What Is Ecobee Smart Home? [Smart Thermostat Guide]

Ecobee Smart Home is an Ecobee smart thermostat feature. It recognizes when someone is in the house when you’re scheduled to be away and adjusts the climate accordingly. It’s the flipside to Smart Away, which is the system recognizing that no one is home when someone’s expected to be there.

It seems like we call anything with a touch screen “Smart” now, but these features are a pretty big leap in terms of technology.

In this article, we’ll dive a little deeper into the Smart Home feature, including:

• What It Does Exactly
• How It Interacts With Your Heating And Cooling System
• How it Saves Your Money
• How To Install It

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about how the Ecobee can make your Havertown, PA home more comfortable and energy-efficient, call or email us at John Cipollone.

How Does The Ecobee Smart House System Work?

To understand this feature, let’s zoom out for a minute. We’ll talk about smart thermostats in general and how they’re a step up from digital and even “Wifi” models.

Better Readings

First, in terms of operation: You can place up to 32 sensors throughout your house. Now, you’re not just measuring the temperature in one room. Instead, you’re regulating the entire house based on an average of all those readings.

Having only one gauge is a limitation of traditional thermostats, and it’s partly why we put up with bedrooms that were too warm in the summer and too cold in the winter. The one thermostat on the first floor can’t account for temperature differences on the second story.

Remote Access

You also hear “Wifi thermostats” mentioned in the same breath as smart models. Both let you control settings through an app on your cell phone, laptop, or tablet.

This way, you can make changes from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection.

Ecobee Smart Home System

Here’s where the Ecobee models surpass the wifi-only models: With the “Smart Home/Smart Away” system, these thermostats make changes independently.

It starts with you programming in your schedule, so it knows when the house is typically empty and when you’re sleeping. Then, the system changes the heating and cooling settings based on what you’re doing.

You can set it to monitor your phone or tablet using geofencing. It knows when your smart device or a family member’s smart device is close or in in your house.

When it detects someone, the system overrides the “Away” settings to warm up or cool down the house accordingly.

Saving Money With A Smart Thermostat

All these features sound cool, but are they worth the added cost? If you’re into tech, the answer is probably already “Yes.” Even if you’re not, the energy savings can tip the scales.

The changes your Ecobee makes aren’t just about comfort. They’re also about efficiency, which lowers your energy bills.

The Smart Home/Smart Away system finds the best temperature levels that keep you comfortable without using any more gas, oil, or electricity than necessary. Imagine someone standing next to the thermostat all the time, tweaking it whenever possible.

Remote Control

On your end, you also have more ways to control and monitor your energy usage. Forget to lower the thermostat because you’ll be away for a while? Do it from your phone.

Something wrong with the heater? In many cases, you won’t know for weeks because it’s working fine but using a lot of resources. That won’t show up until the bill arrives.

With the Ecobee, you’ll get an alert through the app about a sudden spike in energy usage. That can be your cue to call for furnace repair before the problem gets worse.

Installing An Ecobee Smart Thermostat

As you might imagine, installing a thermostat with all these capabilities is a little more complex than a digital model. But, the actual device isn’t all that different from older ones. Without recounting the whole manual here, it’s mostly a matter of connecting the wires running from your furnace and central air.

If you’re replacing an old thermostat versus putting in a centralized heating and cooling system for the first time, then those wires should be easy to find and attach. We still recommend caution, however.

Even though this is straightforward, you’re still working with electricity. And, crossing wires can mean not communicating correctly with the heating and cooling system. A wrong move may require a furnace repair call.

If you’re good with the techy stuff, then you shouldn’t have much trouble linking to your smart devices. You’ll download the apps and follow prompts to link up everything to the appliance in the house.

The last step is setting up the sensors around the house. It’s up to you if you want to mount them or find out-of-the-way spots for them. They’re wireless, so you won’t have to run cords or anything. But, you want to find the most strategic places for them all.

Even still, don’t be afraid to call in a professional! Adding a few extra dollars to your new investment is definitely worth the money if it means avoiding damage to your HVAC system. Or your new smart thermostat not working up to its potential.

Heating and Cooling Service And Installations In Havertown, PA.

Whether you’re thinking about a new smart thermostat, need furnace repair, or want to learn more about how to make your Havertown, PA more comfortable and energy-efficient, call or email us here at John Cipollone! We’ve been in business for decades and are ready to help you with any and all of your heating and cooling needs.