Developed with Honeywell Home, the thermostat should be compatible with most HVAC systems, Amazon says.<\/b>
\nIf you think smart thermostats are too expensive, Amazon today unveiled the $59.99 Amazon Smart Thermostat with an eye on affordability and reducing carbon emissions. \u201cThe largest household contributor to carbon emissions is not your TV, it\u2019s not your Echo device, it\u2019s your HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] system,\u201d Dave Limp, Amazon’s SVP for devices, said during a Tuesday virtual event. Amazon sees smart thermostats as a solution to making HVAC systems run more efficiently. But according to Limp, the technology is complicated and expensive. In response, the company created its own Energy Star- certified product for \u201cless than half the average cost of a smart thermostat sold on Amazon.com,\u201d he said. If a customer applies utility rebates, the cost can be driven down even further. The product is also designed to be compatible with most HVAC systems, Limp added. To develop it, Amazon partnered with smart thermostat provider Honeywell Home. Although the thermostat doesn\u2019t come with a speaker or microphone, it does work with Amazon\u2019s Alexa voice assistant. So you\u2019ll be able to use voice commands on an Echo device or smartphone to control it remotely. For example, if you tell Alexa you\u2019re going to bed, the voice assistant can trigger the thermostat to calibrate your home\u2019s heating to match the preset temperature you\u2019d like. \u201cThis thermostat allows Alexa intelligence to do the programming for you, automatically adjusting the temperatures to suit your preferences when it has a hunch you\u2019re either at home or away,\u201d Limp added. Pre-order now for $59.99 (Amazon has a compatibility tool on its site to check whether it’ll work in your home). Bundles with a 4th-gen Echo Dot or 2nd-gen Echo Show 5 will run you $99.99 or $129.99, respectively. Shipments begin Nov.4.<\/p>\n