Ecobee VS Nest- Which Smart Thermostat Should You Buy?
Ecobee vs Nest – Which Smart Thermostat Should You Buy? Smart thermostats are the newest method to control your home’s climate. Just like a traditional thermostat, smart thermostats will connect to your heating and cooling system so you can change the temperature.
What’s unique regarding smart thermostats is that they connect to your home’s WiFi too, which allows them to offer a variety of advanced features that your traditional thermostat can’t.
These features not only provide you to get the temperature of your home just right, but they can also actually cut down your energy bill. They do this by setting temperature schedules, monitoring when you’re home, and sensing when you enter or leave a room – all of which support you save energy.
The ecobee smart thermostat and the Nest learning thermostat are two of the most famous brands on the market, but how do you know which is right for you?
Ecobee vs Nest
Before we dive into what exactly the ecobee four and the Nest Learning Thermostat offers, let’s take a look at their specifications.
A Closer Look at Ecobee and Nest Smart Thermostats
There are some key features to consider when you’re looking for the right smart thermostat. We set the Nest and ecobee head-to-head in the following categories to see which one is the best:
- Design
- Setup and installation
- Scheduling
- Energy-saving benefits
- Smart home integration
- Sensors
Design
Nest Learning Thermostat
Nest’s smart thermostat is designed to seem like a modernized classic thermostat. Its round, stainless steel outer ring makes it simple to blend into any decor.
You can also pick between six other colors for the Nest so it can easily match any of the rooms in your home. The high-resolution screen will light up blue when cooling your home and orange when heating your home, making the temperature reading simple to spot, even from a distance.
Ecobee SmartThermostat
The ecobee SmartThermostat has a square shape that matches your typical programmable thermostat. It has a bigger screen, but the base of the ecobee is made of plastic, not stainless steel like the Nest.
However, the ecobee has a touchscreen feature that makes it easy to control your settings right from the thermostat instead of relying on your smartphone and the app.
Winner
The Nest Learning Thermostat’s sleek design performs it looks more like a decoration and less like a thermostat. That, combined with the high-quality stainless steel rim and high-resolution screen, creates the Nest Thermostat the clear winner when it comes to looks.
Setup and Installation
Nest Learning Thermostat
Setting up a Nest Thermostat is relatively simple. They present on-screen, step-by-step instructions, as well as a checklist to make sure your thermostat is working. Nest has a lithium-ion battery inserted inside, which means that it does not require a C-wire to work.
This is great if your home doesn’t have a C-wire, common in many older homes. But be warned – many users had had their HVAC system fail when they didn’t connect their Nest with a C-wire.
Ecobee SmartThermostat
The ecobee SmartThermostat does need a C-wire for installation. If your home doesn’t have a C-wire, the thermostat comes with a power extender kit, so you can still work the ecobee SmartThermostat.
However, it needs you to open up your HVAC system, which can be a bit of a hassle. If your home does have a C-wire, then fixing up the ecobee SmartThermostat will be a breeze.
Winner
We’re calling this one a tie. Although the ecobee SmartThermostat needs you to open your HVAC system if you don’t have a C-wire, the risk of your HVAC system failing without the C-wire connection when hooking up your Nest can’t be ignored. Either way, both brands give easy-to-follow instructions.
Scheduling
Nest Learning Thermostat
This Nest thermostat has the unique ability to see your habits. When you purchase a Nest, you program a schedule so that it can change your home’s temperature settings based on what you input. As you change your thermostat, it will learn these patterns and build a schedule for you.
However, the learning feature might not work if you have a sporadic schedule or a busy household with lots of family members. When you input your schedule, it requires to be done through the app, which has a reputation of being difficult to use.
ecobee SmartThermostat
The ecobee does not have learning skills like the Nest. Instead, your input schedule changes manually. So, even if you are regularly changing the temperature simultaneously every day, ecobee’s schedule won’t adapt. Preferably, you would have to go in and change the schedule yourself.
Winner
The Nest Learning Thermostat comes out on top easily because of its learning capabilities.
Energy-saving Benefits
Nest Learning Thermostat
Nest performed a free study to see just how much Nest users saved on their electric bills. The Nest thermostat saved homeowners between 10% and 12% on their heating costs and 15% on cooling expenses. The Nest’s learning skills also help reduce your energy consumption.
The Nest Learning Thermostat displays a leaf icon, which will show up on the screen whenever you have a temperature setting that uses less energy than your previous temperature habits. With the presence of the leaflets you know precisely when you’re saving money, which may encourage you to adjust your temperature more often to get the best energy savings.
Ecobee SmartThermostat
ecobee also performed a free study and found that ecobee users saved up to 23% on their heating and cooling costs.
Unlike the Nest, the ecobee SmartThermostat does not have a display that indicates you when you’re saving money.
However, the ecobee can adjust your house’s temperature to use less energy when electricity prices are higher, which leads to electric bill savings. This feature is most helpful in areas with time-of-use (TOU) electricity rates.
Winner
This is another tie. Both the Nest and ecobee have unique features that point to energy savings. Which one will save the most depends on how you use the system.
Smart Home Integration
Nest Learning Thermostat
The Nest is compatible with various smart home programs, including Google Home Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Nest, and IFTTT.
Ecobee SmartThermostat
ecobee thermostats are fit with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, and IFTTT. Not only that, the ecobee has a built-in Amazon Alexa speaker.
Winner
The ecobee four is compatible with more smart home hubs, namely Apple HomeKit. The fact that the ecobee also works as an Amazon Alexa is a bonus for smart home device owners.
