While other thermostats only read the temperature in one room, some smart thermostats like Ecobee4 and Ecobee3 offer a lot more than that. If you are looking to buy a smart thermostat, Ecobee offers Ecobee4 and Ecobee3 that are some of your best choices.
By using a smart thermostat that comes with a sensor that you can put in different rooms of your house you can check the temperature in those rooms to manage how hot or cold you want the place to be.
We are going to go through each one of these two thermostats so you can have a better understanding of their differences and make the better decision to buy what’s best for your needs.
Differences between Ecobee4 and Ecobee3
Ecobee4 is larger and heavier than Ecobee3
Ecobee4 offers a new feature that you can find in the touchscreen. This feature allows voice control options.
The design of Ecobee3 is improved in Ecobee4. The black part on the device is redesigned and some of the internal wires have been relocated.
In the design of Ecobee3 you could connect Alexa to your thermostat but in the new Ecobee4, this feature meaning Alexa comes as a built-in feature.
Ecobee4 includes speakers.
Ecobee4 has the ability to recognize voice from far away up to a certain range.
Similarities between Ecobee4 and Ecobee3
You can use both of these thermostats with their app that you can get on your mobile phone.
HVAC system is both of these smart thermostats feature.
Both Ecobee3 and Ecobee4 come with room sensors to allow you to check the temperature in different rooms.
They both have energy saver mode which can help you save so much on your electricity bills.
They don’t work with batteries and they are both use electricity to work.
The touchscreen is attached and stapled properly to the whole unit.
Each comes with only one room sensor.
Features
Room sensors: Each of these smart thermostats comes with only one room sensor. Room sensor is a wireless device that you can place in different rooms of your house such as kitchen, living room or bedroom. When you place the sensor in a room, what the sensor does is that it checks the temperature in that room and reports it back to the thermostat. This way if a room is overheated or is very cold the thermostat will fix that issue. Another use of these room sensors is that you can put them on different modes. They offer three modes; away, home, follow me. Because they also detect motion, when you put the mode on away or home the thermostat can adjust the temperature accordingly. Another option that you have is the follow me mode. When you use this mode your thermostat adjust the temperature wherever you go in your house.
Voice recognition: Although both of these smart thermostats have the ability to recognize your voice the Ecobee4 can do a far better job since it has a far-field voice recognition feature. There are also two major problems with this feature. One is that the thermostat is going to pick up the voices of your TV which can turn your thermostat on or off if you are watching the Ecobee commercial, for example. Another issue is that although Ecobee4 is supposed to recognize your voice from far away there have been some reports that the thermostat is unable to recognize the voice from the living room when it is placed in the hallway. However, the build in Alexa helps improve the voice recognition is Ecobee4 and makes it beat Ecobee3 in this feature.
LCD touchscreen: The touchscreen is basically the same in both thermostats except for one feature that has been added to the new Ecobee4. An icon is added on the touch screen of Ecobee4 that allows you to control the build-in Alexa, on or off the speakers, volume, etc. This icon allows the voice control option which Ecobee3 does not have. This feature is added because of Alexa built in and that’s why Ecobee3 does not have this icon. Apart from this feature, the LCD touchscreen is the same in both devices.
PEK: PEK which means power extender kit, in both Ecobee3 and Ecobee4, is designed in a way that you can install the smart thermostat in any house. Normally the thermostat uses C wire but in older houses, you have to connect your thermostat using other ways and by a professional. Remember to not to do it yourself because it can be very dangerous since there is voltage involved in installing the thermostat if you don’t have C wire. If you already have an Ecobee3 and you want to change to Ecobee4 you need to get its own PEK because the wires inside the Ecobee4 has been relocated, so the Ecobee PEK will not work for Ecobee4.
If you want to buy a smart thermostat Ecobee4 can be a great option for you if you would like to receive reports about the temperature from Alexa. You can easily connect your phone to your thermostat by using the app.
But if you are on a budget and you don’t mind not having Alexa built-in device, then Ecobee3 is still a great option for you. Because of the great design of the PEK whether you buy Ecobee3 or Ecobee4 you are able to install your smart thermostat as the installation will not need a C wire.
To buy Ecobee3 lite check out https://www.amazon.com/ecobee-EB-STATE3LT-02-ecobee3-Smart-Thermostat/dp/B06W56TBLN (the main difference with classic version is lacking the support for ventilators, dehumidifiers and humidifiers)
