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Amazon's two-way voice technology has been incorporated into clock radios, thermostats, televisions and even lamps. With the Ecobee Switch +, it now goes to the humble lighting switch.
No, this is not a switch that "works with Alexa". There are dozens. It's a switch with a built-in legendary Alexa hub, blue light and everything. Speak into the built-in microphone, and your light switch can do just about everything your standalone Echo device can do. It even has a button that you can press to turn on the lights.
As smart switches go, the Switch + sits relatively easily. The design is clean and the unit is small enough to work with, aided by wired pigtails coming out from the back of the device, so you're not required to. Using Handles or Screw Terminals ( from Us Prefer Stab-Ins Ed.) Ecobee includes a collection of wire clamps that simplify the connection But note that, as with most smart switches, you will need a neutral wiring in your home for this to work.
This switch works only for unipolar lights, so be forewarned if you have a lot of lighting at three or four ways. If you are looking for something more sophisticated, take a look at the Noon lighting system (but be aware that it is much more expensive).
Christopher Null / IDG The wiring is simple, thanks
While the installation of the hardware is unfolding quickly – and the Ecobee instructions are simple here – things are getting bogged down on the software side. Ecobee hardly recognizes that there is an Ecobee application in its manual, let alone explains how to install and configure the switch to work with Alexa. If you only want to use the + switch to turn on and off the wall hardware lights, you do not need the app; but then you do not need a $ 100 switch for that either.
A little research online has led to a FAQ about software, but even that is incomplete. (If you follow the procedure because you are lost, after following the Ecobee FAQ, you need to open the Alexa app and search for the change via the Smart Home tab. Once this step is over you will have it fully attached to your network.)
From here, the Switch + is very entertaining. Of course, you can tell him to turn on or turn off the lights – or tell any other Alexa device in the house to control the lights connected to the Switch + – or you can make him do the other things you can do, such as alarms, play music, or ask what was the name of that child in Whiplash .
Ecobee Despite a speaker and other smart features, the Switch + is relatively unobtrusive device to have on your wall.
And it would be great if the microphone worked a little better. While the speaker is surprisingly loud considering its size – able to fill a modest-sized room with music in my tests – the microphone was often hard to hear even if the room was quiet. (especially if she was playing music) Unless I was very close to Switch +, I often had to repeat myself at least once, usually increasing my voice along the way.
Christopher Null / IDG A collection of basic settings allows you to automate key lighting functions.
Beyond its Alexa support, the device supports a wide range of other equipment and services for the smart home, including Apple Homekit, SmartThings, Google Assistant and IFTTT. In the Ecobee app, you can also turn on the switch when it detects motion in the room, and / or turn off automatically when everyone else is going away.
The built-in lighting can also be used as a night light. In my tests, all these functions worked well, even though the motion detector was sometimes a bit slow to spot someone entering the room, and the presence detector was prone to detect shadows as a movement. A particularly bizarre oversight: the switch has no dimming capability for conventional bulbs (it can dim Philips Hue smart bulbs with an Alexa command) and no way to create schedules in the app ecobee.
At $ 100, the Switch + sounds very expensive, but if you compare the price to a standard smart switch (about $ 30) plus that of an Amazon Echo Dot ($ 50), the upgrade $ 20 is not bad, because you reduce the clutter considerably. To comment on this article and other TechHive content, visit our Facebook page or our feed Twitter .
