The ecobee3 has always been my favorite one for almost 2 years. Well, the good news is that the family just grew bigger, with the new ecobee3 lite smart thermostat!
Ecobee took the features of its chief smart thermostat and made a ‘Budget-friendly smart thermostat i.e.ecobee3 lite smart thermostat. It’s affordable in comparison to the classic ecobee3, but with some sacrifices.
When it was first launched in October 2016, it didn’t have support for the “room sensors”. This thing put ecobee3 aside from its competition. However, recently ecobee has added the support for those little sensors to the ecobee lite.
Now, what exactly is the difference between them? Mainly it is about accessory support.
What Exactly Is the difference between The Classic ecobee3 And ecobee3 Lite?
There isn’t much difference between them. As ecobee3 lite is also compatible with room sensors now, the main difference is accessory support. Ecobee3 lite isn’t compatible with ventilators, humidifiers, or dehumidifiers.
So, if you have any of these accessories, then you should go for classic ecobee3 so that you can get the full benefit of the HVAC system in your home. But if you don’t own these things, then the lite should satisfy.
One thing here is that ecobee3 lite supports room sensors, but it does not include room sensors. You’ve to get them separately. If your place is smaller with a wide floor plan or is already corded for various zones, then you don’t have to buy the room sensors. You can buy it if you want, it is not really necessary.
Just because there has to be a comparison, the classic ecobee3 smart thermostat has one room sensor, and if you get the bundle, it has three room sensors. It also allows you to add more room sensors. This helps the thermostat to get a perfect understanding of your place’s temperature.
There’s a small difference concerning the unit’s body design as well. The new version i.e. ecobee3 lite has more rounded edges than the classic ecobee3.
What Is Same In Both The Models?
Almost everything is the same. Here’s a list of features that are the same in the classic ecobee3 and ecobee3 lite:
- Excellent 3.5″ touch screen.
- Easy to use the app
- Simple installation process
- Can connect with your Amazon Alexa. You can control it with voice commands through Echo Dot or Echo.
- Supports Apple HomeKit as well.
- Routine usage reports.
- Provides the very average energy savings of 23% on bills.
- Includes power extender kit (PEK), for the system if it doesn’t have a C-wire.
- Comes with a 3-year warranty.
- Practically, it’s the same thing. It has only reduced room sensors and accessory support.
A Quick Review Of ecobee3 lite
This product is a 5-star product. The classic ecobee3 is nearly a 4.5, however, the ecobee3 lite has won it. It comes with the best ecobee3 design, allows you to pick the add-on room sensors as per your preferences, is compatible with the bulk of systems, and on top of that, it is a budget-friendly smart thermostat. As it includes the PEK, it even operates with the systems without any C-wire.
This is the smart thermostat you should get. Now, who should get the ecobee3 lite?
- Budget-conscious buyers.
- If your home has several zones. This helps in saving energy costs.
- Smaller homes and wide floor plan homes that don’t truly profit from several sensors.
- Users who might need to get a sensor later.
The classic ecobee3 is still supported and available. However, if you always wanted to get an ecobee3, but you didn’t want to get any room sensors or the prices were a bit high as per your budget, then the ecobee3 lite is the one for you.
The lite model is composed and can easily compete with the smart thermostat of the affordable range such as Emerson Sensi and LuxGEO. As it has not reduced any features of ecobee3 that made it great.
If you already own an ecobee3, then there’s no need to change. The lite version isn’t an upgraded one. The thermostat unit is almost the same size as well. And the interface and apps are also the same.Ecobee3 lite couldn’t be on the go-to-advice list, as ecobee says that the lite is launched in a limited quantity.
Wrapping it up
As ecobee has mentioned about this being a limited launch, however, they’re still in stock, so what are you waiting for? Go ahead and pick one of the new ecobee3 lite is just like how you wanted your thermostat to be. Thanks for reading!
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