The problem
Heating and cooling eats the biggest share of a home’s energy — yet the classic thermostat reads a single hallway wall. Bedrooms freeze while empty living rooms bake, the furnace cycles all day, and the bill lands without explanation.
How it works
ecobee pairs its smart thermostats with wireless SmartSensors that measure temperature and occupancy in individual rooms, steering heating and cooling toward the rooms people actually use. Founded in Toronto in 2007, the company shipped its first smart thermostat in 2008 and has since built an ecosystem: thermostats with voice control, room and door/window sensors, smart cameras and doorbells, plus the eco+ software layer for scheduling, energy savings and utility rebates — all run from one app. In 2026 the company extended the same platform into full home security with 24/7 professional monitoring in Canada, powered by RapidSOS emergency response.
Pain points
One-thermostat homes with permanent hot and cold spots, heating and cooling empty rooms, energy bills nobody can decode, and a different app for every device at the front door.
Business model
Hardware sales (Smart Thermostat Premium, Enhanced and Essential lines, SmartSensors, SmartCamera, doorbell camera, smart light switches, air-filter subscriptions) stacked with recurring Smart Security revenue: Core is free with any device, Plus runs $7 CAD/month with people/package detection and 30-day history, Advanced runs $14 CAD/month for unlimited cameras, and professional monitoring sells as an add-on under both paid tiers.
Challenges
Google Nest competes on price and retail shelf space; the hard commercial shift is turning one-time thermostat buyers into sticky subscription households; and inside Generac, ecobee must keep growing its brand and Toronto operation while fitting a wider home-energy ecosystem of generators, solar and batteries.
Funding
- Raised: pre-acquisition venture funding undisclosed in citable sources — MISSING.
- Valuation: MISSING.
- Status: acquired — Generac agreed to buy ecobee on November 1, 2021 for up to US$770M (depending on performance targets) and closed the acquisition on December 1, 2021; ecobee continues as a standalone subsidiary out of Toronto.
Latest — April 2026
ecobee overhauled Smart Security into modular tiers and launched 24/7 professional monitoring in Canada for the first time: Core stays free, Plus ($7 CAD/month) and Advanced ($14 CAD/month) unlock monitoring add-ons, with smoke-alarm detection at $7/month or full break-in protection at $14/month and emergency response powered by RapidSOS.