Ecobee3 Thermostat experience?

I’m looking at ‘smart’ thermostats for my three story with a gas/steam one-zone system, and second on the list after Nest in terms of fanfare is the Ecobee 3. It seems to be popular, featureful and allow for remote temp sensors, which is a nice touch.

Does anyone here have any experience with it before I take the plunge?

Thanks

soundhoner

in Heating and Cooling 8 years and 7 months ago

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eman134 | 8 years and 7 months ago

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Hate to be a bit of a luddite, but a “smart” thermostat provides nearly nothing over a conventional programmable thermostat on a single pipe heating system. Get a heating pro to balance the system using appropriately sized vents, and forget the web interface, which gains nothing

Lurker | 8 years and 7 months ago

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if people are happy using them like bliz, terrific, but my point is that other than a fun toy you won’t realistically get much out of a $200 thermostat. If you do setbacks at night, you probably have a programmable do that. In what real world situation are you out and about and realizing it’s 68 at home and you want it to be 72–it’s just not that big and useful of a thing. If you have a rental home, or are gone long periods then sure, or if you have a rental unit for which you’d like to lock it down some but still offer the ability to tweak temps within a range, great. But a month after getting one, you realize you’re not supposed to do drastic setbacks with hydronic/hot water heat setups, and even if you do, that’s easily accomplished with a programmable.

southsloppy | 8 years and 7 months ago

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I got an ecobee as part of the replacement of my Boiler (single pipe gas steam) this summer. So far, great experience, the sensors are useful in that they allow you to see how well the house is heated throughout and to better balance the system.
Just a note that their range is somewhat limited and the sensor on the top floor (4th floor) loses signal more than i’d like. The other two features that i like: system takes into account outside temperature, and ability to program/access the thermostat remotely.
Just in case: National Grid offers a $75 rebate for smart thermostats…

bliz | 8 years and 7 months ago

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I have an Ecobee Smart SI thermostat installed and it’s great. My system is radiant hot water and no central AC. I like that I can control my heat from my iphone anywhere, and that I can see charts of my system efficiency. I also have it connected to some fresh air intake fans that turn on and off depending on outdoor humidity levels. I use a mini-split system for my AC and while the system doesn’t connect to the Ecobee right now, I expect to be able to link them up soon. The web interface is intuitive and easy to control as well.

Lurker | 8 years and 7 months ago

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It’s terrific, but smart thermostats really don’t make much sense or do anything for you unless you have central air and/or forced heat. The Ecobee 3 might be worth a look if you aren’t able to locate a thermostat to your favored location, and so rely on the remote sensor, but otherwise there’s not tons of practical value a $200 thermostat offers versus a $35 7 day programmable.