Smart thermostats like Nest and Ecobee were made for remote control so you can set the temperature of your home from afar. Amazon Echo ($80 at Amazon) voice control with Alexa takes these devices a step further by letting you control your thermostat remotely with just your voice.
For example, if you have a lake house that’s two hours away (because, who doesn’t?), or you’re feeling comfy on the couch or busy in the kitchen, you can say “Alexa, ask [Ecobee or Nest] to set the temperature to 70 degrees,” without ever touching your thermostat.
Before you get started, make sure your Amazon Echo and Nest or Ecobee are linked to the same Amazon account, otherwise they won’t sync.
Control your Nest or Ecobee with your Amazon Echo.
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Connect your Echo to your Nest
1. Open your Amazon Alexa app.
2. Tap the Devices icon in the bottom right corner.
3. Select Your Smart Home Skills.
4. Tap Enable Smart Home Skills.
5. Tap the magnifying glass icon and search for Nest Thermostat.
6. Tap Enable to Use.
7. A window will appear asking you to sign in to your Nest account.
8. Once you’re logged in, tap Allow. This allows Alexa to discover and control your Nest thermostat with your voice.
9. Next, tap Discover Devices to find your Nest thermostat.
10. Select your Nest device from the list.
You can now start controlling your Nest thermostat from any location, as long as you have your Amazon Echo with you.
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Nest Thermostat commands you can say
Note that some of these commands will require you to have Nest temperature sensors set up in different rooms.
“Alexa, what’s the temperature in the house?”
“Alexa, what temperature is my Nest set to?”
“Alexa, set the basement to 70 degrees.”
“Alexa, decrease the Nest to 68 degrees.”
“Alexa, make my Nest warmer by 10 degrees.”
Your Amazon Echo can control your Ecobee from anywhere.
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Connect your Echo to your Ecobee
1. Open your Amazon Alexa app.
2. Tap the Devices icon in the bottom right corner.
3. Select Your Smart Home Skills.
4. Tap Enable Smart Home Skills.
5. Tap the magnifying glass icon and search for Ecobee.
6. You’ll see Ecobee and Ecobee plus, and you’ll need to tap Enable to Use for both of them.
7. A window will appear asking you to sign in to your Ecobee account.
8. Once you’re logged in, tap Accept. This just gives Amazon Smart Home permission to modify the thermostat settings and data in your account.
9. Next, tap Discover Devices to find your Ecobee.
10. Select your Ecobee device from the list.
Now you can control your Ecobee from any location, as long as you have your Amazon Echo with you.
Alexa can turn your house temp up and down on your Ecobee.
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Ecobee commands you can say
Note that some of these commands will require you to have Ecobee sensors set up in different rooms. The sensors let your thermostat know what the temperature is in that room.
“Alexa, decrease the living room temperature by 2 degrees.”
“Alexa, what is the temperature in the bedroom?”
“Alexa, set my thermostat to 74 degrees until 4pm.”
“Alexa, set my thermostat to 65 degrees for one hour.”
“Alexa, ask Ecobee to resume thermostat schedule.”
“Alexa, what is the basement temperature set to?”
“Alexa, set lake house Ecobee temperature to 72 degrees.”
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