'Ecobee3 Lite' HomeKit Thermostat Launching for $170 on October 31

Smart thermostat company Ecobee today announced the launch of a cheaper "Ecobee3 Lite" device that will deliver Ecobee's expected "superior comfort, control and energy savings" at $80 less than similar products from competitors, according to the company.

Similar to the flagship Ecobee 3 model, the Ecobee3 Lite has the same touchscreen controls and black aesthetic, and can be controlled from a smartphone through a connected Ecobee app. The cheaper model will also continue to support Apple's HomeKit platform, as well as Amazon Echo, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT.

“The new ecobee3 lite delivers the many features of a premium smart thermostat – beautiful design, superior comfort and an intuitive customer experience – but it’s kinder to our customers’ wallets than leading competitors,” said Stuart Lombard, President and CEO of ecobee. “ecobee3 lite upholds our continued promise to make customer’s lives simpler and better.”

To offset the entry-level cost, the Ecobee3 Lite loses a few features included with its $250 counterpart. Namely, the Lite isn't compatible with the company's room sensors, which Ecobee says help the system become smarter with additional sensors placed in multiple rooms so that the thermostat can accumulate a total view of a home's temperature level. Ecobee3 Lite also lacks smart occupancy detection, and doesn't support accessories like humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and ventilators.

In the United States, users will be able to purchase the Ecobee3 Lite beginning on October 31 for $169. The smart thermostat will be available at retail exclusively at Home Depot locations, and online at Amazon.com, HomeDepot.com, BestBuy.com and Ecobee.com. Canadian users will be able to buy the device for $219 (CAD) on Ecobee's website. To make sure your system is compatible with Ecobee, the company has created a compatibility checker.

Tag: Ecobee

Top Rated Comments

JKColo22

124 months ago

I bought an Ecobee3 earlier this year and returned it a week later. I bought it for the concept of the remote sensors all over the house, but every sensor was at least 6 degrees off compared to my infrared thermometer.

Since the thermostat couldn't do something as fundamentally basic as report the correct temperature, I returned it and bought a Nest 3rd gen. Was bummed that I lost Homekit compatibility, but I discovered Homebridge and got it back.

I love my EcoBee. Temperatures seem to be dead on. I'm skeptical how you were measuring ambient air temperatures with an IR thermometer, which are designed for measuring surface temperatures. The walls and floors of a room are not going to give you an accurate reflection of the air inside the room.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

PhoenixDown

124 months ago

Only mildly on topic, but... are these smart thermostats worth buying if you have heat but no central AC?

I have a NEST in an older home with steam heating system (natural gas furnace). I really like the option to log in through the APP and bump up or down the temperature but because my house takes so long to heat up, I found I don't change the temps much. Yes I may have it higher in the morning and lower in the evening but not much outside that.

edit: On the NEST I like the monthly report showing how I am doing on usage against other NEST customers in the area. I also like the web view option for setting tempatures and times - supports a 7 day schedule iirc. It's a huge step up from my old as sin "pin and dial" honeywell unit.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Alexlfm

124 months ago

I bought an Ecobee3 earlier this year and returned it a week later. I bought it for the concept of the remote sensors all over the house, but every sensor was at least 6 degrees off compared to my infrared thermometer.

Since the thermostat couldn't do something as fundamentally basic as report the correct temperature, I returned it and bought a Nest 3rd gen. Was bummed that I lost Homekit compatibility, but I discovered Homebridge and got it back.

I flat out don't believe this. Either you did something massively wrong (apart from using an IR thermometer to measure ambient temps), you used a defective thermometer, your ecobee unit was faulty, and/or you wanted the ecobee to fail from the start. All of my sensors are within .5 - 1 degrees F when compared to a known calibrated thermometer (compared both to higher end HVAC equipment and my fluke IR that I use for my racing car). I don't know what you were measuring with your IR thermometer but unless you measured objects like tables, chairs, etc. it is doubtful you got an accurate reading. Outside walls obviously often leak and inside walls/floors often have poorly sealed HVAC lines which leak causing temp. variations. Compared to my higher end, multi sensor carrier system I had before the ecobee is actually more accurate by around 1 degree F.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

thisisnotmyname

124 months ago

I'm a big fan of my Ecobee Home Kit capable devices, nice to see them become even more accessible (price-wise).

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Le Big Mac

124 months ago

I've heard a lot of positive things about the Ecobee. I wonder if they track, cache or otherwise mine user Data through their App? That would be a big negative.

Ecobee tracks your usage data on their servers in order to provide reports to you. There is clearly some sort of aggregation of user data because it provides comparisons to other homes of similar size and location.

But Ecobee AFAIK doesn't sell that data to anyone, and they don't have an affiliation like Nest. You can always have a look at their privacy policy on the ecobee website to see if you're comfortable with the information that they do collect. https://www.ecobee.com/legal/use/ My personal take, and YMMV, is that they don't collect more information than needed to provide the services the device offers.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Le Big Mac

124 months ago

Only mildly on topic, but... are these smart thermostats worth buying if you have heat but no central AC?

We're buying our "last house" now and I plan to go deep on smart home automation where possible. Central AC will be added eventually but can't afford it right now.

Yes. You still get the benefits with respect to heat during the winter. Set back at night; warm up during the day; all controllable in the same way as with A/C. Obviously not much benefit during AC season, but that's for the future!

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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