Ecobee has released an update today that’s part of its eco+ Community Energy Savings feature that helps users work with others in their area to prevent power outages. The new automation can adjust the Ecobee Smart Thermostat but users can still take manual control at any time.

Ecobee announced the new feature in a blog post today:

Smart home leader ecobee today released a new update to its eco+ Community Energy Savings feature to protect customers from power outages caused by extreme weather. During North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Emergency Event Alert (EEA) or equivalent events, customers who are not already enrolled in a utility demand response program will receive an alert on their ecobee Smart Thermostat and ecobee mobile app informing them that their home is at risk of an outage. Customers then receive recommended, automated temperature adjustments to help ensure grid stability.

The company highlights:

With this update, customers are in control and can opt out of any changes before or even during the event. Those who choose to conserve energy and help protect their communities from disruptive outages will see adjustments of only 1-4 degrees that last no more than four hours.

Here’s how it will look on the Smart Thermostat:

And on the mobile app:

You can learn more in Ecobee’s full explainer here.

Ecobee has released an update today that’s part of its eco+ Community Energy Savings feature that helps users work with others in their area to prevent power outages. The new automation can adjust the Ecobee Smart Thermostat but users can still take manual control at any time.

Ecobee announced the new feature in a blog post today:

Smart home leader ecobee today released a new update to its eco+ Community Energy Savings feature to protect customers from power outages caused by extreme weather. During North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Emergency Event Alert (EEA) or equivalent events, customers who are not already enrolled in a utility demand response program will receive an alert on their ecobee Smart Thermostat and ecobee mobile app informing them that their home is at risk of an outage. Customers then receive recommended, automated temperature adjustments to help ensure grid stability.

The company highlights:

With this update, customers are in control and can opt out of any changes before or even during the event. Those who choose to conserve energy and help protect their communities from disruptive outages will see adjustments of only 1-4 degrees that last no more than four hours.

Here’s how it will look on the Smart Thermostat:

And on the mobile app:

You can learn more in Ecobee’s full explainer here.