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The Ecobee Smart Thermostat essential is the latest and most affordable air conditioning device. With $ 129.99, it may not offer all functions that you get with more expensive smart thermostats such as your own premium model from Ecobee (249.99 USD), but it works with the most popular smart home automation platform for voice control and device integrations of third-party providers. In contrast, the nest thermostat ($ 129.99) has a more stylish design and a dual band Wi-Fi connectivity, but the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Essentials offers a touchscreen and support for remote room sensors to choose the selection of the selection of the editors.
Design: understated, with a compact touchscreen
The smart thermostat essential works with the most 24 -v gas, oil, heat pump, electrical, forced air and conventional HLK systems and supports two heating/cooling or heating/two cooling levels. The installation requires a C (joint) cable, but you can buy a power extender kit (24.99 USD) as a problem bypass if your house has no C cable.
With its shiny black face and white housing with rounded corners, the essential thermostat looks like most other Ecobee models, albeit smaller. At 3.6 x 3.6 x 0.9 inches (HWD) it is somewhat smaller than the $ 189.99 intelligent thermostat (4.09 x 4.09 x 0.94 inches) and the Smart thermostat premium of 249.99 USD (4.1 x 4.1 x 1.0 inches).
Behind the black glass there is a 2.8-inch full color touch LCD with 320 x 240 resolution. There are 10 pens on the back of the device, which turn to the wiring terminals of the assembly plate. A loudspeaker is located on the bottom.
The center of the LCD shows the current room temperature and just below the target temperature. The top of the screen has a weather symbol that shows the current conditions and the weekly weather forecast when typing. With a system mode symbol above you can switch between cooling, heating and out modes. The screen also has a moisture level and a main menu symbol (three horizontal lines).
Tap the main menu symbol to access ECO+ interior settings that automatically adjust the heating and cooling times to use the energy costs outside the speaker and to configure the temperature settings using the humidity. Here you can also adapt comfort settings for home, away and sleep modes. Other menu selections include memories and warnings, schedules, system and sensor settings, vacation mode as well as Wi-Fi and Apple Homekit pairing.
For comparison, the nest thermostat supports on a touch rod on the side of the device for control and supports no roosters and wipes on its mirrored screen. It is not difficult to use, but it is less intuitive than a touchscreen.
Intelligent functions: voice control, planning and optional remote room sensors
You can control the thermostat with the Ecobee app (free of charge for Android or iOS) or with voice commands if they are combined with Amazon Alexa, Google Home or HomeKit. However, it does not offer built-in Alexa Smart speaker functions and air quality monitoring such as the premium thermostat of Ecobee or an integrated radar occupancy sensor, a feature of both the extended and the premium models. A connection to your 2.4 GHz-Wi-Fi network will establish, but in contrast to the extended and premium versions and the nest thermostat, it does not support 5 GHz-fi.
The thermostat appears in a dedicated panel on the start screen of the Ecobee Mobile app. Tap the field to open a screen with the current room temperature, the comfort setting, the air humidity and the target temperature. To adapt the target temperature, tap reading and use the dial to increase or reduce the setting. Tap the gear symbol in the upper right corner to access the above -mentioned settings for the furnishings. The app also offers helpful reporting on energy consumption.
The essential thermostat can be combined with Ecobee Smart sensors (99 US dollars for a package of two) in order to monitor the movement and temperature in other rooms where the thermostat is installed. For comparison, Ecobees Premium Thermostat is delivered with a smart sensor in the box.
It can also serve as a hub security hub if it is paired with Ecobees door/window sensors (79 US dollars for a pack of two) and the intelligent cameras and doorbells from the brand. For a robust security solution with parcel detection, 30 -day video memory and smoke registration detection, you can subscribe to the standard -Smart security plan of Ecobee 5 USD per month/$ 50 per year. The complete plan of $ 10 per month/90 USD per year adds professional surveillance and potential house insurance discounts around the clock.
Installation and performance: seamless climate control
The essentials are supplied in the box with fastening screws, cable designations and an assembly plate/cable clamp. As with most intelligent thermostats, the essentials are easy to install, but requires working with low voltage cabling. If you are not familiar with it, you might want to hire a professional. You also have to download the Ecobee app and create an account.
I started switching off the electricity to my thermostat on the panel and removing my old thermostat. I labeled my wires before I connected it to the assembly agent, attached the plate to the wall and grabbed the thermostat in place. I typed on the touchscreen, selected my Wi-Fi-SSID and entered my password. The thermostat connected immediately with my WiFi, so that I type next and the instructions to open the app and either follow the QR code or enter the setup code manually. I made the latter, confirmed my cabling and copied the registration code.
To add the device to the Ecobee app, I removed the plus button in the upper right corner of the start screen, selected thermostat from the list and confirmed that the device was already installed. I then entered the registration code to complete the installation.
The essential thermostat worked flawlessly in the test. I had no problems adding it to my Alexa and Homekit accounts, and it immediately reacted to voice commands via both platforms. The touchscreen was also very reaction and made it easier to set the target temperature, the creation of schedules and the configuration of the settings. The commands of Ecobee app were carried out immediately, and the thermostat had no problems sticking to the schedules that I have determined.