Ecobee builds some of our favorite smart thermostats, and now the company is rolling out a new collection of features—dubbed Eco+—that promises to make them even smarter and more energy efficient.

This new suite of machine learning and artificial intelligence routines that, among other things, enable homeowners to avoid paying more for heating and cooling in areas where utilities have implemented “time of use” pricing: higher rates when energy is most in demand.

New firmware helps Ecobee smart thermostats respond to the energy demands

Ecobee says Eco+ expands on an energy-conservation pilot program dubbed Peak Relief that the company has been operating in Arizona, California, and Ontario, Canada. Peak Relief monitors electricity rates, comfort preferences, the home’s energy efficiency, and the local weather forecast and instructs Ecobee thermostats to heat or cool a home to reach the desired temperature before the higher rates that come with peak energy demand kick in.

According to Ecobee, the 75,000 Ecobee thermostat owners participating in the Peak Relief trial collectively saved enough energy in three months to power 1,000 homes for a full year.

Eco+ consists of five primary features:

The Eco+ update is available now for the most recent Ecobee model, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat with voice control, which we reviewed in June). Owners of the slightly older Ecobee 3, the Ecobee3 Lite, and the Ecobee4 will need to wait until January to get the new firmware.

This story, "Ecobee smart thermostats are getting a new suite of energy-conservation features" was originally published by TechHive.