Nest vs Ecobee 3 vs all others

[destrekor]

Title sums it up, I'm looking to replace the basic programmable thermostat in my home with a more modern one. I like the learning features of the Nest and constantly keep coming back to it even when looking at others, but... I'm a touch worried about the issues I've seen some report about when it was last updated; it looks like the auto away changed to home/away assist with Eco mode, basically renamed as far as I can tell, but they borked something. Obviously this isn't true AI, but I'd love a thermostat that can turn on an hour or so before I get home, get the house back up to temperature, and that's it.

Now, that's easily accomplished with a $20 thermostat, but I want it to use geofencing and, say it sees I left the office earlier than normal, maybe it turns on then? But it could be an appointment, so...? But say it would be programmed to get it up to temp by 5:30 when I normally get home, so it turns on at 4:30. But what if it sees I haven't left the office at 5, could it then maybe turn off then until it sees I have finally left? Sort of pause it's routine, in a way.

I have a feeling that kind of thing isn't easily accomplished. Home/away will work great when, say, I've left home for the night so it doesn't need to work the heating/cooling that hard. But I do dislike the idea of then getting home and it doesn't start getting back to temp until I've walked in the door. If I want to save energy and turn it down to 55ºF or something, I don't want to be freezing for the next hour.

Any of these scenarios been dealt with by owners of any smart thermostat? Obviously I'd hope to be able to at least control them from an app so I can try to get it up to temp when I feel it should be based on my habits, but I'd truly love to stay out of the app as much as possible. I'm trying to setup things so I can stay out of the Hue app as much as possible and can even refrain from touching my Harmony remote as much as possible. lol I'll do all the work now so I can enjoy peak laziness later.

moved from OT
admin allisolm

 

[joutlaw]

I went with Ecobee since it had sensors. I've been very happy with mine. I didn't have a C wire, but it came with a kit that was easily installed to power the device.

I've found the auto home/away feature to work pretty good with the Ecobee.

 

[destrekor]

Yeah my current thermostat doesn't have a C-wire, but I checked the wiring behind it and there appears to be one, and it does appear to terminate at the wiring panel in the air handler/furnace. I definitely don't care to run something like the Nest without a C-wire. While my current old, dumb one doesn't, it also doesn't resort to power-stealing to charge itself, it uses two standard AA alkaline batteries.

 

[cbrunny]

Title sums it up, I'm looking to replace the basic programmable thermostat in my home with a more modern one. I like the learning features of the Nest and constantly keep coming back to it even when looking at others, but... I'm a touch worried about the issues I've seen some report about when it was last updated; it looks like the auto away changed to home/away assist with Eco mode, basically renamed as far as I can tell, but they borked something. Obviously this isn't true AI, but I'd love a thermostat that can turn on an hour or so before I get home, get the house back up to temperature, and that's it.

I have a nest. Learning is vastly overrated, but I have no idea what they may have borked with the change. In my mind, it was seamless and the new function is way better than auto away.

Now, that's easily accomplished with a $20 thermostat, but I want it to use geofencing and, say it sees I left the office earlier than normal, maybe it turns on then? But it could be an appointment, so...? But say it would be programmed to get it up to temp by 5:30 when I normally get home, so it turns on at 4:30. But what if it sees I haven't left the office at 5, could it then maybe turn off then until it sees I have finally left? Sort of pause it's routine, in a way.

Don't htink the nest alone can do that, but it works quite well with IFTTT and many other products. I'm sure you could swing something that could do that. I don't have mine do anything like that but it does heat to time, meaning I like it a bit warmer in the morning so it heats my house up so its at the target temp when i get out of bed, pretty accurate. I think it uses weather and historical info to calculate how long it takes to heat or cool to a specific temp.[/quote]

I have a feeling that kind of thing isn't easily accomplished. Home/away will work great when, say, I've left home for the night so it doesn't need to work the heating/cooling that hard. But I do dislike the idea of then getting home and it doesn't start getting back to temp until I've walked in the door. If I want to save energy and turn it down to 55ºF or something, I don't want to be freezing for the next hour.

for me not a problem but you can also use the smartphone app to turn it on when you leave the office. We have done this when it turns off when we go away for a weekend. Gives the house a few hours to return to normal temps.

Any of these scenarios been dealt with by owners of any smart thermostat? Obviously I'd hope to be able to at least control them from an app so I can try to get it up to temp when I feel it should be based on my habits, but I'd truly love to stay out of the app as much as possible. I'm trying to setup things so I can stay out of the Hue app as much as possible and can even refrain from touching my Harmony remote as much as possible. lol I'll do all the work now so I can enjoy peak laziness later.

I think we are a ways away from proper automation at a consumer price. For the cost, Nest works. Is it the best? No clue, but integration partners can add a TON of functionality, including smart-vents ($$$$).

 

[Linflas]

I have the Ecobee3 and it has been great. Like joutlaw I went with it because of the sensors, I like that I can program it to pay particular attention to different rooms, especially the bedroom. I can't stand sleeping in a hot bedroom so I have it set to only go by the temperature in there during sleeping hours.

 

[JackBurton]

Another vote for EcoBee3. Like others have mentioned, additional sensors plus longer historical information.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

When the Nest goes back on sale I'm grabbing it. Mostly because I already have the Nest Smoke Alarms and I want it to match.

 

[TwiceOver]

I use a Honeywell programmable thermostat, works great. Alexa compatible. Half the price. Not as many bells and whistles but I have just a single zone forced air system so it works very well for my needs.

The schedule online is what I really needed. My wife works varying hours in the week so I just sit down with her schedule and change it all on the PC and submit. I've never really worried about "when I leave the office" as she always is home before me.

If we go on a trip we just set it to 60 on a permanent hold and then change it from our phone when we get about a half hour out.

 

[notposting]

Have the ecobee Smart Si (older, non-touchscreen version of their original thermostat, basically). Installed in 2014 as soon as we moved into our home, it's been great. Also, *great* data storage/tracking - it has the set points, temp/humidity, heat/ac status, fan status, and outdoor temp - all going back to May 31, 2014. But that helps trying to decide setpoints or seeing how changes affect things.

I would vote for ecobee - also, I would recommend asking them questions on Twitter before any purchase. They are super helpful in my experience.

edit: also, works with Alexa. And there is even an app on WP.

 

[destrekor]

When the Nest goes back on sale I'm grabbing it. Mostly because I already have the Nest Smoke Alarms and I want it to match.

That's partly why I keep going back to the Nest. I've read up on the Nest Protect and really like the sensors they used. Sounds like it helps take advantage of the two styles of smoke detection while minimizing the flaws of both styles. I'd love to have the ecosystem together as opposed to having a combo of tons of unrelated devices.

I'll have to check if the Ecobee works with Harmony, I think it doesn't but can't swear by it. Nest works with Harmony and Alexa for sure, Ecobee with Alexa for sure.

edit: also, works with Alexa. And there is even an app on WP.

App on what?

 

[destrekor]

I have a nest. Learning is vastly overrated, but I have no idea what they may have borked with the change. In my mind, it was seamless and the new function is way better than auto away.

I googled reddit posts because it appears to be more reliable than reddit's search:
here

Not sure what's really going on, it appears to not necessarily be EVERYBODY, but perhaps not everyone is digging that deep into the behavior of their Nest? Dunno, definitely curious. I really, really want the Nest, but I don't want to regret the purchase. I just like the design more. lol

 

[cbrunny]

I googled reddit posts because it appears to be more reliable than reddit's search:
here

Not sure what's really going on, it appears to not necessarily be EVERYBODY, but perhaps not everyone is digging that deep into the behavior of their Nest? Dunno, definitely curious. I really, really want the Nest, but I don't want to regret the purchase. I just like the design more. lol

A quick scan suggests thats a lot of people that care way too much about home automation. If you care that much about having something being automatic that you're willing to put in more time than it takes to just change the thermostat, you're doing it wrong. Nest is a set it and forget it device. Yes it has additional features to it, but it is not a hub of impeccable automation - at least I've never considered it that. It's a smart thermostat. Period. You can do more with it if you go to "works with nest" products though.

I bought a nest because it's nice to look at, has a slick app, works without fuss or worry, is supported by google, and for all the features it packs, its hella easy to use. I can say with confidence that it has paid for itself in energy savings too with the very well designed auto away/eco mode. It is not a data-hub of household automascience. You will not get fancy graphs and charts and cost estimates and stuff. You get the "Apple version" that works well and looks good. If you want crazy additional features that are surely awesome, you may want to go elsewhere.

FWIW, I have had no issues of any kind ever with auto away or eco mode. When the change happened, I knew about it ahead of time because they emailed me, and i thought the change made sense and i was eager for it to update. When it did, it updated automatically and I did nothing except continue to save money.

 

[destrekor]

A quick scan suggests thats a lot of people that care way too much about home automation. If you care that much about having something being automatic that you're willing to put in more time than it takes to just change the thermostat, you're doing it wrong. Nest is a set it and forget it device. Yes it has additional features to it, but it is not a hub of impeccable automation - at least I've never considered it that. It's a smart thermostat. Period. You can do more with it if you go to "works with nest" products though.

I bought a nest because it's nice to look at, has a slick app, works without fuss or worry, is supported by google, and for all the features it packs, its hella easy to use. I can say with confidence that it has paid for itself in energy savings too with the very well designed auto away/eco mode. It is not a data-hub of household automascience. You will not get fancy graphs and charts and cost estimates and stuff. You get the "Apple version" that works well and looks good. If you want crazy additional features that are surely awesome, you may want to go elsewhere.

FWIW, I have had no issues of any kind ever with auto away or eco mode. When the change happened, I knew about it ahead of time because they emailed me, and i thought the change made sense and i was eager for it to update. When it did, it updated automatically and I did nothing except continue to save money.

I care a lot about home automation.

Does your Nest do the "early on" thing, where it starts heating the home before you regularly come home? Because I do what that kind of feature, in a set it and forget it capacity. If I have to use the app to delay things or change things because I'm breaking my routine, that's honestly OK, because I don't see any other thermostat being better at that. At best I could get one to not turn on until I left the office, but by time I got home it wouldn't be anywhere close to up to temperature yet, not likely at least, not if I let it drop to a 10ºF difference. And like was said earlier, IFTTT and other tools can be utilized to improve upon all of that. I'm actually looking into Home Assistant, something that could be fun to play around with.

And honestly, the idea of good home automation isn't "to put more time into it than it takes to just change the thermostat" - not on a daily basis. Yeah, maybe a week or two of working out kinks and getting everything to work well together... but the ideal dream is to get everything configured and then, once it's working smoothly, set it and forget it. I'm OK with that if that is the end result. And then, of course, it becomes a bug, an itch, to keep configuring. How long that lasts is another story, I had that with Android, always updating, always tweaking. Then... I just didn't care to invest the time and introduce new quirks and chase those down. lol

 

[AznAnarchy99]

A quick scan suggests thats a lot of people that care way too much about home automation. If you care that much about having something being automatic that you're willing to put in more time than it takes to just change the thermostat, you're doing it wrong. Nest is a set it and forget it device. Yes it has additional features to it, but it is not a hub of impeccable automation - at least I've never considered it that. It's a smart thermostat. Period. You can do more with it if you go to "works with nest" products though.

I bought a nest because it's nice to look at, has a slick app, works without fuss or worry, is supported by google, and for all the features it packs, its hella easy to use. I can say with confidence that it has paid for itself in energy savings too with the very well designed auto away/eco mode. It is not a data-hub of household automascience. You will not get fancy graphs and charts and cost estimates and stuff. You get the "Apple version" that works well and looks good. If you want crazy additional features that are surely awesome, you may want to go elsewhere.

FWIW, I have had no issues of any kind ever with auto away or eco mode. When the change happened, I knew about it ahead of time because they emailed me, and i thought the change made sense and i was eager for it to update. When it did, it updated automatically and I did nothing except continue to save money.

This is one of the main reasons why I returned my Samsung SmartThings. I was spending so much time reading through their forums and playing with other people's code just to be able to code my smart lock. I ended up returning that along with my z-wave lock and getting the newer model that worked with Apple Home. Plug and play and the app worked right away. I'm leaning towards Nest for the exact same reason. It looks nicer and I don't want to mess with graphs and charts all day. I just want it to work. I could care less about controlling everything and automating from one app. I just put all my "home" apps into a folder called "Home" and tap on what I want.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

And honestly, the idea of good home automation isn't "to put more time into it than it takes to just change the thermostat" - not on a daily basis. Yeah, maybe a week or two of working out kinks and getting everything to work well together... but the ideal dream is to get everything configured and then, once it's working smoothly, set it and forget it. I'm OK with that if that is the end result. And then, of course, it becomes a bug, an itch, to keep configuring. How long that lasts is another story, I had that with Android, always updating, always tweaking. Then... I just didn't care to invest the time and introduce new quirks and chase those down. lol

Sadly that's kinda how it is with all the home stuff right now. Everything still kinda is in its infancy and everyone is trying to push their own ecosystem.

 

[shabby]

Have the ecobee3, reason i bought was due to the sensors, tons of logging and more control over everything that the nest didn't do.

 

[KentState]

Have the ecobee3, reason i bought was due to the sensors, tons of logging and more control over everything that the nest didn't do.

Same reasons here and very happy. We also have a heatpump so it gives me a lot of flexibility on when to run it vs auxiliary heat.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

We have a nest, we really like it. They have a nice look, auto away works great and if you get the nest smoke detectors the thermostat will shut off you furnace if CO2 gets too high, I believe it even sends you an email to alert you. Nice benefit if you have pets.
The nest will never allow the house to get colder than you safe temperature. I have mine set to 45.
This is a big thing to consider. I find the auto away feature to be very useful but the nest needs to be near where you walk past at least occasionally. You don't need to walk by it but with I'd say 5 feet.

 

[destrekor]

We have a nest, we really like it. They have a nice look, auto away works great and if you get the nest smoke detectors the thermostat will shut off you furnace if CO2 gets too high, I believe it even sends you an email to alert you. Nice benefit if you have pets.
The nest will never allow the house to get colder than you safe temperature. I have mine set to 45.
This is a big thing to consider. I find the auto away feature to be very useful but the nest needs to be near where you walk past at least occasionally. You don't need to walk by it but with I'd say 5 feet.

How well does it deal with phone geolocation? I may be in my office upstairs for awhile and the thermostat is on the main floor. If it doesn't have additional sensors I really need it to handle geolocation well. I'm leaning towards the Ecobee due to that, but dammit, the Nest is so purty!

 

[Fanatical Meat]

How well does it deal with phone geolocation? I may be in my office upstairs for awhile and the thermostat is on the main floor. If it doesn't have additional sensors I really need it to handle geolocation well. I'm leaning towards the Ecobee due to that, but dammit, the Nest is so purty!

I haven't set that up so I'm not sure.

 

[paperfist]

How well does it deal with phone geolocation? I may be in my office upstairs for awhile and the thermostat is on the main floor. If it doesn't have additional sensors I really need it to handle geolocation well. I'm leaning towards the Ecobee due to that, but dammit, the Nest is so purty!

You don't have separate heating zones on both levels?

The lack of sensors is definitely a negative with my Nest. I located mine in the living room so when you come home you literally have to go into the last room to get the Nest to come out of away mode.

I know the smoke alarms will act as sensors but I haven't added them yet.

 

[cbrunny]

The smoke alarms only act as movement sensors though, not temperature. Right? Or is that wrong?

 

[paperfist]

The smoke alarms only act as movement sensors though, not temperature. Right? Or is that wrong?

Yes, they'll just detect movement and tell the thermostat that you're not away.

https://nest.com/support/article/Learn-how-Nest-products-work-together

Did the OP say he wants to have the Nest turn on during the drive home?

https://www.automatic.com/apps/nest/

 

[destrekor]

You don't have separate heating zones on both levels?

The lack of sensors is definitely a negative with my Nest. I located mine in the living room so when you come home you literally have to go into the last room to get the Nest to come out of away mode.

I know the smoke alarms will act as sensors but I haven't added them yet.

How many people actually have multiple heating zones? In a home that's under 2000 square feet at least?

 

[destrekor]

Yes, they'll just detect movement and tell the thermostat that you're not away.

https://nest.com/support/article/Learn-how-Nest-products-work-together

Did the OP say he wants to have the Nest turn on during the drive home?

https://www.automatic.com/apps/nest/

Yeah I wouldn't use it all the time, I'd rather have it preheat for longer on most days when I leave at the regular time. And I could get pretty crazy with rules for when I'm not leaving the office on time.

Dammit stop trying to convince me to get the Nest! I see they don't yet have Ecobee integration. But, IFTTT should take care of that.

I've been eyeing the Automatic for awhile, I think it's time to pick one up.