Smart Thermostats / ecobee
ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium (EB-STATE6-01)
Best sensors and deepest heat-pump staging here — and still no Matter in 2026.
Overall score 8.6/10
Pros
- + The Power Extender Kit is in the box, so the C-wire problem is solved at purchase rather than at $25 extra or a $200 electrician call
- + Heat pump 2H/2C plus two auxiliary stages beats every other thermostat here on staging depth
- + SmartSensors detect occupancy as well as temperature — Google's, Honeywell's cheaper models' and Sensi's sensors mostly do not
- + Built-in speaker and mic make it a working Alexa device, and it doubles as an ecobee Smart Security hub
- + 3-year warranty, a year longer than Google and Resideo
Cons
- − No Matter. ecobee's own spec sheet lists HomeKit, Alexa, Google, SmartThings and IFTTT and nothing else, which is a strange gap on a $260 flagship in 2026
- − $259.99 is the second-highest price here and it went up — ecobee has quietly raised list prices across the range
- − The air-quality monitor produces a score and advice, not a calibrated PM2.5 or VOC reading you can act on
- − Alexa built in means an always-listening mic on your hallway wall, with no hardware mute switch of the kind Echo speakers have
- − Only one accessory circuit — a humidifier and an ERV cannot both be wired at once
ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium (EB-STATE6-01) review: what the specs say
Best sensors and deepest heat-pump staging here — and still no Matter in 2026. At $259.99, ecobee's 2022 model sits at the premium end of the category — the smart Thermostats we compare run from $79 to $259.99. It scores 8.6/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.
Its strongest showing is C-Wire Freedom at 9.5/10 — how likely this thermostat is to run on the wiring you already have — whether it needs a common wire, and whether the workaround is in the box, sold separately, or an electrician's visit. The single biggest cause of returns in this category.. The weakest is Value at 6.5/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.
Worth knowing before you buy: no Matter. ecobee's own spec sheet lists HomeKit, Alexa, Google, SmartThings and IFTTT and nothing else, which is a strange gap on a $260 flagship in 2026; and $259.99 is the second-highest price here and it went up — ecobee has quietly raised list prices across the range. Every specification on this page comes from ecobee's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.
Specifications and price last verified . Report an error
Full Specifications
| System Voltage | Low voltage 24VAC — furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, boilers, PTAC and fan coil units. Not for 120/240V line-voltage heat |
| C-Wire Required | Not in practice. ecobee ships the Power Extender Kit in the box, which synthesises a common wire from R, W, Y and G at the furnace. Direct wiring uses C and Rc if you do have five wires |
| Adapter / Power Kit Included | Yes — Power Extender Kit included. The same kit is a $24.99 extra on the Essential |
| Heating & Cooling Stages | 2H/2C conventional; boilers, PTAC and fan coil units with up to 3 fan speeds |
| Heat Pump & Aux Heat | Yes — heat pump 2H/2C plus 2 stages of auxiliary heat, the deepest heat-pump staging in this set |
| Humidifier / Ventilator Terminals | One 1-wire or one 2-wire accessory on the ACC+/ACC− terminals: humidifier, dehumidifier or HRV/ERV ventilator |
| Remote Sensors | One SmartSensor in the box; up to 32 pair, over a 915MHz radio at up to 60 ft. Extra sensors are $99.99 for a 2-pack |
| Occupancy Detection | Radar occupancy and proximity in the thermostat, and every SmartSensor also detects occupancy over a 140° x 100° field to about 20 ft |
| Matter Support | Not shipping on this model. ecobee's own spec page lists HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings and IFTTT and never mentions Matter; third-party write-ups describe a phased rollout, so treat Matter as unconfirmed here |
| Voice & Smart Home Platforms | Apple HomeKit with Siri, Alexa built in (speaker and microphone), Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, IFTTT |
| Utility Rebates & Demand Response | eco+ Community Energy Savings with 150+ North American utilities. ecobee states events move your temperature 1-4°F for no more than a few hours, a handful of times a year, and you can opt out of any event from the app; some programs pay an enrolment rebate up to $125 |
| Account or Subscription Needed | No subscription for eco+, energy reports, remote sensors or scheduling. ecobee Smart Security — the intrusion-monitoring layer on the same hardware — is the paid tier |
| Connectivity | 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, 5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, 915MHz sensor radio |
| Material | Black glass front in a die-cast zinc alloy frame |
| Warranty | 36 months |
Compare ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium (EB-STATE6-01) With
Cheaper Alternative
Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) — $239.99