When it derive to make your thermostat smarter , your choices are limited . you could prefer for aNest , which is the genius of smart thermostats but also owned by Google , which means it presumptively snap up crucial information about you and your home habit . you could choose for a “ smart ” thermostat from traditional thermostat makers like Honeywell , but will be stuck with a equipment that miss all the coolheaded algorithms and dodgy lineament of the Nest . Or you could spend a little extra and get an Ecobee , which uses algorithms like a Nest does , works with every major smart home hub , include Apple Home , which Nest does not , and really batten your data .
you could see why I decided to assay out the latter . I ’ve found myself mirthfully show into a smart house future that will hopefully keep my aviation conditioner uptime under control , but I ’ve also discovered some annoying limitations . The $ 250 Ecobee SmartThermostat is one of my favorite widget in my new rest home , but I ’m still not sure how much money I ’m really saving .
Ecobee SmartThermostat
Photo: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
What is it ?
The late smart thermostat from Nest ’s elementary competitor .
Price
Ecobee provides lots of tiny labels. That PEK wire was originally the Y1 wired until I connected the power adapter inside my air handler/furnace.Photo: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
$ 250
Like
look nice , wanton to install , kick in you lode of data .
Ecobee provides lots of tiny labels. That PEK wire was originally the Y1 wired until I connected the power adapter inside my air handler/furnace.Photo: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
No Like
A passel of controls are thermostat only and I still do n’t know how much money I ’ve keep .
Savings is the real appeal of a smart thermoregulator . They ’re mean to well learn your behaviors so they can pass less when they love the temperature outdoors is about to drop , or turn off entirely when you ’re away . The Nest is the well - respected champion of bright thermostat , and that ’s why Google flick up the company in 2014 and start out integrating it into its own smart nursing home ecosystem .
You can see the actual screen here, versus the bezel. It’s noticeable but not the end of the world.Photo: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
Ecobee has long been “ the other ” of the sassy thermoregulator options . It claim to be as smart as the Nest , but it ’s a footling knavish to instal , draw more mogul , and lack the Nest ’s approximate - iconic design . But , again , it actually works with Apple Home out of the box seat , and the in style version of the SmartThermostat launched in 2019 comes with an intercom routine and Alexa establish right in , too . So think of the Ecobee as a Nest , but a little unworthy , works with more stuff , and potentially manages privacy better .
Installing the Ecobee SmartThermostat ( not to be confused with$170 the Ecobee3 lite , which lacks the build - in Alexa and some cost - deliver feature ) was … easy . I did n’t await it to be ! The Ecobee demand consecrate power wire from your central air system so as to die hard , and the Nest does not . This means the Nest can just be slap on a lot more wall than the Ecobee . However , Ecobee includes an transcriber that lets you do some wiring in the guts of your AC system to get it working without that dedicated might wire . If you could follow operating instructions when build up Lego , it ’s not that difficult to set up the adaptor . There are even little label spikelet to apply to the conducting wire so nothing gets confusing . I did misread a label on the AC itself and plug in one wire wrongly . That precede to my AC running non - stop all dark . Thankfully , it was simply a subject of switching a wire — which I did in about five minute the next sunup .
Once powered up , you just have sex the Ecobee ’s support plate in and get to the apparatus . From afar , the Ecobee thermoregulator does n’t front bad . The temperature , weather , and sentence all seem to float in the center of a elephantine black showing , but when the brightness hits the thermostat just right , or you get closer to it to use it , you ’ll find the display is actually a very little screen in the center of the thermostat with a monolithic bezel . It ’s not awful — the enceinte hooey can all be manage from your earpiece . But far too many configurations can only be make out on the Ecobee itself , and its modest screen can making navigate around and managing those configurations an plaguy chore .
The sensors are small and unobtrusive.Photo: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
A undecomposed illustration is temperature sensing element standardisation . The Ecobee ’s sensor can be calibrated , but it can only be done on the machine itself . Oddly , the standardisation feature does n’t extend to the sensor ( launched last year ) that you may buy and put throughout your home base . That led to an instance where one of the sensing element Ecobee provide did n’t match a temperature gauge I had on hand , resulting in the AC firing on more often than it should . Ecobee sent extra sensors and they ’ve worked cleanly for more than a calendar month , while the malfunctioning sensor eventually separate itself out and now accurately shows the right temperature ( I have no idea why or how that hap but I am also not complaining ) .
The sensing element allow you to fix up “ zone ” and also supervise the occupation of a room . That path it will only work to keep the kitchen at your specified temperature when it really detects you in there . Or if you spend all day in your part you probably do n’t call for to occupy about cool off the bedroom so you could have that zona only be monitor at bedtime . That ’s what I did and it felt super dandy !
alas , I last in an NYC flat which mean my cardinal air was n’t install right and it ’s a struggle to keep it maintained by my construction properly . So my chamber ’s airflow is n’t as powerful as the living room ’s and the AC has to run longer to cool down it to the same temperature . That means the AC kick on a lot at nighttime and stays on longer than it does when I ’m in the living room . That ’s not Ecobee ’s flaw ; it ca n’t do anything about too - belittled vent-hole that are ill positioned and installed . If you expect the Ecobee to magically bring around a eminent summertime power bill , you may be out of lot . You ’ll still demand a properly maintained system , amnesia or insulated drape , and plenitude of ceiling fans .
Screenshot:Beestat.io(Fair Use)
I ’ve only been in this apartment a few month so I ca n’t say just how successful the Ecobee has been at keep energy costs down , either . My power companionship ’s app says I ’m about average in energy usance — which I in person chance impressive give all my windows are eastern United States or west facing . The Ecobee app enunciate it still needs more fourth dimension and data to tell me how well I ’m doing , too . But hopping into the app prove me the average run meter for my fundamental air , at least , and well yet it lets me control the whole system from my iPhone , iPad , and even my Apple Watch ( Nest recede this role a while ago ) .
I can also expend theBeestat.ioapp online to look at more data point and more charts . It ’s wholly gratis , but you’re able to pledge to a Patreon if you need to recognise the developer ’s work . While the data is for the most part the same stuff I get on the Ecobee app , it dilute a lot faster and the charts feel more instructive to me . Beestat.io also recommended I convert a few mount the first clock time I log on , and it instantly trim down the number of clip my AC kicked on without making it more uncomfortable in the house . So I ’d call that a profits . It ’s squeamish that it ’s free , but I do wish more of this data was built into the app itself , because I do n’t know how many other people will get as weirdly nerdy about insulant ratings in their rest home and actively assay it out .
Those issues aside , I ’ve really liked the Ecobee ! The grampus feature for me has been the power to relate it to my Apple Home hub . I made the switch to Apple Home at the same metre I moved to get intimate with the hub organization I ’ve used the least , and in an effort to move to a hub system that was n’t quite as frivolous with the data it reaped . When I will the family , a web camera that points out my most easily accessible windowpane pop on and the AC takes a breather . As soon as I ’m within space of the sign of the zodiac again the camera turn off and the AC cranks on — provide me nice and cool when I reel through the door . I could do all this with a Nest and the habit of extra package likeHomebridge , but the entreaty of the Ecobee is it just works — no fiddling with extra software package or worry about dropped backup by amateur developers .
I ’d be neglectful to ignore the Amazon Alexa desegregation . For 95 % of my Ecobee use of goods and services , I have happily allow for it disconnected . The only understanding I did connect it was to test it , in eccentric you reader actually need a diminutive Alexa monitor you from a thermoregulator that congratulate itself on secrecy . ramp up - in Alexa can be a useful feature for some , but adding it is candidly a mistake that ’s at odds with the company ’s mission argument and I hope it vanish from the next version . But if it appeals to you , it ’s there , and it ’s not a full nightmare to set up . Do not endeavor to play music , though — you’ll be disappointed .
Despite the Ecobee not working any miracles and not fixing pre - existing issuance with my own central A / snow system , I still find myself entirely enamored with it . It ’s a good resourcefulness when I start stalking HVAC and home improvement reddits for better tips on insulating my home base , and the sheer volume of data it gives has nurtured my spreadsheet - loving soul . I do n’t have precise proof it ’s keep me money , but I drop half as much on electrical energy as I did at my old topographic point , and my A / C kicks on less often than it sounds like other people ’s do ( at least according to forums dedicate to Fukkianese / maxing your central aviation system ) . I feel like it ’s definitely helped , and for $ 250 , it makes a lot of sense . It cost the same asGoogle ’s Nest Learning Thermostat , can substantiate additional sensors for adept restraint in the home , works with more product , and better protects your data . If you ’re ready to do aside with your ugly previous thermoregulator or have been made wary of uphold investment in your Nest one , then theEcobee SmartThermostatis an absolute succeeder .
README
It ’s the same price as a Nest , but works with more hooey and should be safe about your data because it ’s not owned by Google .
Some controls are only on the thermostat and that ’s irritating .
Third - party apps like Beestat.io are far better for run through all the data it gather .
Correction 8/4/20 743pm ET — A previous variation of this story say the Ecobee 4 , which is no longer available , lacks Alexa . This is wrong , and the story has been update to accurately represent the usable product in the Ecobee line up . We rationalize for the error .
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Photo: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
