Generac has teamed up with ecobee to launch a new smart thermostat that ties directly into its home standby generators and PWRcell 2 solar battery storage. The ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced with Home Energy Management not only controls heating and cooling via its occupancy sensing technology, but also coordinates load management during an outage—so your HVAC won’t trip the generator when the power goes out.
As homeowners face climbing energy bills and more frequent outages—1.5 billion outage hours in 2024 alone—this integrated solution aims to optimize energy use and shrink the size (and cost) of backup systems. By intelligently shifting HVAC demand and monitoring real-time system performance, Generac says the thermostat can slash heating and cooling costs by up to 26 percent annually, all without adding extra hardware.
Set to roll out through Generac’s dealer network in June, the thermostat pairs seamlessly with the upcoming PWRcell 2 solar battery system. Each PWRcell 2 install will include the ecobee thermostat for in-home energy insights, letting homeowners store solar power by day and run critical loads by night.