- You know that I absolutely love smart home tech,
especially if it can improve your life in the background.
Ecobee is my favorite brand when it comes to
smart thermostats, and they're dropping not one
but two new models this year that I've been testing
for the past couple of weeks,
and in this video, I'm telling you all about them.
If you're interested in either of these,
I will have links down in the description below,
and big shout out to Ecobee for sponsoring this video.
(upbeat music)
First, let's get into the unboxing.
Ecobee is using this recyclable packaging
and packing trays made of tapioca starch,
making them fully compostable.
Starting with the new Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced,
in the box, you'll find the thermostat right up front
and it's got a new design and shape when compared
to the previous generation,
which means you'll need to use the mounting hardware
that's included in the box, as opposed to the hardware
you're already using if you're a current
Ecobee thermostat owner.
Beneath that, you've got a guide, along with some labels
you can use for your wires in order to make them
easier to identify.
Then there's the mounting back plate,
some screws and anchors, and a power extender kit
for those who need it.
Ecobee does also include a trim plate
that you can optionally use, but I prefer the flush look
of the thermostat directly on the wall, personally.
But if you disagree,
the mounting plate is included in the box.
Now, moving on to the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium.
Right away, I noticed there is a Spotify logo on this box,
which the Enhanced didn't have.
You might be wondering why a thermostat would be compatible
with Spotify, which I'll get to in a second.
Opening this up, you'll notice right away that we have
both the thermostat and an Ecobee smart sensor
right up front.
Everything else in the box is the same,
with the exception of the inclusion of the little stand
for the smart sensor.
Now, look here at the back of the Premium model.
You see this area?
That's a built in speaker.
This lets you use it as a Siri or Alexa device.
And to be clear, not just control it with Siri or Alexa,
like you can do with the Enhanced.
You can talk to the thermostat as if it's a dedicated
Alexa or Siri speaker and get feedback
through the speaker built in to the thermostat.
Hey Siri, what's zero divided by zero?
- [Siri] If nothing is divided by nothing,
then there's nothing to divide or divide it with
and the division never happened, so my answer is no.
- [Andru] Hey Sisi, is the front door locked?
- [Siri] Your lock is unlocked.
- Alexa compatibility is fully built in,
while Siri requires you to have a HomePod on your network
to serve as the HomeKit hub.
You can also have it play music through that speaker
using the supported Spotify integration.
I like having it play classical music at a low volume,
which is just cool for the hallway
that I have it installed in.
Installation of the thermostats is easy,
especially when using the labels.
Be sure to turn off the power to the thermostat
at your breaker box.
But if you're uncomfortable with the process,
you can always just hire a professional
to take care of installation for you.
Of course, being smart thermostats,
you can control these manually or by using the Ecobee app,
which also allows for notifications about what's going on
with the heating and cooling in your home.
And you can control the thermostats with the Home app
if you use Apple HomeKit.
Now let's get into some features,
starting with the Smart Thermostat Enhanced.
First, the new design.
I mentioned the design is a bit different when compared
to the previous models, with the most important,
in my opinion, being the larger enhanced display.
While the actual body of the thermostat is smaller,
the screen itself is 50% larger,
making it much more vibrant and useful.
The display is protected by a layer of glass now,
which, in my opinion, is a very nice upgrade
from the plastic found on previous models,
and it also has a more modern rounded design.
Next let's talk about Eco+.
Eco+ is available on both of the new thermostats
and helps you save money on your energy bill
by automatically making small adjustments
to the heating and cooling in your home.
The smart home and away feature senses when your home
is empty and adjusts to save you energy
while also keeping things comfortable.
When you're in the house.
Now, I travel a lot, and not having to worry
about managing the thermostat before I go,
or even in the app remotely, is awesome.
The Ecobee app will keep track of how much money I've saved
and it'll even give me tips
on ways to further improve my savings.
All in all, Eco+ can help you save up to 26% per year
on heating and cooling by taking into account
indoor humidity, time of use, energy prices,
and local demand for even more savings.
Lastly, one of the coolest features of the new models
is the built in radar sensor.
The Ecobee thermostats are able to detect
when someone is home, which helps it know when it should be
heating or cooling and when it should save energy.
On previous models, if your thermostat was in
a low traffic area, then it might not see you
and you'd want to augment with smart sensors.
However, with the new radar sensor built in,
the thermostats now have a 180 degree field of view
that can only detect people around corners,
but can see through glass, walls, and doors,
making presence detection way more accurate.
Seriously, built in radar detection.
How cool is that?
Next, let me tell you about
the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium.
Firs, it's got a premium design.
Sometimes it's nice to have products
that are built to be beautiful,
and that definitely applies here with the Premium model.
What you have here is a body made of sand-blasted zinc
that looks great and feels substantial.
Yes, it's just a thermostat, I get it.
But in my opinion, if you're going to put something
on the wall of your home, you want it to look good
and not be an eyesore.
With the Premium model, Ecobee has found a design
that elevates the game in that respect.
It just looks fantastic.
Next, the included smart sensor.
The smart sensor is useful for people who might
primarily hang out in areas of the home that aren't near
where the thermostat is installed.
For example, if your thermostat is installed in a hallway
on the first floor, like mine is, but you primarily work
from home from your second floor home office,
then the thermostat will likely
not be able to see that you're home,
even if you spend hours at a time at your desk,
that's where the smart sensor comes in.
You can place the smart sensor in an area
that gets more traffic in your home,
and this will let your thermostat know
that the house isn't empty.
It also monitors the temperature
in the area that you place it.
That way, your thermostat can make sure
that the room is at the proper temperature.
You can also monitor that temperature
from the smart sensor in the Ecobee app.
If you need additional sensors,
you can buy them in two-packs from Ecobee for $99,
and the thermostats support up to 32 sensors
for all you ballers out there.
The Smart Thermostat Premium also has a built-in
air quality monitor, so you can check your indoor
air quality right on the Ecobee display or in the app.
This will sense when the air quality in your home is poor
and can send you notifications about it
through the Ecobee app, along with suggestions
on how to improve it, things like opening a window
or changing your air filter.
Just another nice touch to have built in.
Both thermostats also work perfectly
with the entire Ecobee smart home ecosystem of products.
Ecobee also offers smart sensors
for doors and windows,
as well as the smart camera, which I've covered previously.
The thermostats can serve as a hub
for an Ecobee smart security system,
letting you keep tabs on your home and get notifications
from your thermostat, from your smart sensors,
from the smart camera, all remotely.
I'll drop a link to my previous video in the description,
along with the link to where you can pick up
the new thermostat models.
Thanks for watching as always, guys.
I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards, and I will catch you in the next video.