ecobee3

Designed by: LUNAR / McKinsey Design and ecobee
Media Credit: LUNAR / McKinsey Design and ecobee
Project Involvement: From whiteboard to store shelves, 14 months 2013/2014

About

While we’ve seen new digital and connected thermostats over the past few years, most share the same flaw that thermostats did fifty years ago: they only measure the temperature in one location, often the hallway.

Launched in 2014, ecobee’s smart thermostat and remote sensors resolve this fundamental design flaw to deliver comfort in the rooms that really matter.

Challenge

Toronto-based ecobee back in 2013 may not have had the name recognition of Honeywell or Nest, but it was actually the first company to come out with an app-enabled thermostat.

In order to exceed the Nest level of product experience, ecobee approached LUNAR to reinvent their physical product, user experience and visual language.

Approach

Our goal was to create a Simply Smarter solution to not only differentiate the ecobee brand in physical and digital design expressions but more importantly to develop a desirable and ownable user experience, from initial install to months of use.

As Project Lead, I was responsible for guiding the client in key choices for user experience, hardware and brand. At the same time I developed elements of the hardware itself, contributed to define the overall user experience, ensured integration of the UI with the physical design and provided design detailing during EVT, DVT and PVT engineering phases.

Simply Smarter

Through qualitative and quantitative research, the team honed in on the core value proposition to ‘provide comfort where you want it’. A simple solution enabled through the addition of a separate sensor that would help deliver comfort in the room you are in.

The research was also key to define in detail the appropriate features for each interaction scenario: hanging on the wall, mobile, tablet or PC. Fundamentally, we dug into what someone wants to do in each context and aimed to deliver that experience as seamless as possible.

Value propositions where shared with users in 3 scenario posters and a participatory cardsort exercise allowed us to uncover the simplest yet most impactful solutions. It was a big learning experience that not all information needs to live or should be accessed from the thermostat itself.

I defined value propositions, compared these to the competitive landscape and co-developed the 3 scenarios to test with users

Participated in user research and synthesis to establish our simplicity guardrails for physical and digital UX

Co-created our ‘muse’ to succinctly represent our uncovered user needs and mindset

What people say

“The Nest can’t sense temperature or motion in other rooms, and may leave you shivering if you’re in another part of the house, whereas the Ecobee3’s remote sensors have you covered. I also prefer the Ecobee3’s touch-based method of data entry, as opposed to the Nest’s method of turning and pushing the dial to enter characters.”

John R. Delaney – PC Mag 2015

“The ecobee3 is more than a mere thermostat; it is an advanced piece of home automation technology. I believe it is a superior product to the Nest, and I am thoroughly satisfied with my decision to convert. This product is hands down best on the market. But, even more importantly than this product’s superior quality is the fact that it is supported by a company that is staffed by employees who stand behind their product.”

Bill Firedrake – 1 of 4,000+ Amazon reviews 4.2 out of 5 stars

“As much as I loved the Nest, it was tough getting my bedroom to a temperature I liked. The $241 Ecobee3 solves that problem well, making it my current favorite smart home thermostat. It has a modern look, an easy-to-use interface and useful features.”

Mike Prospero – Tom’s Guide 2016

Impact

Ecobee earned 15x growth in sales, +30% market share, displacing Honeywell as the #2 smart thermostat brand in North America. “The company has seen its revenues double every year, it is estimated that the ecobee sales will reach $1 billion by 2020.” Source: GlobeNewsWire 2019
Enabling ecobee to grow 8x to a company of 450+ employees, raising a total of $150 million funding up to Series C from amongst others Amazon with an acquisition by Generac in December of 2021 of $770 Million
High user ratings on Google 4.8 and Amazon 4.2, helping customers save more than 10.4 TWh of energy yearly or 25% savings on their energy bill
User Experience Principles and Design Language for hardware and UI that continues till today with the launch of ecobee lite (2016), ecobee4 (2017), ecobee Haven Home Security (2020) and ecobee5 (2022)
2016 IF Design Award
2014 Silver Spark Design Award
Recognition from the Verge, Gizmodo, CNET, Time Magazine and Fast Company
An article in Forbes about the collaboration – An Inside Look At How Gadget Companies Work With Design Firms To Perfect Their Products

Before

After

Smarter together

The user interface is tailored to each device, delivering features appropriate for each context. The strong contrast of black and white showcases the ‘smarts,’ while the soft corners and curvature with friendly UI graphic elements create more approachable, human design characteristics.

“From ecobee’s early talks with LUNAR, the initial project kickoff, and all the way to manufacturing, we’ve taken a highly collaborative path. We’ve all been aligned on the core visual identity—traits characterized as ‘intuitive, clever, and imaginative.’ This vision was key in enabling the team to make the right design decisions from start to finish. It also served as a guiding light to collaborate on inspiration and mood boards to share imagery for UI, UX, and Industrial Design.” — Rahul Raj, VP, Ecobee

Source: Forbes – An Inside Look At How Gadget Companies Work With Design Firms To Perfect Their Products

Smarter on the inside

Together with LUNAR’s and ecobee’s Engineering teams I was responsible for enabling the Industrial Design intent (by JJ Mendoza) from concept to manufacturing. Our goal was to ensure that price-point and quality could be achieved even after the introduction of the core value proposition accessory, the sensor.

Multiple rounds of prototyping and refining the product architecture enabled us to get the device into its smallest form factor. All whilst ensuring ease of installation, quality integration, airflow, effective assembly and an overall robust and drop-proof product.

During early stages of manufacturing I played an important role to solve for several core challenges. For example, both infrared as well as occupancy sensors allow for the ecobee3 to be smarter, however, finding the perfect materials was a challenge as the different sensors have unique requirements.

A large focus for the hardware was placed on improving the install experience of the device, both for contractors as well as DIY homeowners. We added a level to the device as well as improved the space for installing the wires.

The improved experience also included designing the key steps from unboxing to installation and initial guidance for install through the app and the device.

Smarter over time

In partnership with LUNAR’s User Experience and Visual Interaction Designers I co-developed a scenario that looked at the User Experience over time.
We created a timeline to highlight our hypotheses around when certain features and information are likely to become relevant to users.
This ultimately turned into a draft roadmap for the development of additional touchpoints and engagements between ecobee and their growing audience.

Team

Industrial Design—JJ Mendoza, Marcelle van Beusekom (Co-Project Lead)
Interaction Design—Jonathan Cofer, Matt Hamlin, Kim Lenox (Co-Project Lead), Moises Olivares, Chris Stone, Patrick Vilain
Visualizations and Animations – Stuart Favretto
User Research—Misha Cornes, John Edson, Danielle Guttman
Mechanical Engineering—Wenson Chern, Stuart Kyle, Sascha Retailleau
Project Management—Sona Patadia-Rao
Business Development—Jeff Salazar