot, beating Nest and other smart thermostats in customer satisfaction. About ecobee

ecobee, Inc., based in Toronto, Canada, introduced the world’s first Wi-Fi connected smart thermostat in 2009. The company continues to innovate in the smart thermostat space and launched ecobee3 with remote sensors in 2014. In 2015, the ecobee3 became the first Apple HomeKit enabled smart thermostat, allowing users to control the device with Siri. ecobee’s award-winning thermostats have enabled hundreds of thousands of consumers and businesses to control their home or building comfort anytime and from anywhere, using their smartphone, tablet or computer. Our partnerships with utilities across North America have delivered innovative and reliable strategies for energy efficiency and demand response. For more information, visit www.ecobee.com.