ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium with Smart Sensor and Air Quality Monitor - Programmable Wifi Thermostat - Works with Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant

Why I switched and what stood out

After living with a handful of smart thermostats over the years, the ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium has become the one I’m content to keep. It strikes a rare balance: thoughtful hardware, straightforward controls, and genuinely useful extras that don’t feel like gimmicks. I installed it in a two-story home with a persistently cooler bedroom and warmer hallway, and the included SmartSensor made an immediate difference in comfort without the micromanagement I’ve grown to resent.

Design and hardware

The hardware feels premium in a way many smart thermostats don’t. The glass front and metal trim make it look like a device meant to live on a wall, not just a touchscreen bolted to HVAC wires. The display is bright, responsive, and easy to read from across the room. Ecobee’s “cinematic” interface translates to clean typography, clear states (heat, cool, auto), and a gentle learning curve.

There’s a small speaker and far-field microphones inside. As a speaker, it’s fine for voice responses and quick news briefings; for music, it’s passable in a pinch but won’t replace even a budget smart speaker. Microphones picked up commands reliably from 10–15 feet away.

Installation and compatibility

If you have a C-wire, installation is very close to plug-and-play. The in-app walkthrough is one of the better ones I’ve used—clear diagrams, labeled terminals, and checks before you apply power. In my case, installation took about 35 minutes including labeling and baseplate leveling.

If you don’t have a C-wire, ecobee includes a Power Extender Kit (PEK). This module installs at the furnace/air handler and lets the thermostat run on systems that otherwise wouldn’t provide enough power. It’s not difficult if you’re comfortable opening the HVAC panel and following terminal labels, but it’s more than a simple wall swap. Expect to budget extra time or hire a pro if your wiring is older, if you have a heat pump with auxiliary heat, or if your system is a bit unusual (boilers, PTACs, or fan coils). The Premium supports most 24 VAC setups—furnaces, AC up to 2H/2C, heat pumps up to 2H/2C plus two-stage AUX, and fan coils with three fan speeds—so chances are good it will work with what you have.

A tip that saves headaches: kill power to the furnace at the switch or breaker before you touch any wires.

SmartSensor: the secret to even comfort

The included SmartSensor is the star. It measures temperature and presence, letting the thermostat prioritize “rooms that matter” instead of just the hallway. I placed mine on a nightstand in the main bedroom. With a Comfort Setting that uses both the thermostat and the bedroom sensor when we’re home and awake, nighttime temperatures stopped seesawing. You can add more sensors for bigger homes or problem rooms, and you can create different profiles (Sleep, Home, Away) that decide which rooms count and when. Pairing is simple: pull the battery tab, scan or add from the thermostat/app, and assign a room.

Voice control and integrations

You can run Alexa directly on the thermostat. If you’re on iOS, Siri is available as well, but it requires an Apple home hub (HomePod mini or Apple TV) to enable Siri on the device. Only one on-device assistant can be active at a time. Google Assistant works via your Google Home ecosystem, though it isn’t “built-in” to the thermostat like Alexa is.

Voice control is genuinely useful here: quick temperature changes, mode switches, and status checks are faster by voice than tapping through menus. For routine adjustments, I still preferred the app, but “Alexa, set the temperature to 69” on my way upstairs quickly became second nature.

Air quality monitoring that’s actually helpful

The built-in air quality monitor tracks indoor air quality and humidity, and provides tips when levels are poor. It’s not a lab instrument, but as a nudge to open a window, run a ventilator, or replace a filter, it’s very good. Ecobee also ties filter reminders to actual runtime, so you aren’t swapping filters just because the calendar says so.

Daily use and scheduling

Ecobee’s strengths show up in day-to-day life more than in spec sheets:

• Schedules and Comfort Settings are easy to build, copy, and tweak.
• Occupancy sensing means fewer manual overrides; the system learns when to prioritize certain rooms.
• Vacation holds are excellent. You can schedule them in advance with start/end times, so you don’t forget on the way to the airport. The system will pre-warm or pre-cool before you return.

The thermostat’s energy-saving messaging is conservative and understandable. Ecobee claims up to 26% savings versus a constant 72°F hold. Your results depend on insulation, climate, and willingness to let temperatures drift, but the tools are there: smart recovery, adaptive learning, and sensible eco limits to prevent wide swings.

Security and extras

The Premium can act as a home monitoring hub. With an ecobee Smart Security subscription, the device can listen for smoke alarm sirens, send alerts during sudden temperature drops, and work with door/window sensors to automatically pause heating or cooling if a window is left open. These are thoughtful touches that connect HVAC control with real-world events. If you’re allergic to subscriptions, you’ll still get core HVAC features without paying extra; just know that the headline safety and entry alerts do live behind a plan.

App experience and accessibility

The app is stable, clean, and logically organized. I like that ecobee respects manual changes and doesn’t fight me by “helpfully” reverting to a schedule without consent. Settings are where you’d expect, and diagnostics (runtime reports, equipment performance) are understandable without being overwhelming.

On accessibility, the mobile app works well with system text scaling and is navigable by screen readers. The on-device UI relies on touch targets and gestures, which may be challenging for some users; the app provides a more accessible control path. If you anticipate accessibility needs during setup, plan to use the app rather than the thermostat’s screen and consider having a second person nearby for the initial pairing and Wi‑Fi steps.

Where it falls short

No product is perfect. Here’s what I noticed:

• Installation can be non-trivial without a C-wire. The included PEK solves it, but it moves the job from “simple swap” to “HVAC panel work.” Not hard, just more involved.
• The built-in speaker is for voice responses, not room-filling music. Spotify support is neat; the audio quality is modest.
• Some advanced features require subscriptions and, in certain cases, additional sensors. The core HVAC experience is complete without them, but the value-add safety and open-window automations are paywalled.
• Regional availability varies. Weather services, voice features, and location-based automations aren’t identical in every country. Check feature availability for your region before you buy.

Who it’s for

• Households with hot/cold spots that want temperature prioritized where people actually are.
• Anyone who values a clear, respectful app experience and hands-off comfort once schedules are set.
• Smart home users who want native Alexa on-device or Siri support through Apple Home.
• Owners of multi-stage systems, heat pumps with AUX, or fan coils who need robust compatibility.

If you want a purely minimalist thermostat with no microphone, or you dislike subscription-linked extras, you may prefer a simpler model. And if you’re wary of wiring at the furnace, consider professional installation.

Final thoughts and recommendation

After weeks of living with it, the ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium did the boring thing that great tools do: it faded into the background while the house felt more consistently comfortable. The SmartSensor eliminated the usual bedtime tug-of-war between hallway and bedroom, the scheduling tools saved me from daily fiddling, and the air quality nudges were timely without nagging. Voice control was reliable, and while I wouldn’t use the speaker for music, it’s perfect for quick commands and responses.

I recommend the ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium. It’s a well-made thermostat first, with genuinely useful smarts layered on top. Just budget time for installation—especially if you rely on the Power Extender Kit—and be clear-eyed about which optional, subscription features you actually want. If your goal is steady comfort, lower energy waste, and an app that gets out of your way, this thermostat earns its spot on the wall.