The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium ($249.99) is the company’s latest and most advanced connected thermostat. It lets you control your heating and cooling from your phone, plus it supports the Alexa, HomeKit, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and SmartThings platforms. Additionally, this stylish device houses an air quality monitor, comes with a remote room sensor, and can function as both a home security device and a standalone Alexa-powered smart speaker. It’s one of the most feature-packed thermostats we’ve tested, and easily earns our Editors’ Choice award for smart thermostats. 

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Striking Design, Strong Third-Party Support

Ecobee thermostats have always had attractive designs, and the Smart Thermostat Premium is its most aesthetically pleasing model yet. At 4.1 by 4.1 by 1.0 inches (HWD), it’s a hair smaller than the Ecobee Smart Thermostat With Voice Control (4.2 by 4.2 by 1.0 inches), but offers a larger, 4-inch color touch screen made of glass with a 540-by-540-pixel resolution. A black display face and Zinc trim with rounded corners complete the look. The back includes a speaker from which you can play tunes from Amazon Music, Spotify, and via AirPlay.

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In the box, you get the thermostat; a mounting plate with twelve terminals; an optional white wall trim plate; a remote room sensor and stand; a power adapter kit for homes that do not have a C (common) wire; mounting screws; wire labels; and an installation guide. You can place the one included remote sensor in any room to monitor occupancy and control the temperature. A pair of additional sensors costs $99.99, and you can pair up to 32 sensors with the thermostat to help ensure uniform heating and cooling throughout your home. The thermostat uses the sensors to automatically adjust the temperature based on occupancy; they also serve as security devices that send an alert whenever they detect motion.

The Smart Thermostat Premium works with most 24V HVAC equipment, including conventional gas and oil furnaces, air conditioning systems, heat pumps, boilers, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and ventilators. It notably features Ecobee’s new radar occupancy and motion-sensing technology, which allows the device to detect movement from a greater distance than the PIR sensor on previous models. It even registers motion from around corners.

Under the hood are a built-in Alexa voice assistant, an air quality sensor, a Bluetooth radio, and a dual-band Wi-Fi radio. The air quality sensor monitors VOC (volatile organic compounds), humidity, and carbon dioxide levels, and sends an alert when these measurements are in an unhealthy range. It isn’t quite as advanced as a standalone device like the Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor or an actual air purifier, but it’s a nice extra feature to have.

You can use Alexa voice control, which is built in, or Google Assistant/Siri voice commands with a compatible smart speaker, to change thermostat settings, get the news, play music, and check the temperature in rooms with sensors. The Premium model supports Alexa Drop In calls as well as Alexa Calling and Messaging. It also supports the IFTTT and SmartThings platforms.

Alternatively, you can use the device’s colorful display to control the unit, as it offers a wealth of information and settings. In addition to the current indoor temperature, it tells you the indoor humidity level, the current air quality rating (clean or poor), the system mode, the set temperature, and the local weather. You also get menu and voice assistant buttons.

The thermostat has potential as a home security hub, too. For instance, you can add Ecobee …….

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/ecobee-smart-thermostat-premium