Rockhead261
Well-known member
Follow-up to this old thread in which I installed an inexpensive Filtrete WiFi stat and ended up yanking it after a software crash left me heatless in the dead of winter.
I purchased the Ecobee EB-STAT-2 on Amazon for $247.75. Upon unboxing I was caught off-guard by the hardware. In the box is the thermostat control itself along with a control panel which mounts near the HVAC system. This is essentially a DDC (Direct Digital Control) system with dry contacts for several peripherals, inputs and outputs for up to 4 stages of heat and 2 stages of cooling, and just about every conceivable combination of heat and A/C can be connected. It's truly commercial quality and I can see why it's so damn expensive.
I removed my tried and true Honeywell T-8600 and put it away... just in case.
This date code on the back indicates a 1994 build date
Next step was to wire up the control panel. This is pretty simple with the provided diagrams. I took the picture after it was running which is why the LED is illuminated
You need to power the panel with a 24VAC, and there are two ways of doing it; either hard wiring it to a transformers or connecting to a "wall wart" with a barrel plug, not included. Why they can't throw you a $3 transformer in a $250 package is a disgrace. I found a spare 24VAC transformer from an old router stashed away, and it worked fine. Otherwise I might have just wired it to "R" and "C" from the furnace, however that might have resulted in loss of thermostat power should the furnace ever open a safety.
The thermostat itself gets 12VDC from the panel along with a pair of digital communication terminals. You'll need 4 wires, and my original wiring to the thermostat was sufficient.
The stat is smaller than the T8600, perhaps about the same size as the Filtrete, however much sleeker. It was tough to get a decent picture with or without the flash.
It goes through a boot process upon power up which lasted about a minute, then prompts you through an on screen setup which was actually pretty slick. It detected my wireless network, asked for a password, connected to its server, asked for my email, and sent me a link to the online portal.
From there I programmed the inital settings and got some preferences squared away. Alert parameters, volume, screen brightness when awake and in standby, recovery modes, thresholds, high and low limits, and vacation modes are just some of the features you can access, and that doesn't even cover the reporting capabilities. It's a nice UI and I was able to get everything functional without referring to the manual. Very impressed with the web portal and plan to spend more time learning everything it can do.
I let the system run while I cleaned up, had a seat in my, um, library, and did some multitasking, downloading the free app for my GS4. It essentially mirrors the thermostat display and functionality.
While playing with the app I noticed that the current termperature said "Offline".
I raised the temperature via the phone and got no response; the furnace did not come on. Great.
I cut my throne session short, went over the thermostat, oh... what's this... the display is blank. No reaction to touching the screen or the home button. DOA. Wonderful.
I glanced over at the just-removed T8600 as I pulled the attic stairs down... up in the attic I took a look at the control panel. No power light. OH, wait a sec... yup... the plug-in transformer had backed out just enough to cut power. :facepalm: A few wire ties later I was up and running again.
Overall, the install is not for first timers or anyone not accustomed to working with controls. You'll need to completely decipher your current wiring in order to get it right, and you may need to make some modifications. I was cafeful to keep the Y terminal on my furnace control board since it allows the fan to run for about a minute after the condensor shuts down; I'm not sure the Ecobee has that functionality built in, but I'll be sure to test it once summer rolls around. For now it's gonna get a good workout while I tool around with the programming.
I purchased the Ecobee EB-STAT-2 on Amazon for $247.75. Upon unboxing I was caught off-guard by the hardware. In the box is the thermostat control itself along with a control panel which mounts near the HVAC system. This is essentially a DDC (Direct Digital Control) system with dry contacts for several peripherals, inputs and outputs for up to 4 stages of heat and 2 stages of cooling, and just about every conceivable combination of heat and A/C can be connected. It's truly commercial quality and I can see why it's so damn expensive.
I removed my tried and true Honeywell T-8600 and put it away... just in case.
This date code on the back indicates a 1994 build date
Next step was to wire up the control panel. This is pretty simple with the provided diagrams. I took the picture after it was running which is why the LED is illuminated
You need to power the panel with a 24VAC, and there are two ways of doing it; either hard wiring it to a transformers or connecting to a "wall wart" with a barrel plug, not included. Why they can't throw you a $3 transformer in a $250 package is a disgrace. I found a spare 24VAC transformer from an old router stashed away, and it worked fine. Otherwise I might have just wired it to "R" and "C" from the furnace, however that might have resulted in loss of thermostat power should the furnace ever open a safety.
The thermostat itself gets 12VDC from the panel along with a pair of digital communication terminals. You'll need 4 wires, and my original wiring to the thermostat was sufficient.
The stat is smaller than the T8600, perhaps about the same size as the Filtrete, however much sleeker. It was tough to get a decent picture with or without the flash.
It goes through a boot process upon power up which lasted about a minute, then prompts you through an on screen setup which was actually pretty slick. It detected my wireless network, asked for a password, connected to its server, asked for my email, and sent me a link to the online portal.
From there I programmed the inital settings and got some preferences squared away. Alert parameters, volume, screen brightness when awake and in standby, recovery modes, thresholds, high and low limits, and vacation modes are just some of the features you can access, and that doesn't even cover the reporting capabilities. It's a nice UI and I was able to get everything functional without referring to the manual. Very impressed with the web portal and plan to spend more time learning everything it can do.
I let the system run while I cleaned up, had a seat in my, um, library, and did some multitasking, downloading the free app for my GS4. It essentially mirrors the thermostat display and functionality.
While playing with the app I noticed that the current termperature said "Offline".
I raised the temperature via the phone and got no response; the furnace did not come on. Great. I cut my throne session short, went over the thermostat, oh... what's this... the display is blank.
No reaction to touching the screen or the home button. DOA. Wonderful. I glanced over at the just-removed T8600 as I pulled the attic stairs down... up in the attic I took a look at the control panel. No power light. OH, wait a sec... yup... the plug-in transformer had backed out just enough to cut power. :facepalm: A few wire ties later I was up and running again.
Overall, the install is not for first timers or anyone not accustomed to working with controls. You'll need to completely decipher your current wiring in order to get it right, and you may need to make some modifications. I was cafeful to keep the Y terminal on my furnace control board since it allows the fan to run for about a minute after the condensor shuts down; I'm not sure the Ecobee has that functionality built in, but I'll be sure to test it once summer rolls around. For now it's gonna get a good workout while I tool around with the programming.