The ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is the most feature-packed thermostat in Canada, with a built-in air quality monitor, SmartSensor for room-by-room occupancy detection, and Alexa speaker built right into the display. It learns your schedule, integrates with virtually every smart home platform (Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, SmartThings), and can save up to 26% on heating and cooling costs annually.
Real comments from Reddit, linked to the original thread. Nothing paraphrased.
r/HomeKit11Oct 2024
Ecobee exposes its occupancy and temp sensors individually in homekit...Scheduling is more complicated and granular in Ecobee, some find it more confusing but you can create a bunch of comfort profiles which include high/low temp and sensors and then schedule those throughout the day.
Praise
r/HomeKit3Jul 2024
Ecobee is in a different league. Its best feature is that it comes with sensors you put in various rooms...If your south facing room is always very hot, the sensor will detect that and cool the floor a bit more and try to average out the south room with other rooms.
Praise
r/HomeKit3Oct 2024
I hated our Ecobee and swapped it for a Nest. It was just frustrating...the ecobee would refuse to switch on the ac...Theres apparently a current leakage issue with ecobees that they have never fixed and causes odd issues like this.
Complaint
r/HomeKit8May 2022
I'm more interested in finding out why they never released a software update to fix the awful temperature control on the device itself. Looks like they knew it was an issue after looking at the new one..
Complaint
r/HomeKit2Jul 2024
One thing which sways be to Ecobee is that I can access more granular historical home temperature data. Another is the room sensors. I also like Ecobee's scheduling feature a lot better.
Praise
r/HomeKit2Oct 2024
I also have Starling and when a thermostat went out last year in replaced it with Ecobee. The fan is not exposed to HomeKit as an independent control with Ecobee like it is using Starling. I really miss that feature and regret changing to Ecobee.
Complaint
โ What Works
Built-in Alexa speaker replaces a dedicated Echo device in the same room
Included SmartSensor enables multi-room temperature averaging โ eliminates hot and cold spots
Compatible with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Alexa simultaneously for mixed-ecosystem homes
ENERGY STAR certified with documented 23% average heating and cooling savings
โ ๏ธ Worth Knowing
Requires a C-wire or Power Extender Kit โ older homes without a C-wire need the adapter
Premium pricing at ~$300 CAD โ meaningfully more expensive than Nest or Honeywell options
Better suited to homeowners than renters given installation requirements and upfront cost
ClearPick Verdict
For Canadian homeowners who want maximum energy savings, multi-room sensing, and built-in Alexa in one device. Check with your utility provider โ Canadian rebates of $50โ100 are available in many provinces and meaningfully offset the premium pricing.