Ecobee vs Nest 2018

Long gone are the days of faulty, inaccurate thermostats. We now live in a world where just about everything in our home can be a form of smart technology, and our thermostats are no exception.

Ecobee and Nest are two of the top names in the smart thermostat industry, each promising a unique cooling and heating experience that’s practically automated according to your home’s needs. Both thermostats also say that they can save you money on heating and cooling costs by making your home more efficient.

But, which one is better for you? We’ve researched both so that we could accurately compare each thermostat’s features to help you come to an informed decision. Let’s find out who the winner is, shall we? (Or, if you just can’t wait any longer to find out who wins this matchup, click here).

Which Smart Thermostat Should I Buy for My Home?

When you compare two industry leaders, you might have a tough time figuring out what the differences are between them and why someone might choose one brand over another. When it comes to the Ecobee and Nest thermostats, their similar features might leave you scratching your head. The one you want will mostly boil down to slight differences between the two that will make a difference for your household and home.

Why Buy an Ecobee Thermostat?

Ecobee has two current thermostat models: Ecobee4 and Ecobee3 Lite. Both WiFi thermostats have efficiency and ease-of-use in mind, focusing on making your home cooling and heating “smart” with little to no interference from you necessary.

The Ecobee thermostats are suitable for large homes because you can purchase additional sensors so that the thermostat can accurately control the temperature of each room. This is also beneficial for older homes that tend to have inconsistent temperatures in different areas of them.

Ecobee thermostats pair with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and more devices to give you a super convenient way to control your home’s temperature, even when you’re away.

Why Buy a Nest Thermostat?

Nest has two thermostat models: Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E. These thermostats are designed to let you control them from your smartphone, smartwatch, and various other devices so that you can keep an eye on your home’s temperature from your work desk or the grocery store.

Nest thermostats have a simple setup that can work with most homes and are among the simplest to get started with. In fact, the Nest Learning Thermostat programs itself by learning your family’s schedule, such as when you usually leave and come back each day, and sets its temperatures accordingly to save you money on your cooling and heating bills.

What Could Be Better?

Of course, with a fantastic product comes a few flaws. Fortunately, we can’t find many negative things to say about these smart thermostats. But, the drawbacks of each can significantly affect which one is best for your home, so we feel that it’s important to note them here.

Ecobee – Multiple Room Sensors Can Be Costly

We love that the Ecobee is ingenious technology in that it can automatically adjust the temperature of each room in your home, creating a more consistent temperature throughout. But, this technology comes at an additional cost to you.

The Ecobee4 is $249 for just the main thermostat and one room sensor. Each additional room sensor is about $40. If you want the system to read the temperature in every room of your home, you can easily spend over $200 just on sensors alone, which is almost as much as the Ecobee4 thermostat.

Of course, you don’t have to buy any additional sensors to use the system, but it’s undoubtedly one of the biggest perks that make the Ecobee thermostats what they are.

Nest – Doesn’t Adjust to Each Room

Unlike the Ecobee, the Nest thermostat doesn’t use extra sensors for each room. This might save you money over the Ecobee since the Nest Learning Thermostat is also $249 with no additional costs. But, it also is a significant drawback for homes that don’t have consistent temperatures throughout.

The Nest Learning Thermostat does a lot to learn about your family’s habits and comfortable temperatures. But, without the option of additional sensors, the Nest thermostat may not be as precise as the Ecobee in keeping the temperature of your home comfortable for everyone.

Who’s the Winner?

Our winner of this round is a thermostat that can meet the energy-saving needs for just about any home. That thermostat is the Ecobee!

(If you didn’t read our full reviews, but you want to see why we came to this decision, please click here!)

We love that the Ecobee system gives you the option of placing additional sensors in your home to create an evener temperature throughout. This thermostat has the potential of bringing energy savings to more households with its smart technology, potentially making your initial investment of the thermostat and additional sensors well worth the cost.

We’d love to hear what you think of our reviews and our choice of winner in the comments!

Recap: Ecobee vs Nest

Both Ecobee and Nest are the new faces of the thermostat. They offer incredible technology that can turn your home into an energy-saving machine.

Ecobee offers quite a few ways to hook up your thermostat to your favorite devices to control your temperature with your voice or the click of a button. With the additional benefit of room sensors, you can have an efficient home with more consistent temperatures in each room.

Nest can be controlled by your smartphone, laptop, and various other devices, so you can even keep tabs on your home’s temperature when you’re on vacation. Nest also learns about your habits and preferences, so it can start adjusting itself, leaving you with a virtually hands-free temperature control.

What are the Benefits of a Smart Thermostat?

Perhaps the most significant benefit of having a smart thermostat in your home is that it can cut your energy bill down to a more affordable cost. According to Energy Star, having an Energy Star-approved thermostat, like Ecobee or Nest, can give you about $180 in savings on your energy bill every year. These programmable thermostats make it possible for you to control your home’s energy even when you’re not there so that you don’t use energy when you don’t have to.

And, smart thermostats are just that: smart! They learn what a comfortable temperature is for your home by tracking your preferred temperature and adjusting accordingly. Some smart thermostats, like the Ecobee, monitor the temperature in each room with a sensor to create a more even temperature in your home. Others, like the Nest, can learn, over time, what the best temperature is for your home to save you the most money.

Most smart thermostats also work with other techie gadgets that can create the smartest technology for your home together, all with the purpose of making your life easier and saving you money.

How Do They Work?

Regular thermostats usually have simple control panels that let you adjust the temperature of your home as needed. You can operate it by hitting an up or down arrow to arrive at your desired temperature.

Smart thermostats, on the other hand, do most of the work for you. You can adjust the temperature if you’d like, but the thermostats will also work in the background to learn about your home’s current temperature and how it can help make you more comfortable. The smart thermostat will wirelessly “speak” to your furnace via another installed component and via other sensors, if applicable, in your home to find a comfortable, energy and money saving solution for your home.

You can also control the thermostats with other devices, such as a mobile app or wireless device, for a practically hands-free control of your thermostat.

Can I Use a Smart Thermostat in My Home?

Unfortunately, not all homes are equipped to use a smart thermostat.

High-voltage systems will not allow the installation of a smart thermostat. You can find out if your system is high-voltage by checking the inside label of your thermostat after disconnecting the power. Similarly, proprietary systems won’t work with a smart thermostat. Some types of wiring systems also won’t be compatible, and both the Ecobee and Nest require that your thermostat system has a C-wire.

If you aren’t an experienced electrician or HVAC expert, you should consider hiring someone who is to come to your home and look at your system to determine if your home can use a smart thermostat. If not, don’t worry. You can make some changes that might allow your home to become smart thermostat-compatible, but it will cost some money. Still, the long-term savings benefits may far outweigh your initial costs to get your home smart thermostat-ready.

Some smart thermostats don’t require a C-wire, so you always have them as an option, provided that you have a low-voltage system, which is still a requirement for these types of thermostats.