The SmartSensor is a compact, completely wireless sensor that runs on a single coin battery, and has an equally modern design, complete with a metal stand.
The thermostat ships with a preconfigured schedule covering overnight and daytime temperatures which should suit most homes. Unlike many thermostats, smart or not, the Ecobee4 comes with one remote sensor. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. I would like to receive mail from Future partners. You might prefer the look of the $249 Nest Learning Thermostat, but it’s now rather old.
Through motion, occupancy, geo-fencing, and ecobee's Haven Home Monitoring service, homeowners can come and go as they please without having to mess with keypads, apps, or fobs.
The gear icon takes you to the Quick Changes screen where you can switch from Home to Away modes, and the microphone icon opens a screen where you can adjust speaker volume, enable or disable the microphone, link Alexa to Spotify, and pair the thermostat with a Bluetooth speaker. The Ecobee SmartThermostat can be integrated with the camera in a number of ways.
In comparison, the Leviton Decora switches I own look and feel just like regular light switches, without that premium appearance you get from ecobee.
You're not going to use this thermostat to entertain guests at a party, but it's good for playing music in the background while you're doing something else, like cooking or reading a book. Second, I wish there could be adjustment for daylight sensitivity, as my sensor activated way to early, when it’s still enough light in a room for me. For starters, the camera has a thermometer built in, so it can be used as a remote sensor for the thermostat. Some competitors also include temperature and humidity sensors as well, which almost seems like a given on a sensor from ecobee, but they are strangely absent. As a result, I have no hands-on experience with ecobee’s other integration options, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Samsung SmartThings. You can learn more about how I make money here. New York,
The Ecobee SmartThermostat offers valuable enhancements over its predecessor, and a more refined experience, without charging a premium.
Unfortunately, the “Turn off after XX” setting in the Home app doesn’t take occupancy into account, so our corner lamp would turn off after 15 minutes, regardless if we were still in the room or not. All images, Videos and logos are the copyright of the respective rights owners, and this website does not claim ownership or copyright of the aforementioned.
They’re above your sensor settings. After setup, I like just how well integrated the sensors are with the rest of my ecobee sensors and through the Haven service. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. My goal was to automatically turn on and off the corner lamp when the chandelier turns on/off. Keep in mind, however, that there’s more to come from Ecobee in the next twelve months and this device may be the trojan horse at the heart of an enhanced smart home ecosystem.
The best technology is the one you don’t have to think about because it works seamlessly in the background without constantly begging for your attention.
I also found the vertical orientation of the ecobee SmartSensor to be slightly odd after using sensors installed horizontally for years, but it doesn't affect performance. If you are confident that the power of the old switch is off, remove it and then take a look inside the switch box.
Well about a week after I added them I get a notification from my ecobee system that my battery is running low, then another shortly after that the sensor battery has died. I’m not a handyman but had no issues installing my ecobee Switch+ in less than 15 minutes.
Despite the improvement, we still prefer Nest’s brighter, more colorful display with larger characters for viewing temperatures at a distance. Plus, both my wife and I have Apple Watches and thus a digital assistant (Siri) on our wrists. To see the current weather conditions and five-day forecast, tap the weather icon. Since the sensor doesn't use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, I expected ecobee's solution to be faster and more consistent than others, but unfortunately, it isn't, which was a little disappointing.
I also liked how the ecobee app keeps things simple for monitoring the home. The thermostat reacted instantly to my temperature change commands regardless of whether I used the touch screen, the mobile app, the web console, or Alexa and Siri voice commands. The Smart Sensor is a 915 Mhz range device which means that you should get good connectivity over a wide area to the required Ecobee Smart Camera or Ecobee Thermostat. The ecobee Switch+ is one of the smartest light switches on the market, featuring advanced sensors and seamless integration with ecobee smart thermostats and home automation platforms, such as Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings and others.
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Ecobee really wants you to use Eco+. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. ❤️, HomeKit Light Switches & Dimmers – Review, Review of the ecobee4 smart thermostat with HomeKit, How Continuous Glucose Monitoring Can Improve Your Health and Fitness, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, IFTTT, Vacation Mode, Indoor/Outdoor Mode, Do Not Disturb, Smart Off, Supports all major home automation platforms, Seamless integration with ecobee thermostats, Built-in smart sensors to detect occupancy, ambient light, and temperature, Integrated far-field microphone and speaker for native Amazon Alexa support. Notifications for events captured by the sensor when the home is armed arrived within a few seconds and were reliable, (although times varied, more on that later) for every occurrence. If you have both the camera and a thermostat in your home, you are given the choice during setup as to which one will act as the hub for the sensors.
You have to use the web console to take advantage of the Home IQ feature, which provides efficiency reports, historical data of HVAC usage, and how outside conditions have impacted your HVAC system.
Ecobee's other smart feature is called Follow Me, which takes advantage of the device's remote sensors to detect which rooms people are in and then adjust heating and cooling accordingly.
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat With Voice Control is loaded with features including Alexa support, a touch display, a remote room sensor, and interoperability with lots of other smart home devices. Prior to joining Ziff Davis, John spent six years in retail operations for Federated Stores, Inc. before accepting a purchasing position with Morris Decision Systems, one of New York's first value-added resellers of the original IBM PC.
At first glance, the answer appears to be very little.
When I unboxed the switch, I could already tell that ecobee used only high-quality plastic that feels good and doesn’t have any flimsy parts.
I disconnected the old thermostat, fed the wires through the back plate, and attached the plate to the wall using the built-in level to ensure a straight installation.