Ecobee3 Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat Review
The advancements in technology have completely transformed how thermostats used to be in the past. While the primary job of a best programmable thermostat is still to maintain a comfortable temperature, the advanced features make the process simpler and more accurate. An ideal smart thermostat can be defined as one that is easy to program, simple to install, aesthetically appealing, and most importantly, should be able to save money. However, with a broad range of smart thermostats available in the market, it can be confusing for a buyer to choose one that will suit their requirements appropriately.
If you are one of those who are finding it difficult to choose a smart thermostat for your home, we have an excellent suggestion for you- the Ecobee WiFi Thermostat. If you’ve never heard of Ecobee thermostats in the past, it might be due to the Honeywell and Nest smart thermostats who’ve been stealing the spotlight for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, Ecobee has been creating some highly impressive products, like the original ‘Ecobee Smart’ which was launched in 2009, and received some rave reviews from buyers and experts alike. Then came ‘ecobee Smart Si’ which was a pint-sized advanced version of the original ‘ecobee Smart’.
Ecobee3 Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat was announced in the year 2014 and did an excellent job of enhancing the design sensibilities of Ecobee and combined it with the features for which their thermostats are famous. If you are looking to buy this technological marvel, go through this ecobee3 Smart WiFi Thermostat review to know more about this thermostat.
Features
Highly Intuitive ‘Follow Me’ Feature
Ecobee 3 can be adjusted manually, or you can also adjust it to control your HVAC system automatically on the basis of the temperature recorded in the base unit. Apart from this, you can also activate its Follow Me feature for turning on the HVAC system based on the average temperatures of the selected sensors (more on this later!) that have detected motion recently. Apart from effectively managing the temperature of your home, this feature is also highly power-efficient as only the rooms that you are using will be heated.
4 Heating Stages
While most of the smart thermostats have 2 or 3 heating stages, ecobee3 has four heating stages. With the help of the additional stages, you can configure different heating zones. For instance, the zones can be configured to divert the heat to the living room during daytime and to the bedroom at nights. Just like most of the other smart thermostats, ecobee3 is also compatible with 2 stage cooling systems.
Free Cooling
Ecobee 3 can make use of ventilator systems for circulating outside air throughout your home with the help of Free Cooling process. This is highly beneficial in the summer months when the outside air is usually cooler at nights. It uses fan dissipation for circulating air once your HVAC system turns off. This also allows you to use the leftover heating potential of your HVAC systems, which is usually wasted otherwise.
Thermal Protect
If the thermostat loses wireless connection with the remote sensor or if you have installed the sensor at a sub-optimal location and it measures unusually low or high temperature, the Thermal Protect feature will still keep the temperature of your home comfortable. It does so by allowing you to select a maximum temperature range i.e. the maximum difference in temperature that you want between the coldest or hottest room of your home and the thermostat.
Once the range is selected and the sensor reads a temperature which is beyond this range, the thermostat will understand that the reading is inaccurate and will continue to maintain a comfortable temperature to prevent the excessive running of your heating or cooling system. Moreover, when the thermostat detects that the temperature of your home is below 41F/5C, it will start the heating system to maintain the temperature.
Easy-to-Use Web Portal and App
ecobee3 has a mobile app for Android and iOS phones. One of the most impressive things about the Ecobee app is the fact that the home screen of the app looks just like the interface of the thermostat and allows you to control all the features of the thermostat right from the app. The only minor glitch here is that you cannot activate Follow Me feature from the app.
If we talk about the web portal of this thermostat, it does an excellent job of allowing you to change the settings of the thermostat and monitor it. The portal also has a useful Home IQ tab which can be used to get detailed information about your HVAC system, when it turned on/off, and what factors triggered it.
Compatible with Smart Home Systems
ecobee3 Wi-Fi Thermostat is compatible with many smart home systems as well. While the compatibility is not as vast as Nest, it has an ecosystem of its own and is currently able to talk with Control4, Vera, and SmartThings smart home systems. Also, ecobee3 has an open API, which means that it can be compatible with a lot more systems in future. Moreover, it is also compatible with Siri (with the help of Apple HomeKit), Alexa and Amazon Echo for voice controls.
Apple HomeKit Integration
ecobee3 is the world’s first smart thermostat that is Apple HomeKit-enabled and allows you to control it trough Siri from an iPhone or iPad. However, only the latest version of ecobee3 has this compatibility. Also, if you want to control the thermostat from Siri when you are away from home, you will need AppleTV, which runs on operating system version 7.0 or above.
Benefits
Intuitive Interface
If you love using your smartphone, you’ll surely love the interface of ecobee3 as well. When the thermostat is inactive, you’ll see the current temperature of the room in white on its black background along with a weather icon. As you’ll get close to the thermostat, its motion sensor will activate, and the display will change to a line of small dots that will run vertically on the right side of the interface. These dots are divided into two halves- the top half in blue and bottom half in orange. Each half will also be represented with a number which will be the desired temperature of the HVAC system in cooling and heating mode. For changing the settings, just drag the number up or down.
At the base of the interface, you’ll find three icons. The first icon is for the Menu, which will allow you to set schedules, adjust settings, activate vacation modes, reminders, etc. Middle icon is for the Weather Forecast and reveals the forecast for the entire week and the third icon is for activating Away or Home modes. While the popular Nest is widely appreciated for its minimalist design, many of the Ecobee Smart Thermostat review suggest that it is the ecobee3’s interface that is easier to understand and use.
Easy Installation
While the installation is simpler if you have a C-wire in your home, but if you don’t, the thermostat also comes with an Extender Kit for making up for the missing C-wire. Either way, the Ecobee installation process is not very difficult, and you won’t certainly need any special tools. Unlike many of the other famous smart thermostats, like Nest, ecobee3 doesn’t steal power to help with the installation and functioning, if you don’t have a C-wire, they have their Extender Kit to do the job for you.
Powerful Energy Management Features
Ecobee3 has many effective energy management features, making it one of the most power-efficient smart thermostats. It has Follow Me feature, Auto-Scheduling, DataRhythm Technology, etc. to save energy. Moreover, the DataRhythm Technology evaluates factors, like humidity and outside weather conditions as well, to save an increased amount of energy while also providing enhanced comfort to you and your family.
Above Average Help and Support
Ecobee offers email and phone support, and there is also an online forum where you can discuss your problems with others. However, there is no live chat feature, which some of the other smart thermostat brands do have. Nevertheless, the phone and email customer service are pretty responsive and quick. Moreover, there are many videos on the company’s website as well as YouTube to help you with the installation and know more about the features of this thermostat. It comes with a 3-years warranty which is more than enough to notice any manufacturing defects. Moreover, if you don’t want to install the thermostat yourself and need professional help, Ecobee will also help you get in touch with a local certified installer.
Specifications
- Model Number- EB-STATe3-O2
- Size- Universal
- Voltage- 110 volts
- Color- Black
- Size- 3.9” x 3.9” (Main Unit), 1.7” x 1.7” (Sensor)
- Display- Digital
- Touch Panel- 3.5” Capacitive Touchscreen
- Bulb Type- LED
- Wi-Fi- 802.11b/g/n at 2.4GHz
- Battery- 1 x Lithium-ion (included)
- Average Battery Life- 35000 hours
- Warranty- 3 years
Ecobee3 Remote Sensors
The Remote Sensor is one of the most impressive things about ecobee3 Wi-Fi Thermostat and thus needs a special mention. The included remote sensor can be installed in any part of room within the range to communicate wirelessly with the thermostat to detect motion and temperature on other parts of your home. This kills the need to adjust the temperature manually. ecobee3 comes with one motion sensor, but you can also purchase additional sensors separately. The thermostat is compatible with a total of 32 sensors. More the number of sensors you have in your home, the more intelligent your Ecobee3 will be.
For pairing, the sensor with the main unit, just remove the plastic tab from the sensor, and it will automatically pair with the thermostat. Once the sensor is paired with the unit, you’ll be asked to name the sensor and choose your preferred settings. When it comes to placing these sensors, it is recommended that you should place them in rooms where comfort is important, for instance, your child’s room, home office, etc. or other places that easily get hot or cold. To make sure that the motion sensor can do its job accurately, make sure that you don’t place them in sub-optimal locations, like enclosed spaces, or near the cold or heat source.
- Saves a great deal of energy
- Does an excellent job of considering outside weather condition to maintain a comfortable temperature at home
- Easy installation with or without C wire
- Included remote sensor is very helpful
- Loaded with innovative features, like Follow, Thermal Protect, etc.
- Intuitive mobile app and the web portal
- Aesthetically pleasing
- User-friendly interface
- Compatible with Apple HomeKit
- Compatible with Siri, Alexa and Amazon Echo for voice controls
- Alerts, reminders, and many other advanced capabilities
- Offers enhanced control on the HVAC system
- Temperature slider is a little tricky to use
- No live chat support
- Some Ecobee thermostat review suggests that installation process is somewhat difficult, especially with the Extender Kit
- Comes with a single remote sensor, additional sensor needs to be purchased separately
Reasons to Buy ecobee3
Ecobee3 is usually compared with the Nest Smart Thermostat, and while Nest is more popular than ecobee3, the latter is ahead of the former in a few ways. While both the thermostats make use of motion sensing to determine occupancy at home to adjust the cooling and heating accordingly, Nest is unable to detect motion or temperature in other rooms and can leave you shivering if you are not in the same room in which the thermostat is installed. On the other hand, the remote sensor of ecobee3 does a great job of eliminating this problem. Also, the touch-based interface of ecobee3 is better than Nest’s turn-and-push method of data entry. However, this still depends on your preferences.
ecobee3 Wi-Fi Thermostat is also a great pick for people who want to monitor energy consumption and need flexible scheduling options. Also, with the help of the Extender Kit, it can be easily installed with or without C wire. While some Ecobee review suggests that the thermostat is difficult to install, there are many informative videos on Ecobee’s official website as well as on YouTube to help you out. With hundreds of positive reviews on the internet, it is safe to safe that ecobee3 is indeed one of the best smart Wi-Fi thermostats currently available in the market.
Conclusion
We hope that this ecobee3 Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat review provided you with some great information about the features, pros, and cons of this impressive thermostat. If you’d like to know more about this thermostat, you can use the below available comments section to reach us, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. And don’t forget to visit other pages of our website to meet some other impressive thermostats.
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