Ecobee smart thermostat review - 4 years later
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Ecobee smart thermostat review - 4 years later. Get Surfshark VPN at surfshark.deal... Enter promo code UNDECIDED for 83% off and 1 extra month for free! After living with an Ecobee smart thermostat for the past 4 years I’ve gotten to know the good … and bad … of what they can offer. Whether you're concerned about sustainability, saving some money, or both, getting a handle on heating and cooling your home is the best place to start since it accounts for half of our energy use. Smart thermostats are a great addition to any smart home.
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I need a girl to look at me the way Matt looks at his thermostat.
Jeremy H. 😂😂😂😂
Once upon a time, my wife looked at me like that.
@@SChristopherBurford i was about to say the same 😆
Won’t dogs trip the sensors?
🤣🤣🤣 omg this is golden hope you found what you're looking for 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I had a Nest before and enjoyed it but, I changed from ducted heat to whole house mini splits. No more smart control, the system controllers for my units (4) are about 10 years behind times. Does anyone make an after market smart thermostat(s) for mini splits?
Hey Matt, great job! Do you care if I show some of your footage in another UA-cam video and ask people to check our your review?!
Sure ... as long as you keep it to a minimum (ie. don't repost long segments). Just give credit.
@@UndecidedMF Great! Just using a couple short segments; your intro and GeoFence. I even orchestrated some music for you :-) I'll link it when it's uploaded. Thanks!
Picked up a discounted Ecobee back in January through my power company's energy store (they offer discounted LED bulbs and smart power devices. Really like it so far. I moved from having a 2/5 day programmable thermostat at my old place to having a dumb thermsotat at the new one, and love the ability to schedule by the day, love the ability to access the thermostat with an app regardless of where I am. When I come home for lunch my apartment is the right temperature, and I don't have to remember to change the settings before I leave again.
I've had an Ecobee for 4 or 5 years now. I've actually had it in 2 different houses as I moved it with me. A few of the frustrations I've run into is that the averaging also works across comfort settings if you are close to switching over. For instance my home setting uses just the first floor sensors and the sleep uses just the second floor bedroom. The bedroom tends to run cool in the winter, which is fine since we prefer a cool room for sleeping. So home is set to 66 and sleep is set to 62. About 15-20 minutes before switching over to sleep, the average temp starts dropping as it's including the lower temp bedroom (usually 64). So now I'm down stairs with the heat cranking away making the downstairs warmer than I want it and the bedroom is heating up even though it's already warmer than what it will be set to shortly. I've come up with a work around of adding an extra comfort setting that includes the down stairs and the bedroom and is set to 63. This effectively makes sure that the furnace doesn't come on right before bed.
One thing I wanted to not about your occupancy "con", is that, while the interface only shows black and white (occupied or unoccupied) behind the scenes it's supposed to be using a weighted average based on the amount of activity it sense. So in theory if you just walk past a sensor it would be triggered, but it wouldn't have equal weight in the average as the rooms with more activity. There's no real way to test this that I've figured out, but I'm hoping it works as advertised.
Overall I'm very happy with the ecobee and would buy it again.
I'm also 4 years in on my Ecobee 3. The sensors are the weak link. Besides the battery replacement, the sensors DO NOT work (or are unreliable at best), at a distance beyond 30 feet. Less if there are walls between the thermostat and the sensor. I purchased three extra sensors when I installed the head unit, and quickly became frustrated with their inability to connect or stay connected to the thermostat. I ended up using only two of them, which hardly helps. Ecobee support swore that this is unusual, sent me replacement sensors, but same issue. Needless to say, I can't say the payoff in energy savings has been there. Especially now that CV19 has us all stuck at home, the away feature is useless. I'm not unhappy with it, just "meh"....
Love the playfulness of this intro.
Had fun putting it together.
I love this Thermostat.... I spent hours researching before I made a decision. And customer support was / is excellent.
Still love it? Notice any energy savings?
So, what you are saying is that having this device allows information about what is going on inside my house to be accumulated and analyzed by someone outside my house, People who I don't know, and I won't know or have any control over those people, who are getting that data and what it might be used for? Have we learned nothing from the Social Media sites and how they've exploited the data they captured without people's knowledge.
I'm going to throw out an often used phrase but I'm going to put my own twist and meaning on it so I'm not going to quote it. My version goes like this... Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety or Convenience, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
No thank you. I'll just stick to my programmable thermostat so I know no one is keeping tabs on me or my house.
10% energy reduction for 7-10 degrees!?! No way I'd make that deal, 80 degrees in GA humidity is never get any sleep
More for the winter when you’ve gone to work. Doesn’t take nearly as long to heat a house then to get rid of humidity and cool a house down.
Agreed. You can’t do that during summer time in humid clients
As for Cons, the biggest problem is that ecobee averages the temperture reading over a 20-30 minutte period and that is what is displayed and reported. Since the lag is so large, ecobee was unable to control the temperature in my house (10 degree range / +/- 5 degrees), I verified this using a digital thermometer and data logger. I was using 3 remote sensors and tested the system, even pulling down the log files. With a simple fix, ecobbe could have resolved the issue, instead they lost a customer for life. I now have a new thermostat (Venstar) that controls the temperature to with a 5 degree range.
Great when someone breaks in the thermostat will make sure they are at a comfortable temperature.
😂 made me laugh out loud
I like the idea of motion sensors, especially if you’re at work, if we ever leave the house to work again. But, we have cats; two of them who move from room to room 24/7. How does that factor into the “learning” of human habits. Very informative. Thank you!
What about pets? Will motion sensors pick them up?
So, I just set it to the temperature I want when I'm away. And adjust when I get home.
I have a dog and a cat and haven't noticed any false positives ... at least that I've caught/seen. You just set an "away" temp in the settings, and a "home" and "sleep" temp for when you're home. The system basically takes care of the rest.
I’ve never had a sensor issue with 4 cats.
It would be nice if you could use the Motion sensors for other automation devices like lighting🤔
You can through Amazon
Lutron has wall switches that are motion triggered which can be manually turned on as well. They look very nice on the wall which is a plus
You are spot on, I have had an Ecobee unit for years and a sensor in every room and the information and control is very powerful, unfortunately I also utilize a HVAC optimization controller that increases HVAC efficiency by 15 to 45% depending on unit and time of year. Unfortunately the Ecobee is not factoring in the optimization algorithm into its data analyses. It would be great if the Ecobee unit could run the optimization algorithm itself to provide ALL its customers this savings but unfortunately when the technology was offered to them they declined to explore it in depth, something about return on investment for them.
You can add smart vents from Flair or Keen that can fix most of your cons with the ecobee. You can do room level zoning and it works with the Ecobee apparently.
M3D UK thanks! Appreciate the tip.
The only issue is most single stage ac and heat systems suffer when you shut down vents. Shortening the life of your hvac system. Buyer beware.
@@kirbyloewen9106 Can you explain this?
@@joshoooway, it increases back-pressure on the system, making the blower fan work harder. If it decreases airflow over the cooling coils, it can lead to their icing up, which will cause airflow to continue decreasing.
@@Johnny.Fedora is it reasonable to think that zoning a single stage heat and air unit will increase back pressure and overload blower fan in the same way closing registers would?
Any chance we’ll see a follow up on the Hubitat? I’m tech savvy and looking to get one really soon, but any tips or traps to avoid would be appreciated. Also, if you know of (or are investigating) a better new option for locally hosted home automation (other than Hubitat or Home Assistant), please do tell!
The unoccupied mode doesn’t work well since my kids don’t move enough for the sensors to notice. Also the mobile app is limited and doesn’t offer everything the website offers.
Mine turned to crap in two weeks. Had to pay $250 to have a tech come look at my furnace just to tell me my new thermostat was the reason for no igniter function. Returned for a lesser Honeywell brand for $99 and I'm much happier.
Great video Matt...looking into getting a smart thermostat,your walk through video really helped,but still Undecided ,I like the look of the Nest more than the Ecobee,got a few more months to decide as its spring in the UK now
Great video Thank you so much for this explanation.
I'm looking to upgrade, but not sure about which one. Either Ecobee4 or Nest.
Which one would you recommend?
I love our thermostat. It just works. Stays on schedule. Has the weather forecast and an app so I dont have to get up and adjust it.
Thanks again for such a candid review Matt. For now, I have programmed my old honeywell to optimise as much as I can, but this is definitely the next step if I ever look at replacing it. Quite insightful.
people with plants and animals don't really have a need for all this automatic temperature control depending on room location or when away. just a basic time of day temperature schedule is all most people need imo. This sure does give alot of information though and seems top notch. I opted for the new 30 dollar nest though after $100 dollar rebate. this one would be $70 more and I'm not sure I will be using all those extra features.
New to your channel. Thinking about changing my Thermostat... I have a husky and live in AZ so it needs to stay somewhat cool for him when I'm not home.
Good review! I wish you had commented on the build quality of Ecobee vs Nest. I have used a Nest thermostat and they feel so solid and look well made. In the video the Ecobee looked a little plastic-y but couldn't really tell.
Update: I bought an Ecobee 4 and it is plastic-y looking compared to the Nest. Plus, there's an odd bean-shaped window on the front that breaks the continuity of the glass. I am very happy with the functionality and like the menu navigation much better than the Nest thermostat.
IMO, the sensor feature is good for marketing but doesn't work in reality. How can you control temperature to a room when the HVAC produces airflow to all rooms at the same time? The only way you can change temperature to a single room is to manually shut the vent in that room. Closing vents in rooms can cause backflow to the coil in the furnace and that can damage (freezing) to the system especially in A/C mode. The sensors are good for detecting if the house is occupied or not but are useless if you have pets. You would be better off purchasing the Ecobee Lite model and save the money.
DO NOT PURCHASE AN ECOBEE! Somewhere buried in their code is a bug that drops the wifi connection. First you'll see it go off-line a few times then wont connect to your router at all. To add insult to injury, after sales support does not exist. Ive tried 4 times to get through. Been on hold for at least 6hrs total.
Sigh... Can't I just buy a simple replacement for my Sears Programmable Thermostat? $60 24 years ago. If you are controlling them on the web, the bad jerks can too. My jerk adult nephew has proved that to me.
Is there anyway to get the Ecobee to cool past 65F/18.5C? I can't find anyway to adjust the total cooling threshold.
Your grandparents were smart, that's why they didn't "upgrade". I want a thermostat I can quickly set to whatever temp I want. Takes one second. ONE SECOND. No need for 10 minute videos to explain how the dadgum thing works.
Nice comedy moment at the start. If you find another good place to put comedy, please include it!
Ha! Glad you liked it. I'd like to do more of that for sure. Just need to find the right time/place for it.
BAD - impossible to run humidifier and air exchanger all together with furnace fan
I'm having a real difficult time with the 2020 Nest I just bought. Won't work with my 2 wire system. My furnace doesn't have any hookups to power the thermostat and the 24v transformer I bought Won't work because the Nest doesn't have an RH or RC hook up. Will I have better luck with the ecobee lite?
I don’t understand why ecobee uses remote sensors. My house has a singe HVAC system so it’s just a single zone for the entire house. It cannot control individual room temperatures….
I,m a subscriber and have watched and “liked” these videos for 2 or 3 years. However, I pay youtube to not have to watch commercials. I do not subscribe or “like” videos that have commercials, unless the commercials are at the end of the videos. So I will be unsubscribing both of your channels until you quit having commercials in the middle of your videos. Sorry I like both of your channels.
Mine used to be fine. Now it loses the WiFi connection multiple times each day, but recovers when it's rebooted. Support is useless. A waste of money. At another house I have a Honeywell WiFi thermostat that is much less "fancy" but works reliably.
I always use a VPN to protect my data and then promptly ship that data to Ecobee so they can see which rooms I'm in and when.
Getting a smart thermostat with app scheduling has cut my electricity costs almost in half its so great definitely worth the investment and you don't really need anything super fancy Honeywell has one that works for like 70 bucks
How has it cut your bill in half? Very interested in hearing this. Thank you
@@gogators5762 so my electricity company does something called free nights from 9pm to 7am. So everything used during that time is free. That's when we run our ac the most to keep our house cool. It has a schedule during the day to keep it warmer but not too hot to not use too much electricity. I can also use my phone to turn it off remotely when everyone's at work and no one's home to enjoy the ac. Oh and I don't have to get out of bed to change the temperature if we're too cold ;)
@@gottagobuy6436 oh wow!! Very cool! My wife and I have been researching smart thermostat, since we have alot of amazon smart devices already. Amazon has one they just released, that I'm interested in!! I almost bought the Ecobee but held off, then Amazon released one! Our energy company does a similar program that we Def want to take advantage of! Thank you for sharing.
Couple questions Matt: 1) Are the room sensors tied to zone dampers? If not, aren't we simply averaging the house temps? And if that is so, aren't we, by use, treating chronically underused, or slightly used rooms, as part of our comfort goal? (I saw the compensations suggested) If any of that is true, it seems to me this technology has the "comfort" of the structure, and it's attendant utility bill, as of greater importance than me. In other words, my kitchen and second bedrrom are marginally more comfortable, while I'm marginally less. 2) Some programmable thermostats have 'adaptive intelligence.' They learn my house (and then, by extension, my behavior) and so the stat has learned that to be AT set point at 5, when Matt walks in, I need to BE at 70. Ergo, I've learned I have to turn on the HVAC system at 4:12 pm. That scheme would work best if one has a preictable schedule obviously. But if a smart thermostat engages FIRST when it's sensore 'see' me, that is an on demand arrangement. If that's so, don't I have some 'uncomfortableness' in store while I wait for my stat/structure recover some setback? (In other, other words, no"front running capabilities?")
...but you left out the most important cons.
1) The company that makes your thermostat knows exactly what the temperature of your house is at all times; thus it knows when you are home and when you are not (good information for the smart criminal). It also has the ability to change the temperature against your will or deny any changes you want to make.
2) The sensors really were never meant to make the cooling or heating more efficient, they're there to let them know exactly where you are in your house in case they need to eliminate you.
3) The geofence is silly at best. When you go somewhere for a short period of time (couple of hours), it is inefficient to interrupt the temperature cycle as it will take longer to get it back to where it should be; but then again, it wasn't the real reason why they want you to think you need it.
Long time ago, they wanted to chip everyone, but knew it would be hard to convince people to be chipped. Since people love their smart phones and WiFi thermostats, there is no need for them to convince anyone. It's such an ingenious plan because they even get you to spend your own money on it.
What about inverter-driven and variable fan speeds? How about amps or watts it's actually using? Doesn't seem to show that or let you control that. I'm not impressed with Smart Thermostats at all. Motion detection is useless if you're just sitting still (reading) or taking a nap. And geo-fencing only on one phone??? Thermostat tech is disappointing.
This video proves that most people are the victims of marketing and don’t understand anything about HVAC and building diagnostics. Yes it’s nice to have access to all this data and customization but there is no talk about the quality of the building envelope which is the primary cause for heating and cooling. Being in this industry, I can tell you that these kind of devices makes the average homeowner think that they know everything about HVAC while they clearly don’t. Most of the time these gizmos are nothing but lipstick on a pig. Like I said, marketing !
What is the newest best ecobee? Really confused because ecobee website only list gen 3, and the premium version. Then I saw YT reviews for a ecobee5. But Ecobee4 looks to have a newer body sensor. Any idea what is the latest and greatest?
Hi, thanks for the videos, they are very helpful and informative. I was just wondering if you have any idea why ductless systems like Mitsubishi are not compatible with smart thermostats, or seemingly any thermostats? I haven’t found a satisfactory answer, and it seems like a perfect match, each room is a zone, each room has a sensor.
Google is introducing their product into Europe but essentially using the same videos and publicity that it uses in North America. The European version can only control heating, which is OK for Northern Europe, but I live in Spain. 90% of the demand is for air conditioning not heating. Despite this they fill the shops with their product, with no explanation, not even the sales people understand that they will not work with an air-conditioning system. This seems pretty dishonest to me.
I think these things are great if your energy cost remain constant,, for example I could have bought a new six thousand dollar 98% efficient furnace last November to replace my broken down 92% efficient furnace,,, ( in the end I got the heat exchanger replaced for 1500 dollars,, and upped my furnace to 95% efficient,,,
the only thing was ,, our federal government upped our carbon tax by 50% January 1 ,,, so that totally offset any savings
I would have gained even by purchasing a new Furnace,,, and next year our carbon tax will again increase and the year after that
right now the actual Natural gas i burn in January to heat my home is about 55 dollars,,, and 30 dollars was added on in Carbon tax,, let alone the delivery charges and municipal and provincial taxes and on top of that the federal government charges the GST on top of the carbon tax,, tax on tax
if any need proof of these charges I can provide screen shoots of my bills
I have electric baseboard heat. I'd need to run a relay to do the heavy lifting but the ecobee or other low voltage smart thermostat to be the brains of the operation it seems. But now I'm thinking that if I really choose which heaters are set to which Temps via alexa or my computer... maybe just sensors and relays could be controlled WITHOUT the smart thermostat. Hmmmm
i just got rid of the free NV energy thermostat simple for the ecobee 4 30mins ago and im impressed with the HVAC settings and temperature differential and temperature correction just wow. not to mention the reports and how efficiency your home is with graphs and reports and comprehension comparison
Extra sensors are nice but do little to affect how the system performs when it's a single zone HVAC system.
Thanks so much for this video! I won an Ecobee Smart Thermostat and this told me all I need to know about it
Glad it was helpful!
I truly feel bad for people with mercury switch thermostats, they pay ridiculous amounts of money because they are far from accurate. I'm willing to bet if they still have one they're in an aging home and it's not adequately insulated.
One of the few things I don’t like about the ecobee is the wide temperature range of at least 5 degrees. I like the temperature between 70-73 degrees. In the summertime, I have to set the range to 68-73 and in the winter I set it to 70-75. I’d rather just set it to 70-73 degrees year round.
Yeah, I was originally not thrilled with that either, but over time I got used it.
Hi Matt,
I just viewed your review of the Ecobee thermostat. Thanks for a good, solid and informative review.
I have a vision where I would like to control the temperature settings in my home, not only based on mine and my family’s movements and preferences, but also on the outside climate and perhaps even on predicted outside forecasted temperatures. Based on your experience of Ecobee, is Ecobee a good foundation for such automation? Or should I look somewhere else?
Regards,
/Magnus
not sure why, but it is almost impossible to integrate good looking smart thermostat into your smarthome. instead, u'll get only a bulky plastic old-school 1950's thermostat look.
Finally, a helpful video. This was extremely thorough. Excellent job. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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Having ur thermostat measure temp from one location is so bad i think it shouldnt even be up to code. The wireless sensors are great. Thing i question is you have to change batteries. Thats tacky. Should be rechargeable or something
I have two heating and AC units in my house. Do you recommend having an Ecobee on both units? Will i see a lot more savings having the two ecobees? The other unit has a smart thermostat from Carrier which came with unit.
I don’t know why people freak out over these thermostats. I have a nest. It works fine. Looks nice. I barely touch the thermostat to change the temperature so I don’t get all the need for these crazy features. I guess whatever floats your boat
I bought this bull and thinking about installing another thermostat. all those seem sensor at just away to get more money from you. unless you have a separate hvac unit for each individual room. all that temperature sensory bill when you enter a room is hogwash. try that in the south. when the upstairs unit does not detect someone and the temp run up to 80 and now your trying to cool that part of the house off during midday heat.
But is your duct piping smart? When one room calls for heat, the other room may also receive the heat unless the duct in that room is blocked!
Awesome depth knowledge video. I got to know inside out of the system. Couldn’t able to find on internet. Thanks for the information and some learning curve
As much as id like a networked device to know if im home or not, id rather it not be available to those that have some hacking ability.
Tt be nice if there was a smart system that was not networked and was self contained for security.
Treat video Matt, thank you. I'm not sure whether you use Wink, but do you know whether my Wink system (82-devices, currently) can be set up to utilize the motion sensor readings of the EcoBee sensors, so I can program software robots to respond to them? Thank you!
Not sure about that. I don't have much experience with Wink.
Sorry - guess I am old school, but I find that a straight programmable thermostat, coupled with adjustment of HVAC vents is just fine; and a lot cheaper. When my wife and I were working we had two 8 hour setback periods for when we were at work and late evening / sleeping. There's nothing additional with a 'smart' thermostat that resonates with me. I get it that many people love these but I don't get it.
I found Ecobee not useful. Most times I have windows open. I sometimes need heat or cool. Usually just want heat ot cool off.
As usual, exceptional update/review my friend!
Very useful top notch graphics video. But very boring, sorry. Hard to watch.
The intro of this video is one of the dumbest.
Insightful, thorough.... your video has helped make my decision.
Sold!!!! I’ll get one today. But wait, how does it communicate with the controller or does it become the controller.
Another interesting video. I really appreciate your thoughtful presentations. That being said, I have a programmable thermostat (20+ years old), but I couldn't tell you how to program it. I manually turn the temp down when we go to bed, turn it up when we get up, turn it down when we leave for the day, and turn it off when it's nice out. In upstairs rooms that get too warm, I keep the vents closed. I just don't see the need for the never ending adjustments when going from room to room. That's what sweaters are for.
And, besides that, it's one more piece of connected tech in the house that I alone would be responsible for. If the wi-fi goes down, or the internet, or someone's computer or tablet isn't working right, or their phone, or if the multi-device remote goes screwy, or the Roku freezes, or the Blu-Ray skips, or the clocks need to be changed - nobody else has a clue - it's Dad's job to make it right. And that's in addition to the more traditional household items (washer, dryer, dishwasher, stove, fridge, furnace, A/C, water heater, water softener, lights, garage door) that I am mostly not qualified to fix, but am still responsible for getting to work again. Honestly, the simple, old-fashioned analog dial that just makes the house warmer or cooler looks pretty good to me.
@Joey Heh. It's a year later, and we've just had a new furnace and A/C unit installed - and they installed an ecobee smart thermostat, too. I'm still getting to know its features, but so far I like it, much easier to use than our old thermostat - and being able to turn the A/C on from bed is awesome. I managed to link Alexa to it - not as easy as I'd thought it would be, but that's Amazon's fault, I find the whole Alexa ecosystem confusing. I need to install a sensor up in my daughter's bedroom which is always unaccountably warmer than the rest of the house, and I'm looking forward to see if the much more efficient system and thermostat save me money each month. I guess I'm a convert!
Thank you for the content. Now I can make an inform decision before making a purchase.
I did a Ecobee Vs Nest video a while ago - I wish I watched this first, I love your video style.
I can’t even figure out how to install that extra part in my AC circuit board.
Your videos are always polished. Well done!
Thanks, Tony!
Taking something simple and making it fairly complex.
brilliant intro! well done, sir, on entire vid
Thank you! I watched a few videos on Ecobee and none of them mentioned IQ! Great content!
I ENJOYED THE HUMORE IN THE VIDEO , AND THE SMART WAY TO SHOW IT :)
THANK YOU FROM ISRAEL :)
Also if your internet goes down will the system still work even the room sensors still work communicating to the unit and keep working
It continues to work without an internet connection. The scheduling and system models run locally.
Does Ecobee detect pets when humans are away? I wonder how it affects the house temp. We have a cat at home
Nice review. We have 2 ecobees, one for each floor. Also got some remote units but have never used them. Your video has made me think about digging out the remotes. Thanks.
You know you can balance the temps of your rooms using vents with Louvres
That's what I do with the Ecobee. The sensors give you an idea of which ones to close or open and at what times. Through trial and error I've managed to keep every room in the entire house within a 2 degree delta.
I've had a Nest for a few years and am ready to switch. The Nest app and integration is awful, and has caused me nothing but grief. Curious if anyone has upgraded from a Nest learning thermostat to an Ecobee, and has an opinion about it.
Does the averaging you mention mean it runs the fan to balance temperature?
You are not doing a review, you are selling the product.
Thank you for this very useful review. Learned a ton.
I'm confused. You say four years later. Yet the thermostat you link to is the 2019 new 'Ecobee Smart thermostat.' ?? So are you referring to the ecobee3 lite released in 2016? I'm interested in that one and thought this video was based in that one.
Whoops ... should have been the latest version, which is what I'm using right now. But I had been using one of the original ones before that. Hardware wise there's not much of a difference other than improvements to the screen and integration of Alexa on device.
Love the intro man!
I enjoy your video, however I have a question (might be
silly). Would this thermostat work on any furnace? If a sensor is in place on
each room how would the furnace know which room to cool or warm up, do I need
to buy smart vent so it would open and closed with the thermostat. I just don’t
understand how the sensors would work.
This works with pretty much every system out there, but there are exceptions. It's not directing air to specific rooms, but using the room sensors to average the system temperature based on which rooms are occupied. If your family is watching a movie in the living room for a few hours and the rest of the house is empty, it should focus on the living room temperature over the rest of the house. It won't make the temperature throughout the house the same though. If you add smart vents like Ecovent or Keen Vents, they can tie into the Ecobee system and then perform balancing. When a room reaching temp, the vent closes off. The two in combo can work wonders.
@@UndecidedMF I do want this ^
@@UndecidedMF great video! I was leaning towards the ecobee. That was the question I had. Smart vents to help regulate the temperature in rooms too hot or cold. I've heard about Keen vent years ago but I've been getting mixed reviews. Something about the company either losing some of its funding or some technical issues. That was about 2018 just after Lowe's pulled them from the stores. Do you (or anyone reading this) have recent experience with either of these smart vents? One of my smart home goals is to have an Ecobee, sensors and vents all working in unison.
This is all very well but then it needs to communicate with the heating system, mine is old tech so then I need to change this at great expense?
Your thermostat is the communication with the equipment. This just automates a lot of what you would normally do by hand and replaces your thermostat with the Ecobee
I want an integrated smart meter system that can control the heating in each room independently and not "averages"
You would have to update the HVAC system and install auto dampers.
Obviously Ecobee paid this guy for this infomercial. Hate this Thermostat it’s junk
Nope.
I put two of these in my home (2 story) in Texas. I also have solar so I take advantage of a sunny day while at the office by cooling the house a bit more before I get home. That way it will have been using the solar and will stay cooler a bit longer into the evening before having to 'pay' for electricity again. I also have found the batteries are not lasting even 1 year. The fact that the remote sensors came with the unit was a big factor for me to purchase the ecobee over the nest, as well as the upfront cost, was cheaper.
I'm in Houston if you're in a humid area how is it working for you? Have you noticed any savings?
@@stephaniecisneros1003 I live in Amarillo, so not much humidity here. I don't think the thermostats are going to help with saving money. If you are at home during any of the times that you have set to adjust for more efficient temperatures you will automatically change the setting by being 'occupied'. My biggest cost saving was when I put in the new HVAC until. I have two and have replaced the one upstairs which now has the heat pump. That is saving me the money. Now if I can cobble together another $12000 to replace the second unit I'd be all set...
@@JustfishNascar We just replaced ours, they broke at the same time lol. My house is so much cooler, I can be comfortable at 77°.
Ecobee night from Hell
I installed my Ecobee 4 with alexa (the most expensive model) in the summer, made sure every setting was working smoothly including aux heat.
It is winter now, temperatures dropped below -13 Celcius. My auxillary heat wont work. The heat pump is trying to do it all, but the indoor temps are dropping. I try to manually switch to aux heat, nothing happens. I decide I am going to flip the breakers, so i turn the ecobee to off, what happens, the furnace turns ON!!!
So I decide I need to reboot the ecobee, now nothing works, not heat pump, not aux heat, nothing. The display on my app says it is -259 degrees celcius, WTF!
I reset the breakers, hard reset the ecobee, now when I turn on the auxillary heat, just the furnace fan comes on, the ecobee app tells me Stage 1 aux heat is on. Heres the problem, it is supposed to say stage 2 aux heat.
It is 4am now, I am getting desperate, for the second time I reboot the circuit breakers and hard reset the ecobee.
Finally for no reason at all the aux heat works and everything is back to normal.
$450 for a thermostat that I feel like hackers or ecobee support mess with and torture me. What a nightmare.
At 6:55 you say that the biggest benefit for you was that Ecobee has something called "Home IQ" which, indirectly, sends your personal usage info to your neighbors. Is that an option I can disable? What if I believe in privacy and I don't want anyone including Ecobee to know what I'm doing in my house? If I use the Ecobee with Apple HomeKit instead of Ecobee software, does that avoid sending my data to Ecobee? I was about to get an Ecobee but now you've scared me off it. I want a company that respects my privacy.
Great review Matt. Very informative, and this video pulls me in closer to buying it. Although this wasn't an installation video, did you have to install the "C" wire on the main unit? That's what has me "Undecided"
It was recommend to have it to make sure it unit has stable voltage, it comes with adapter you would have to install on furnance side to give it the same effect.
Jason's spot on. It's definitely recommended. I didn't have a C wire and ended up having an electrician run a new wire for me, but may not be necessary in your situation. It's probably worth talking to Ecobee and/or an HVAC specialist to see.
@@UndecidedMF I think the C wire powers the thermostat. Also from what I have read, it looks straight forward and well documented. Thanks for the reply.