Nest vs Ecobee vs Similar: Good or just "Techy" fun?

[bmbutch]

Tried the search, kept coming up with thread not found...so...

Are they worth the $$, do they actually save you money on your electric/gas/whatevs bill, or are they just a cool "techy" thing to have?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

We got a free Ecobee (I think) thermostat from IPL. I haven't installed it. I thought it was just a programmable thermostat, but it's tied in to the internet and a smart phone app. Not gonna happen.

 

[indyblue]

And they can throttle your heat/AC on demand.

If it gets too hot inside your house you can’t turn your AC up.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

And they can throttle your heat/AC on demand.

If it gets too hot inside your house you can’t turn your AC up.

Wow, I didn't even know that. Just another reason for me to not install it.

 

[jkaetz]

From a technology standpoint, Ecobee is above Nest. The Honeywell 8000/9000 series are much preferred by HVAC types and offer similar features but without the flash and claims of being "smart/learning". You're better off setting a temperature schedule manually.

We inherited a pair of Nest thermostats with our house and it only took a few weeks before I turned off all their features and simply used them on my schedule. They would change the temperature because they thought no one was home, and they weren't smart enough to realize that if they let the temp rise in the summer there was no way the system could recover before midnight. Part of that was the system, but in my mind a smart learning thermostat should realize after a couple days of missing its target temp@time that it simply shouldn't let the temp go up even if no one is home.

 

[Mounty09]

I have 2 ecobees on a 2 zone system and am very happy with them. I did set my schedules and let them make suggestions but I haven't taken any of them. I do like that they have individual room sensors. my master bedroom is above my garage and would never be cool enough in the summer so I put a portable ac unit in there. Once I switched to the ecobee with the room sensors I was able to stop using the portable ac unit. They do give you the option to turn off throttling and I did turn it off.

In the end, I don't know if it has saved me money but it definitely hasn't raised my electric or gas bill and I find the house to be more comfortable.

 

[laf]

I have an Ecobee 4 with 8 room sensors. Very happy with it. With the new software out, if you chose to, you can let your power company disable your system during high loads. You can also chose not to allow this. It does work better when connected to the internet because as you use it, it learns your house losses and efficiency and can turn on equipment before your set time so that at the time you chose the house is whatever temperature not just turn on the AC at 5 when I get off work but be 72 degrees at 5 and it's currently 94 outside so it'll take longer because your home can only cool this fast and blah blah. It's also smarter with the room sensors than Nest. If I'm working in the upstairs office all day and don't walk past the main floor sensor it's ok because the office sensor knows I'm home so don't go into away mode. Those sensors also can be told to be ignored or take priority so at night I don't care what the basement temp is but I want my bedroom comfortable so that sensor is the only one it listens to.

Vacation mode is great. Plan ahead for that and you can do extended temperature range and it's still at the temp you want it to be when you get home. Can control your whole house humidifier or dehumidifier. You can set a code so your kids aren't changing it to whatever they want.

I had an Ecobee 2 and sold the house it was installed in but liked it so much I bought a 4 when I got the new home.

It has saved me money only in the sense that it knows when i'm not there so it adjusts the temperature to a wider range. How much money I have no idea. Make a trip out of town for a full day on the weekend and instead of it running the 'im home all day' schedule and keeping the house comfortable for nobody it will keep the systems from wasting energy.

 

[D K]

Wow, I didn't even know that. Just another reason for me to not install it.

That feature has to be turned on to be enabled (I'm the Ecobee). I got the same deal from IPL, the shipped the ecobee, never started giving us the discount, so I never enabled that "Demand mode" setting. It's easy to find in there.

I liked the flexibility of scheduling from my phone, and if we were a little chilly or warm wherever our lazy butts were in the house, it was a quick thing to kick the temp up or down, plus I had it set that scheduled settings would automatically override any local settings in a few hours, in case the kids decided to run the temp up or down on a whim.

We changed furnaces last year, it came with its own smart stat (which I hate, but we're stuck with it), or I'd still be using it.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

That feature has to be turned on to be enabled (I'm the Ecobee). I got the same deal from IPL, the shipped the ecobee, never started giving us the discount, so I never enabled that "Demand mode" setting. It's easy to find in there.

I liked the flexibility of scheduling from my phone, and if we were a little chilly or warm wherever our lazy butts were in the house, it was a quick thing to kick the temp up or down, plus I had it set that scheduled settings would automatically override any local settings in a few hours, in case the kids decided to run the temp up or down on a whim.

We changed furnaces last year, it came with its own smart stat (which I hate, but we're stuck with it), or I'd still be using it.

I've gotten along with a manual thermostat all these years, so I just don't see a need to change now. Big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Not a fan of "If it's new, it has to be better."

 

[Born2vette]

We got a Carrier Infinity system a few years ago that has a smart controller. Definitely a learning curve. I like some of the features (control from the phone, alerts) but the first winter discovered you don’t leave it in auto mode. When the temp set back at bedtime it used the A/C to cool to the set temp when it was below freezing outside.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Plus, I figure if I can access it with my phone, so can any hacker (or utility company) that really wants to.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

When the temp set back at bedtime it used the A/C to cool to the set temp when it was below freezing outside.