ecobee - Smart Thermostat with Voice Control - Black

I have another Ecobee upstairs (the 4th version) and decided to get the newest for the downstairs (5th). The Ecobee 5 is the best yet, not too much different then the 4, it’s bluetooth enabled. Big whop. It plays songs off my skype account and it’s Alexa enabled. I like the updated look and the newer temp sensor. It totally makes the house seem so much cooler, as the original thermostat we set at 74, we had to change the temp in here to 77 which still feels cool! What a difference it makes to have the sensor in the room we are actually spending time! Definitely get this, Google/Nest (even 3rd gen) stinks. I have had all three best systems, other then customer support, I don’t suggest getting a Nest. Too buggy and it would change setting all the time ON ITS OWN, even when I turned learning off and had a set schedule. It’s like someone took it and started playing with the temp somewhere around the world. Possibly hacked by someone. Ecobee makes me happy, and Alexa listens when I tell it to change. Happy purchase.

I was debating getting this model or the ecobee4 since both have the same functions and the 4th gen was on sale for $229. I decided to buy this one and compare it to my friend’s ecobee4 & return it if I wasn’t happy with it. I will say... paying that extra $20 makes a huge difference! The built-in Amazon Echo has much better voice recognition, the device interface operates SUPER quickly (whereas the 3rd & 4th gen have a slight lag when using the interface), and the room sensor included is a newer generation and has a MUCH a better rated battery life than the previous generation of sensors. For all of you smart home enthusiasts out there, the room sensor plays very nicely with Apple HomeKit. The cool thing about these sensors is that they provide more data than just temperature... they’re also occupancy sensors! I purchased 2 additional room sensors along with this. Not only are they providing a more accurate temperature throughout the house... they also save more electricity by turning off the lights in the room they’re placed in when no occupancy is detected (configured via Automations under the Home app)! I also have one of the sensors set to turn on the lights dimmed at night for when I get up to grab a glass of water. Super convenient. It gets better... This thermostat has a “Follow Me” feature, where it utilizes all available room sensors to determine which rooms are & are not occupied. For the unoccupied rooms, the thermostat will not focus on cooling those; it will focus only on the rooms in use! I can definitely say, my A/C has much lesser runtime than it did with my previous smart thermostat (Nest 2nd Gen). I’ve owned this for less than a month & I cannot wait to see how much money this will save me on my monthly electric bill

I replaced a Nest Learning Thermostat with this one and a couple things stood out: First, the installation is easier. Nest makes it very hard to get straightforward install instructions and forced me to call someone in India, whereas with the ecobee, it's fairly straightforward and I was up and running within minutes. Second, it works with other home automation platforms, like Samsung SmartThings. That was a big part of why I wanted to upgrade, and it's much easier to control via SmartThings than the Nest was via its own app! And since it's part of SmartThings you can do a lot more automations even using the Samsung multipurpose sensors to monitor temperature in several places. Which brings me to the last piece -- the room sensor is really nifty. It has a motion sensor so when you inevitably end up spending time in that one room where the A/C flows poorly, it can automatically compensate because it can tell when you're in the room. Neat.

The installation was easy! My advise: I'm going to caution youTube bingers, don't over watch. It's easy to go to the next review or installation tip. You'll find yourself 2 hours later and you've not done a thing! DON'T DO IT! :) Find an installation video you trust, ecobee also provides this. Next Advice - When installing ALWAYS....disconnect the AC from the electric panel and the electric cut off switch at the condenser outside. Don't risk it! You'll end up having to call an electrician and a nice AC technician on the weekend...both are going to show up with a big smile as they are getting paid Double Over Weekend Time.

I was debating between this or Nest and after several reviews chose Ecobee. Both have high reviews but I felt this had more features that I needed in my home. The Nest looks sleeker and more modern, big but I chose functionality over appearance. Both had $75 rebate from my local utility company so check there for extra discounts.

Much better than my last one I used (Honewell). Works well with HomeKit. Easy install and setup. Can be a bit confusing with Homekit but if you remember that Homekit overrides any setting you have in the Ecobee you will be fine. Their customer service is as good as Apple's.

Great thermostat! Easy to install even for someone who has no previous experience of changing a thermostat out. Looks great and works great. We have only had it for a couple weeks now but it has worked well and met the expectations we had so far!

I was going to purchase the Nest but after reading reviews I decided to go with this gem. I don’t regret it one bit.