# Ecobee thermostat

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Ecobee thermostat and 12 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for local control with Apple Home and Home Assistant and for automating HVAC settings. Critics point to vendor cutting support for older devices and showing ads.

## Why people recommend it

- Works with Apple Home and Home Assistant (3 comments): "Ecobee allows local control via Apple Home without using their app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46434856)) "I am happy with the ecobee and its HA integration." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45815362)) "they work nicely with homekit" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45817003))
- Automates HRV and away mode settings (2 comments): "we use it to automatically drive our HRV" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48784751)) "It should set away mode how you need." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45835344))

## What people warn about

- Vendor cuts support for older devices (2 comments): "They've done the exact same thing as Google Nest by bricking their older hardware." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45817045)) "Ecobee killing their developer portal. Very sad." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45816912))
- Shows ads and banners in app and device (2 comments): "Ecobee has a banner that shifts everything down most of the time that you open the app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48960076)) "today they showed me an ad ON MY THERMOSTAT." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50112849))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Nest Thermostat](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nest-thermostat.md): 11 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ecobee+smart+thermostat&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.ecobee.com/en-us/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Ecobee thermostat", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ecobee-thermostat/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).