I'm looking at either one.. Does any have any experiences? I didn't know where else to post this. It's for our rental house, but I'm into tech stuff.

Love my Ecobee.

I like the remote sensor with the ecobee, my downstairs thermostat is in a bad location so I take it out of my temp calculation. I did buy extra sensors to make it work best for me.

It's a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath townhouse. About 1000 sq feet. 2 beds up and the full bath.
Half bath kitchen and living down. How many sensors do you need? I'm thinking just one in the master and then the actual unit downstairs?

You get one remote sensor with the unit and in my opinion how many sensors is dependent on how much the temp varies across the rooms. The thermostat itself and one sensor might be enough for 1000 sq ft. They may even have a chart somewhere as guidance.

You can also add sensors later if needed.

Awesome. Much appreciated!

Ecobee user for 3 years, one thermostat is the original kind and the other is the current one. Great experience, would buy again. Humidity and temperature control were my objectives.

I've had a Nest and got rid of it for an ecobee3. The sensors and flexibility of the ecobee are great.

I've had a Nest for 3 yrs and if I was buying today I'd get the Ecobee3. I haven't had issues with the Nest, but it doesn't to trending/logging or remote sensors.

What benefit do the sensors provide? Does it just pump more air until a particular room is cooled?

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What benefit do the sensors provide? Does it just pump more air until a particular room is cooled?

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They aren't going to control the airflow to each room, but they will help the thermostat get a more accurate picture of the temperature of your house.

For example, say you have a not always occupied upstairs room that is a 79 degrees when the rest of your house is 75 (the temperature you like). While you aren't upstairs, you can set an option that will realize you aren't upstairs (the sensors have thermometers and motion) and run the A/C until the temp at your thermostat (or where you've placed another sensor) is 75. When it detects you upstairs, it will run the A/C to bring the upstairs temp down to 75 (or, if upstairs and downstairs are occupied, it will run in a way to get the average temp down to 75).

Basically, it can't control the airflow to each room, but it can run the A/C unit in a way that optimizes comfort in the occupied rooms of the house.

Well put. At our place we have the main control in the family room, one remote sensor in the master bedroom and another in the guest bedroom. It doesn't make up for a lack of automated dampers to open or close off airflow to areas, but it keeps bedrooms warm/cool at night regardless of what the unoccupied family room says it is.

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What benefit do the sensors provide? Does it just pump more air until a particular room is cooled?

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They aren't going to control the airflow to each room, but they will help the thermostat get a more accurate picture of the temperature of your house.

For example, say you have a not always occupied upstairs room that is a 79 degrees when the rest of your house is 75 (the temperature you like). While you aren't upstairs, you can set an option that will realize you aren't upstairs (the sensors have thermometers and motion) and run the A/C until the temp at your thermostat (or where you've placed another sensor) is 75. When it detects you upstairs, it will run the A/C to bring the upstairs temp down to 75 (or, if upstairs and downstairs are occupied, it will run in a way to get the average temp down to 75).

Basically, it can't control the airflow to each room, but it can run the A/C unit in a way that optimizes comfort in the occupied rooms of the house.

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I've often wondered about more intelligent a/c ducting and found this online (https://keenhome.io/). Has anyone used this or something similar? Seems like a good way to gain more efficiency.

Has anyone had trouble with the connection dropping to the sensors?

I have not. But I've only been using mine for about 18 months.

I've got a Sensi. Does what it needs to do and was only $112.

Ties in with my echo, has a great app. It doesn't learn but then I work from home or travel, so it is all or nothing for me.

Sensi Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat 1F86U-42WF for Smart Home, Works with Alexa https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HHE60CE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Zxxyxb4B5AE28

So I am not anywhere close to being an expert in this, but would that not end up making the A/C system LESS efficient by only controlling air flow through the room vents (and I guess depending on how your A/C ducting is setup)? I have been told that keeping certain vents in your house closed can throw off the pressure for the A/C (again I have absolutely zero expertise in this).

To me it seems like it would be the most efficient (and admittedly a lot harder) to control air flow through automated dampers (for example: http://www.smarthome.com/sc-how-to-install-an-air-duct-damper) as opposed to individual room vents. You could then cut off air flow much closer to the actual unit and wouldn't lose the excess air that would get trapped at the closed vent.

If you're into tech stuff, buy the radio thermostat ct-50. It's open and stuff.

Had the same decision to make, and ordered an ecobee3 instead of a Nest. I need the extra sensor because I have a two story condo with the thermostat upstairs, so the downstairs is always colder. ecobee3 also supports HomeKit.

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So I am not anywhere close to being an expert in this, but would that not end up making the A/C system LESS efficient by only controlling air flow through the room vents (and I guess depending on how your A/C ducting is setup)? I have been told that keeping certain vents in your house closed can throw off the pressure for the A/C (again I have absolutely zero expertise in this).

To me it seems like it would be the most efficient (and admittedly a lot harder) to control air flow through automated dampers (for example: http://www.smarthome.com/sc-how-to-install-an-air-duct-damper) as opposed to individual room vents. You could then cut off air flow much closer to the actual unit and wouldn't lose the excess air that would get trapped at the closed vent.

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I have gone through my house and ajusted all the vents. Cold rooms= close the vent a little. If you spend a while day (off and on) walking thiugh the house adjusting vents you can get the system to cool down pretty dang uniformly without spending a bunch of money on thermostats

Will you tell me how it is?

Do yall find legitimate savings with Ecobee? I've got about $100 in gift cards on amazon and the ecobee is reduced to under $200.


Also, how was install? I don't have a background in installing electrical items.

Install on Ecobee3 was pretty straightforward just make sure to label wires BEFORE disconnecting from previous thermostat. Ecobee packaging comes with label stickers as well so that makes it even easier.

I just got the Nest a few months back through my retail electric provider for free and have enjoyed it so far. Worked out well that the plan that came with a Nest ended up being the cheapest based on our monthly usage. Normally that is not the case. But that may be something your REP offers. Just take a good hard look at the charges and your monthly usage to see if its worth it.

I have the iPhone app which works great too but there is no (easy) way to interconnect the Nest to Apples Home Kit system. Just something to think of if you're invested in the Apple ecosystem and looking at eventually building a smart home.

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I've had a Nest for 3 yrs and if I was buying today I'd get the Ecobee3. I haven't had issues with the Nest, but it doesn't to trending/logging or remote sensors.

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I love my nests. I have one upstairs and one downstairs. But I wish I had a remote sensor because right now the airflow is restricted to my bedroom and if I had the sensor I'd have more comfort. I'm not going to go out and replace my nests but if I had to do it over again...well...

I have a Nest now, but selling the house and building new. Will install smart thermostats eventually in the new house, and not sure yet which I'll choose but the Ecobee sounds like the smart way to go. Can anyone who has used both tell what any cons are to using the Ecobee over the Nest? (If any exist)

The Nest has been a life changer since we had our first child about 18 months ago... being able to control the thermostat remotely via phone app has been awesome, since our current home was built in 1959 and has a very unbalanced heating and AC system. We wake up in the middle of the night, and if it seems too chilly, just bump it up a degree or two. Same in the summer with the AC.

I will say though that there have been a couple of times that the Nest has driven me crazy... once a buggy software update drained the battery to the point that it wouldn't function. Not a huge deal, since I was able to pull it off the wall and charge it up via USB, (and I guess they fixed that bug in another update), but I just kept thinking "what if that had happened while we were out of town and there were freezing temps outside?" (I live in Denver)

Also, probably software related as well, but the Nest for a while kept losing its WiFi connection so I'd wake up and try to bump up the heat with my phone, only to be told that it was disconnected. I finally did a hard reset on the Nest and that seemed to fix it, but still it was pretty annoying when that happened, as it was pretty random.

By the way, I have a Nest Gen. 2...maybe the Gen. 3 is better about this stuff.

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I will say though that there have been a couple of times that the Nest has driven me crazy... once a buggy software update drained the battery to the point that it wouldn't function. Not a huge deal, since I was able to pull it off the wall and charge it up via USB, (and I guess they fixed that bug in another update), but I just kept thinking "what if that had happened while we were out of town and there were freezing temps outside?" (I live in Denver)

Also, probably software related as well, but the Nest for a while kept losing its WiFi connection so I'd wake up and try to bump up the heat with my phone, only to be told that it was disconnected. I finally did a hard reset on the Nest and that seemed to fix it, but still it was pretty annoying when that happened, as it was pretty random.

By the way, I have a Nest Gen. 2...maybe the Gen. 3 is better about this stuff.

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The Nest does have a battery that is charged from the 24v conductors connected to your unit, but it doesn't operate off of the battery. If the battery voltage does drop under 3.6V then the stat will shut down and it seems that was happening to you. I can't say I've ever experience the same. (have the Gen 2 as well)

I have had issues with the wifi similiar to you where it'll say 'Offline' but then 2min later it'll be back online with no troubleshooting involved. It seems like this is pretty hit or miss.

Through June 22nd, Ecobee3 will be 20% off at amazon, 198 vs 249.

went ahead and purchased the ecobee with some gift cards I have on there..interested to see how it works.

ordered one as well, just moved into a new place, looking to save some money this hot summer

I'm looking to get one for my new place, wondering about the compatability with other devices. Ideally I want the home as integrated as possible.

Follow up question. I have a three story townhome with three thermostats. Do I need to replace all three, or do the sensors somehow help this issue?

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Follow up question. I have a three story townhome with three thermostats. Do I need to replace all three, or do the sensors somehow help this issue?

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It really depends on your configuration, but you likely will need either multiple Ecobees or a professional to rewire the system to use one. Do you know if you have three separate A/C units or is it just one with multiple zones that are controlled by the individual thermostats?

They can do multi zone systems, but it depends on the wiring.

https://www.ecobee.com/2010/07/ecobee-and-zone-control/

With the Ecobee3 below $200, it seems preferable over the Nest. My quandary is that Coserv is offering $100 bill credit to install the next plus $40 for follow-on years if you allow them to throttle your A/C in peak usage. They indicate no more than 16 events over the summer and no more than 3 per week. Plus, as with other REPs, you can always override if you become uncomfortable.

Nest seems to still be fixed at the $249 price point. However, within 13 months I would be out of pocket just over $100. In that situation, does the Ecobee3 still win?

Also, we have an ADT Pulse system which integrates with the Nest (not sure that adds even the slightest value, but throwing it out there).

Thoughts?