ecobee3 vs Nest Learning Thermostat

The display shows the current temperature, as well as which mode you're in (off, auto, cooling or heating), as well as humidity and the current weather. There is also a temperature slider handy for quick adjustments.

Instead of a single point of sensing which can be influenced based on its location, the ecobee3 also utilizes a satellite sensor. This satellite sensor provides another perspective on the house, and between the two will provide smarter heating and cooling.

For example, if the main thermostat is located near a heat source (kitchen, full living room, etc) or cold source (near a door in winter) it can be influenced by temporary temperature fluctuations. The satellite sensor can help detect these temporary changes, and won't over-heat (or over-cool) the house when it isn't actually required.

The range on this extra sensor is about 45 feet, which should be plenty for most houses.

In addition to the phone app, you can access the web portal for (almost) full control of the system. This is very handy if your phone's battery dies, as you can login from any internet connected device.

In addition to HomeKit, the ecobee3 can hook up with IFTTT (IF This Then That - an automation tool based on custom recopies), Alexa (Amazon's voice activated personal assistant found in it's Echo line of products), Wink (a stand-alone ecosystem) as well as SmartThings (Samsung's smart home ecosystem). This allows integration with a wider variety of smart home products outside of the HomeKit ecosystem.

If you already have the common wire (ie your system uses 5 wires), the installation is very quick and easy.

Nest begins learning as soon as you install it. In a short time, it will automatically be adjusting your temperature based on time of day, or how active the house is. For the first few weeks you may need to adjust the Nest a few degrees when required, but eventually it will learn when you adjust it and will start adjusting itself automatically based on how you manually adjusted it before.

The Nest thermostat looks like a piece of tech from the future. It's fully circular and certainly looks the part of a smart thermostat.

The display takes up the majority of the unit, and makes good use of its LCD display when not in use. It can display an analog or digital clock instead of the temperature if you prefer.

Even if you're not home, or you're in the kitchen cooking, and need to change the temperature, you can do it all from your app.

Nest also makes other products, such as it's Nest Cam, and smart smoke detector.

Alexa is the voice assistant in the Amazon Echo line of products, and the Nest thermostat can be fully controlled by Alexa. This is important because Alexa can control devices through 100% hands-free voice support.

IFTTT (IF This Then That) is an ecosystem to itself that allows users to create their own custom recipes based on triggers. For example, if it's expected to be humid, the Nest can automatically lower its setpoint to compensate for it. You can also configure other triggers such as location or time of day to determine when the Nest is on or off.

This version of the Nest includes motion sensors that can detect motion from across the room. Previous generations of Nest could only detect motion up to a meter away, but with this generation of Nest the utility is greatly increased.

Motion sensing is useful, because it will sense when you are at home or if you are away automatically, without needing to adjust the thermostat manually.

The Nest Thermostat is the easiest smart thermostat to install. It comes with the required mini screwdriver, and there's a level built-in to make sure the Nest is installed properly. The included baseplate helps cover up any imperfections left from removing your previous thermostat.

Installation is straightforward, and only takes about 10 minutes.

The Nest app will actually show you how much your smart thermostat is saving you on electricity.