[Ecobee.com] Ecobee SmartSensor 2 pack $69

I concur with some of the other posts that these provide an additional data point but it may not be that helpful if the furnace just goes into overdrive to make the basement warm and makes the upstairs really hot

I was hoping that these would also measure humidity because I like tracking humidity but the current version isn't capable of it.

mrl14 wrote: ↑ The occupied room feature of these sensors is pointless at night. You don't move enough while sleeping so it'll just think the room is unoccupied. The only reason to get these is if you need to monitor a temperature in a room (ie. baby's room), but if you set a normally colder room to a certain temp, the rest of the house could get super hot. Basically there are a ton of usability/edge cases with these things that make them hard to understand and use.

You wouldn't use that feature at night. Instead you would have its night mode only monitor the sensors in the bedrooms (or whatever rooms you want) to ensure its the right temperature. You do want to make sure these rooms are balanced in temp though or one will be much warmer or colder than the other. I disabled the follow me feature as I didn't like it.

Instead, I use them (along with other sensors) to just help me balance out the house to level out the temperature. You don't have to use the ecobee sensors specifically for this but it makes a difference in the overall comfort of the house. I've even done it at my mothers place and she noticed a big difference in the overall feel of the house.

Thanks OP!! PM'd with HD after 3 attempts, will be picking up my order tonight.

GavinCampbell wrote: ↑ You wouldn't use that feature at night. Instead you would have its night mode only monitor the sensors in the bedrooms (or whatever rooms you want) to ensure its the right temperature. You do want to make sure these rooms are balanced in temp though or one will be much warmer or colder than the other. I disabled the follow me feature as I didn't like it.

Instead, I use them (along with other sensors) to just help me balance out the house to level out the temperature. You don't have to use the ecobee sensors specifically for this but it makes a difference in the overall comfort of the house. I've even done it at my mothers place and she noticed a big difference in the overall feel of the house.

Please tell how you balance the temp through the house? If upstairs is 2 deg higher and basement is 2 deg lower when the heater first kicks in? How do you level the temp so all floors are the same using these sensors?

k847848 wrote: ↑ Please tell how you balance the temp through the house? If upstairs is 2 deg higher and basement is 2 deg lower when the heater first kicks in? How do you level the temp so all floors are the same using these sensors?

The first thing I do before adjusting though is make sure the sensors are in a correct spot in the room. I sit it next to wear people would be sitting. The reason being is the temperatures around the room itself are different. In my family room I had it on a shelf higher up and it was always warmer so the room felt colder than expected.

You can adjust the dampers in the basement to adjust them amount of air flowing to the floors (I wouldn't close any of them though) and that will help. Then in each room you can open/close the registers. You they should also have a damper at the register itself. Give a day or so and recheck the temperatures.

My office is always going to be a pain because of the computers in it, so I just exclude it from any sort of temperature calculations.

You can also adjust the fan cycle so it runs more. This will help circulate the air. I opened the return in the basement and in the summer this helped cool upstairs and warm the basement up by cycling the cold air from downstairs to upstairs. In the winter you would probably want the opposite.

Of course I'm not a pro and this works for me, but there are a bunch of articles and videos on the web that can explain it in more detail if needed.

mrl14 wrote: ↑ The occupied room feature of these sensors is pointless at night. You don't move enough while sleeping so it'll just think the room is unoccupied. The only reason to get these is if you need to monitor a temperature in a room (ie. baby's room), but if you set a normally colder room to a certain temp, the rest of the house could get super hot. Basically there are a ton of usability/edge cases with these things that make them hard to understand and use.

It's not totally useless. At night, when you're asleep, you want the house to cool down and think it's "unoccupied" anyways with a more energy efficient profile.

Also the motion sensors can be useful for automations (I have them trigger things like night lights) and even notification for alarms if you're savvy enough.

These should be $5-10 max. Having to replace the batteries every year or so only makes them even less of a good deal to invest in. I'd be happy to plug in a permanent sensor in each room (right into a wall outlet or perhaps a usb port) but no way I'm paying this for what is a device that probably costs less than a dollar to manufacture. Maybe there are cheap third party sensors that can spoof these - surprised Xiaomi hasn't already made some.

back in stock

https://shop-ca.ecobee.com/products/smart-sensor

txenglan wrote: ↑ These should be $5-10 max. Having to replace the batteries every year or so only makes them even less of a good deal to invest in. I'd be happy to plug in a permanent sensor in each room (right into a wall outlet or perhaps a usb port) but no way I'm paying this for what is a device that probably costs less than a dollar to manufacture. Maybe there are cheap third party sensors that can spoof these - surprised Xiaomi hasn't already made some.

Most ali or b***good motion or temp sensors are $10-$15 each. Not a huge price diff given these will work out of box. Wall outlets aren't ideally placed for either motion or temp. I agree that using non-rechargeable batteries suck.

txenglan wrote: ↑ These should be $5-10 max. Having to replace the batteries every year or so only makes them even less of a good deal to invest in. I'd be happy to plug in a permanent sensor in each room (right into a wall outlet or perhaps a usb port) but no way I'm paying this for what is a device that probably costs less than a dollar to manufacture. Maybe there are cheap third party sensors that can spoof these - surprised Xiaomi hasn't already made some.

These are the new models with 4yr battery life, quicker response to heat and IR.

Thanks OP!
Grabbed a set for the cottage. I needed another couple.

flopticalcube wrote: ↑ I agree that using non-rechargeable batteries suck.

Rechargeable batteries are not very good for this kind of minimal draw/time condition.

I never understood the purpose of these sensors without a gated vent (that automatically opens and closes) - especially if you're trying to be frugal.

My upstairs rooms are always about 5C lower than the main floor. Sure, if I set the upstairs temperature to be comfortable (higher) during bedtime, that would mean that the main floor would probably heat up 5C higher than I would like, wasting quite a lot of energy. The other option is to manually shut the vents every night - which is a hassle in itself...

pooper wrote: ↑ Rechargeable batteries are not very good for this kind of minimal draw/time condition.

I didn't realize these were low power with CR2032 batteries. Most Chinese sensors take the CR123A at $5 a piece. Makes it even better!

flopticalcube wrote: ↑ I didn't realize these were low power with CR2032 batteries. Most Chinese sensors take the CR123A at $5 a piece. Makes it even better!

The old sensors take the CR2032.
These new smart sensors use CR2477's. That's why they can last 4yrs.

pooper wrote: ↑ The old sensors take the CR2032.
These new smart sensors use CR2477's. That's why they can last 4yrs.

Ok. If it lasts 4 years its not an issue then.