Toronto’s Ecobee has donated 776 Ecobee3 smart thermostats to the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), in an effort to improve the energy efficiency of TCHC buildings and advance the city’s climate change action plan, TransformTO.
Ecobee says that the initiative is part of its ‘A Better Tomorrow‘ program focused on the company’s commitment to advancing sustainability.
The smart thermostat manufacturer also says that the donation is part of a larger efficiency initiative called TowerWise, a project the focuses on homes with a mix of tenants, including seniors and families, and retrofits the buildings with more energy, emission and cost effective heating and cooling solutions. Many of the buildings included in the TowerWise are centrally heated, resulting in heat always running regardless of indoor temperature.
“Putting ecobee3 smart thermostats in these homes means we’ll be improving comfort for residents in a way they can feel, saving money for public housing and improving energy efficiency,” said Stuart Lombard, founder and CEO of Ecobee, in a statement sent to MobileSyrup.
“As a Toronto headquartered company, we saw a chance to help our community and immediately wanted to get involved in this project, which directly improves the lives of Torontonians and creates a more sustainable future at the same time.”
Toronto Community Housing is North America’s second largest public housing provider. The organization provides homes for almost 110,000 people across 2,100 buildings. Ecobee says Ecobee3 units are installed at 7 and 11 Arleta Avenue and 710 and 720 Trethewey Drive. It’s unclear if Ecobee plans to expand the initiative in the future.
Watch how we helped 1,300 people feel more comfortable in their homes, in partnership with the @AtmosphericFund here https://t.co/gU9fC5zgJ6 #ABetterTomorrow #TorontoCommunityHousing #TechNews pic.twitter.com/Oy6HFAo33X
— ecobee (@ecobee) January 24, 2018
Ecobee’s most recent product is the Alexa-enabled Ecobee4. During a recent interview with MobileSyrup, Lombard explained that he believes Ecobee competes directly with Apple’s iPhone.
“When we think about who we compete with, we compete with Apple,” said Lombard. ”It’s not because Apple makes thermostats — but when a customer puts a product in their home, they’re not comparing to Honeywell. They’re comparing it to the iPhone.”
Source: Ecobee
