The era of smart homes is rapidly evolving, and at the heart of this revolution lies the intelligent thermostat. These aren’t just devices for setting temperatures; they are sophisticated learning systems designed to optimize your home’s climate for comfort and energy savings. Among the leaders in this space is the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium, a device that truly embodies the concept of “nesting the learning thermostat.” This top-tier model goes beyond basic temperature control, offering a suite of features that learn your habits, adapt to your environment, and seamlessly integrate into your smart home ecosystem.
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium distinguishes itself with a comprehensive approach to home climate management. It’s not just about setting a temperature and forgetting it. This thermostat actively learns your preferences and home’s thermal characteristics to create an environment that is both comfortable and energy-efficient. One of its standout features is the included remote sensor. This isn’t just a simple temperature probe; it’s a SmartSensor that detects both temperature and occupancy. By strategically placing this sensor in a room that tends to be hotter or colder, you empower the Ecobee Premium to balance temperatures throughout your home more effectively. This ensures consistent comfort, eliminating hot or cold spots and contributing to overall energy savings by preventing over-heating or over-cooling certain areas.
Installation of the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is designed to be user-friendly, with a step-by-step guide available through a mobile app. For homes equipped with a “C” wire – a common wire providing a constant power source – the process is particularly streamlined. Recognizing that not all homes have this wiring, Ecobee thoughtfully includes a C-wire adapter, broadening its compatibility. However, for those less comfortable with electrical wiring, professional installation is a readily available option through Ecobee’s website, ensuring a safe and correct setup.
The true intelligence of the Ecobee Premium lies in its learning capabilities. Similar to the concept popularized by learning thermostats, the Ecobee Premium observes your temperature adjustments and routines over time. Its Schedule Assistant analyzes this data to understand your preferred schedule. Instead of rigidly following a pre-set program, the Ecobee Premium adapts, suggesting optimized schedules based on your actual behavior. This adaptive learning ensures that the thermostat is working in harmony with your lifestyle, maximizing energy savings without compromising your comfort. Furthermore, Ecobee provides users with detailed insights into their energy usage through a dedicated webpage. This transparency allows you to see real-time updates on your energy consumption and thermostat settings, empowering you to make informed decisions about your home’s climate control.
Another key aspect of its learning prowess is Smart Recovery. The Ecobee Premium doesn’t just turn on at a set time; it learns how long it takes to heat or cool your home to your desired temperature. By understanding your home’s unique thermal profile, it intelligently adjusts the start time of heating or cooling cycles. This ensures that your home reaches your preferred temperature exactly when you want it to, eliminating wasted energy and pre-heating or pre-cooling unnecessarily.
Perhaps the most impactful energy-saving feature of the Ecobee Premium is Eco+ mode. While it might be underutilized, according to Ecobee, it’s a powerhouse of efficiency. Eco+ mode leverages humidity data to optimize temperature settings. It intelligently considers how humidity affects perceived temperature, understanding that higher humidity makes a room feel warmer. By factoring in humidity, Eco+ mode can subtly adjust heating and cooling, heating slightly less in winter and cooling slightly less in summer, without sacrificing comfort. This nuanced approach to temperature management is where the Ecobee Premium truly excels at maximizing energy savings.
The included SmartSensor further enhances the learning thermostat experience. Beyond temperature, it also detects presence. This occupancy detection allows for room-based comfort optimization. You can configure the Ecobee Premium to prioritize the temperature of rooms that are occupied. For instance, if you are in a room that tends to be warmer, the Ecobee can adjust the system to ensure that room reaches your ideal temperature, even if it means slightly lowering the temperature in other unoccupied areas. This targeted approach to climate control is both efficient and comfortable, focusing energy where it’s needed most. Additional SmartSensors can be purchased to expand this zone-based comfort system throughout your home.
Going beyond climate control, the Ecobee Premium integrates smart speaker functionality, effectively becoming an Amazon Echo Dot on your wall. With a built-in microphone and speaker, it offers Alexa voice control. This integration allows for seamless voice commands for thermostat adjustments, as well as access to standard Alexa features like calling, messaging, and Drop In. While it supports Spotify playback, multiroom music setup via Alexa is not currently available. However, for users within the Apple ecosystem, Siri compatibility is also present, offering voice control and AirPlay 2 functionality, including multiroom audio capabilities. For those prioritizing privacy, the smart assistant features can be completely disabled in the Ecobee app settings.
The design and build quality of the Ecobee Premium reflect its premium status. Constructed from metal and glass, it presents a polished aesthetic that elevates it beyond basic plastic thermostats. The display is not only visually appealing but also informative, showing temperature, weather, time, and indoor air quality. The air quality monitoring feature is a valuable addition, alerting you to drops in indoor air quality and prompting actions like opening a window or activating an air purifier. Furthermore, following Ecobee’s acquisition by Generac, the thermostat can now display the status of Generac generators, although direct control is not yet implemented.
While the Ecobee Premium offers a comprehensive and advanced smart thermostat experience, a more budget-conscious option exists in the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced. This model omits the built-in smart speaker, remote sensor, and air quality monitor, and features a plastic housing. However, it retains the core HVAC control and learning capabilities of the Premium model, making it a strong contender for those who prioritize smart thermostat functionality without the additional smart home integrations.
Despite its many strengths, the Ecobee Premium is not without minor drawbacks. Installation, while generally straightforward, can present technical questions, particularly regarding wiring configurations. Voice command responsiveness, while generally good, can be occasionally inconsistent. Furthermore, Alexa notifications, if enabled, can become intrusive with spoken reminders for Amazon purchases, requiring manual disabling in the Alexa app settings. Customer support experiences have also been reported as inconsistent, with potential for long wait times and unresolved issues.
In long-term use, the Ecobee Premium has proven to be reliable and effective. Initial adjustments may be needed to fine-tune its learning behavior to specific home environments, but once configured, it operates consistently, providing both comfort and energy savings. Its aesthetic appeal has also been noted, demonstrating that smart home technology can be both functional and visually pleasing.
In terms of privacy, Ecobee collects data relevant to thermostat operation, including personal information during setup and location data for geofencing features. However, users can opt out of geofencing, and Ecobee maintains a policy of not sharing customer data with third parties, emphasizing its commitment to user privacy.
In conclusion, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium stands as a leading example of “nesting the learning thermostat” concept, offering a sophisticated and feature-rich approach to smart home climate control. Its learning capabilities, remote sensing, smart speaker integration, and energy-saving features make it a top choice for those seeking to optimize comfort and efficiency in their homes. While minor flaws exist, its overall performance, design, and privacy considerations solidify its position as a premier smart thermostat in the market.
