The topic of today’s article is smart thermostats. Specifically, the super smart thermostat from Ecobee.
Ecobee has made multiple thermostats models. In this article, we will highlight the Ecobee3 version.
* Editor’s note: The Ecobee 3 and 4 have been updated and is just called the Ecobee. Read our article about the Ecobee 4: Ecobee 4 Multi Zone: A Smart Thermostat For Multiple Zones
In a Hurry? Here are Out Top Ecobee Multiple Zone Smart Thermostats
Can Ecobee Control Multiple Zones?
Yes, the Ecobee3 and the Ecobee 4 multi zone have one main advantage over other smart thermostats and that is the Ecobee multiple zones feature, which we will discuss later on in the article.
Smart thermostats make use of some of the best revolutionary technology in order to provide comfort.
However, the key point of smart thermostats is that they will help you save money over the old regular thermostats.
Control smart thermostats via a PC, tablet or smartphone, while you are at work, at school, at the grocery store or from the comfort of your home.
The devices give you the option to monitor the temperature in your home, the humidity level, and among other features, can see whether you are home or not.
By using sensors, smart thermostats can monitor if a room or whole house is empty or if people are home and act accordingly. They will either lower the temperature or increase it depending on whether you are home or not, thus saving you a lot of money in the long run.
The Best Smart Thermostat: Ecobee For Multiple Zones
We will now showcase all the key features of the Ecobee3, Ecobee3 Lite and the Ecobee4 in depth!
Ecobee3 Thermostat
Let’s cut to the chase and answer the question that you all want the know: How much will I save by using the Ecobee3 in my home?
The answer is that you will approximately save 23% annually on your energy bill! This, also means that the Ecobee3 will pay for itself in the long run!
Why can I save so much money on my energy bill with the Ecobee3? Simply answered: because the Ecobee3 is smart! Super smart. It is one of the best home thermostats you can have.
Ordinary house thermostats read the temperature in just one room and the whole house gets a temperature based on that one specific room.
That obviously is not ideal as it leaves you with important rooms like bedrooms, living rooms or home offices that are not properly heated or cooled enough. The Ecobee3 has a solution for this problem.
Ecobee, with the Ecobee3 Thermostat, thought about the question: How to make sure that rooms are properly heated or cooled, depending on whether someone is in a room or not? The Ecobee3 comes with a sensor that works via Wi-Fi.
The small wireless sensors can detect if rooms are occupied by people or not and act accordingly. It will provide you with comfort if it detects you are in a room, or it will save you money when you are not by rerouting energy elsewhere, effectively becoming a wireless air conditioner.
Technical information: Ecobee3 Multiple Zones Thermostat
- Product name: Ecobee3 smart thermostat
- The dimensions of the product are: 4 x 4 x 0.9 inches
- The weight of the item is: 1.4 pounds
Ecobee Multiple Zones: Everything You Need To Know About Ecobee Zone Control
The key feature of the Ecobee3 thermostat is the Ecobee multiple zones feature. This feature lets you put Ecobee smart thermostats, or even thermostats from another brand, in multiple zones.
The zoned thermostats are controlled via the web portal and work as they are all network thermostats that use Wi-Fi. Control each zone remotely to your personal preferences.
How Many Ecobee Thermostats Do You Need?
Each zone needs a different thermostat in order to work. Ecobee zone control, however, is easy as you can choose one of multiple Ecobee thermostats that you own from your app and control each zone to your liking.
Therefore, you can easily control the temperature in your home to your liking.
There is also a different option for if you do not want to use multiple Ecobee thermostats and that is to use Ecobee multiple sensors.
Ecobee Multiple Sensors
The Ecobee multiple zones feature is one way to control the temperature in your home, the other option is to use multiple sensors.
You could use one Ecobee3 thermostat and use multiple sensors. The Ecobee3 comes with one free sensor included in the price, however, you can connect up to 32 wireless sensors to one Ecobee3 Wi-Fi thermostat.
Using multiple sensors in the most important rooms, you can increase your home comfort as it detects hot and cold spots. The temperature will be adjusted accordingly and it will help save you money on your energy bill.
The more sensors you have, the smarter the Ecobee3 becomes at providing comfort to where it matters and saves energy in the process.
The Ecobee3 room sensors come with stands and can be placed anywhere. The remote sensors can be bought in a pack of 2 sensors here.
Technical information: Ecobee3 Room Sensor
- Product name: Ecobee3 Room Sensor with stands
- The dimensions of the product are: 2.8 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches
- The weight of the item is: 5.3 ounces
What Do You Need To Know About The Ecobee3 Multiple Zones Thermostat?
The Ecobee3 has a full-color touchscreen so you can easily use the Ecobee3 system. It also comes with free mobile apps to control the HVAC system remotely. In addition, it will report an energy report, alerts and reminders.
Another feature is that it provides free live weather forecasts and software upgrades. Plus all of this is free, so you do not need to pay a monthly fee to use every feature the Ecobee3 has to offer.
The best thermostat for home, also known as the Ecobee3, comes with: one free room sensor, a power extender kit, screws and drywall plugs to mount the thermostat on the wall, standard and large trim plates, a quick start guide, wire labels, installation guide, and a 3-year warranty.
The Ecobee3 is easy to install as there is a detailed installation guide.
Compatibility
The Ecobee3 belongs to the group of smart thermostats that are top rated HVAC systems. HVAC stands for: heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The Ecobee3 is compatible with the following heating and cooling systems you can find in residential homes:
- Conventional (2H/2C)
- Heat pump (4H/2C) including 2-stage auxiliary heat
- Gas, oil and electric
- Dual fuel support
- Humidifier, Dehumidifier, Ventilator, HRV or ERV.
Control the Ecobee3 from Anywhere
Ecobee3 makes a case for being one of the best Wi-Fi thermostats as it can connect to a whole range of popular platforms. Easily control the smart thermostat via Siri or Alexa remotely with your voice.
Use Siri on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and iPod Touch via the Apple HomeKit.
You can also use the platforms Wink and SmartThings to control the Ecobee home thermostat.
The thermostat can also be controlled via Alexa with the Amazon Echo device or Echo Dot.
Ecobee3 vs Ecobee3 Lite
The Ecobee3 Lite Thermostat is cheaper than the Ecobee3 version.
Ecobee3 Lite is similar to the Ecobee3 regular version, however, the lite version does not have certain features.
The lite Ecobee3 does not come with one free sensor included in the price, and also is not compatible with the wireless room sensors at all!
The lite version does not have an occupancy sensor and also does not have accessory control. Accessory control means that you can change the humidifier, dehumidifier and ventilator settings.
It also is not compatible with the Wink hub.
Conclusion: Ecobee3 Lite is the Best Budget Choice for a Smart Thermostat
The Ecobee3 is the best home thermostat you can buy as it has so many awesome features.
These features provide a lot of comforts, and perhaps most important of all it will save you a lot of money on your energy bills!
The top-rated HVAC system is super smart and that shows as it can detect whether people are in a room or not and act accordingly. The smart thermostat is easy to use as it can connect to multiple platforms like the Alexa Echo platform or the Wink hub.
Ecobee 4 Multi-Zone Thermostat
Recently, a newer Ecobee became available on the market. The Ecobee 4. The main question with a new device is always: how does it compare to the older model?
What is the Same? Ecobee3 vs Ecobee4
- The compatibility of both Ecobees with the HVAC system is the same. Check out our compatibility subhead that was discussed earlier in the paragraph.
- The both save 23% annually on cooling and heating!
- The also have the same accessory support system.
- In addition, they both have a 3-year warranty.
In addition, the Ecobee 4 can also make use of the Ecobee multiple zones feature and the Ecobee multiple sensor options.
What is Different? Ecobee3 vs Ecobee4
The Ecobee3 is cheaper than the Ecobee4.
The main difference between the Ecobee3 vs Ecobee4 is that the Ecobee4 comes with a built-in Alexa voice system, whereas the Ecobee3 does not have a built-in voice system. The Ecobee3 does work with Alexa, but you have to buy an Alexa device separately.
Technical information Ecobee4 Multiple Zones Thermostat:
- Product name: Ecobee4 smart thermostat
- The dimensions of the product are: 4 x 1 x 4 inches
- The weight of the item is: 1.0 pounds
Conclusion: The Best Smart Thermostat is the Ecobee3 Multiple Zones Thermostat
After reading our article about the Ecobee thermostat, we hope you have a better understanding of each individual Ecobee thermostat. The best smart thermostat in our eyes is the Ecobee 3 or the newer Ecobee 4 because they offer many smart features.
One of those features is that they are wireless and you can control them from your smartphones, tablets etc. even when you are not in your own home. This alone is just a smart and handy feature of the Ecobee thermostat, because you can turn on your heating in your home when you get off from work and come home to a nice warm home.
Another amazing feature is that the Ecobee will save you a lot of money compared to the older thermostats that are not smart thermostats. One of the reasons the Ecobee will save you money is that it has the ability to set up multiple zones in your home.
Therefore, you can pick and choose which zones are the zones and rooms you spend most of your time in and heat those specific rooms up. The rooms that you barely spend any time in can, therefore, be set to a lower temperature, therefore saving you energy and money!
Another neat feature is that the best smart thermostats can use Alexa and other voice systems to easily control the temperature in a home. The best thing about is that you can tell Alexa, or any other voice system, from your couch or bed to warm up the house.
The main conclusion is:
All of the Ecobee thermostats have minor differences and similarities, however, you will save money if you use an Ecobee thermostat versus an old regular thermostat.
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