You’ll find the Tado integration in the “Skills” section of the Alexa app.
Screenshot by Ry Crist/CNET
Tado is a basically a smart, wall-mounted remote control for the dumb air conditioner in your window. It already offers connected cooling control via an app or using geofenced automations that turn the AC on and off as you come and go. Now, it’s also adding support for Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, which will allow you to control your AC unit with voice commands.
Alexa already knows a thing or two about climate control, thanks to an open set of thermostat-specific protocols that third-party thermostat-makers can tap into to get Alexa to turn the heat up and down. Tado takes those same protocols and applies them to AC units. The sneaky-good thing about that approach is that you won’t need to add invocation words like “ask Tado” into your Alexa commands in order to control your AC unit, the way you would with an Alexa “skill” developed outside of those dedicated protocols. Instead, you’ll be able to use direct commands, like “Alexa, set the bedroom to 75 degrees.”
Tado costs $180 and is available now. The same goes for the Alexa integration, which went live today — you’ll find it in the Skills section of Amazon’s Alexa app.
