Back in November 2016, we published an article comparing programmable thermostats to smart ones. We listed the key differences between them and represented proof that smart thermostats are better programmable ones. In our conclusion, we determined that EPA should give smart thermostats Energy Stars. New Smart thermostats have user-friendly interfaces. They fix a lot of major problems of programmable thermostats.
We are proud to announce that Nest was awarded the first Energy Star smart thermostat by the EPA. Ben Bixby (yes that’s his real name) announced the news on Nest blog.
A big thank you in order, for those who emailed their representatives and emailed the EPA about this subject. We are proud of this achievement and you should be too.
There comes another challenge ahead. Why Ecobee and other smart thermostat makers didn’t receive an Energy Star?
Why were the other brands ignored?
When we looked at the documents from energy.gov, we realized Ecobee was an active participant in the discussions about Energy Stars. We believe the reason behind this decision is simply the lack of data about Ecobee. Most of the data about the Ecobee thermostats are from Ecobee itself. There aren’t any peer reviewed studies about the benefits of Ecobee thermostats at the moment. The studies done by Utility companies used Nest thermostats during their trials.
We believe this is the sole reason why Ecobee was ignored at this time. With energy star, Nest thermostat prices are very attractive because of federal and local rebates.
Our recommendation is to do new studies about Ecobee because we believe that Ecobee is as good if not better than Nest at this time. Ecobee and other smart thermostats deserve an Energy Star according to our extensive testing about the subject.
