Humidity levels are pruned to rise too low or too high, and you have to deal with it at your home. But before you give up, Ecobee smart thermostat can help you solve these problems.
Is Ecobee Humidity Accurate?
The Ecobee thermostat is not just a hub device that obtains its readings from various smart sensors that you place around the house. In fact, the system itself is equipped with a built-in temperature and humidity sensor.
The thermostat is significantly accurate with a range of 1.0 degrees F (0.55 degrees C) above or below, which is a high level of accuracy.
This accuracy is achieved using Ecobee sensors. The system uses the last two readings to create an average, which allows it to stay within a very accurate range.
Under default settings, the sensors take measurements once every 15 seconds. This means that the system can react to quick changes in the surrounding environment.
How to Make Ecobee Accurate
1. Calibrate Ecobee humidity
Although Ecobee thermostat provides accurate humidity readings, it’s crucial to calibrate it to get the best results.
The thermostat adjusts itself based on the temperature and humidity levels in your house.
To ensure that your thermostat works correctly, you need to calibrate it to know how much humidity (moisture) is in the air inside your home. Consult the thermostat’s manual book on how to do the calibration. Here is how you can calibrate your thermostat:
2 Restart the device
The easiest way you can recalibrate your Ecobee is simply to restart it. To do this, just press the Ecobee’s display button until the screen goes black. After that, turn the thermostat on again. Your thermostat will be restarted.
After that, set the settings for both temperatures and humidity. This will enable the device to give accurate readings both for the two measurements.
3. Reset the thermostat
In case, restarting the device doesn’t work, another way you can calibrate the thermostat is to do the resetting.
Here are the steps you’ll need to follow to reset your thermostat:
- From the Home screen, press Menu.
- Then select Settings.
- Go to Reset.
- Choose Reset All Settings, then confirm your selection by pressing Yes
- Reconfigure your Ecobee thermostat: Successfully resetting your thermostat to its factory settings will erase all your old settings, all saved settings, and preferences, including your Wi-Fi credentials. You’ll, therefore, need to reconfigure the device, connect it to your Wi-Fi network, and adjust the temperature settings as per your preference.
During the winter season, the humidity level drops significantly, making your house feel less comfortable. On the other hand, in summer months, the humidity level rises considerably high, causing much discomfort in your home.
During winter months, ideal humidity levels should be between 30-40%. In the summer, it should be around 40-50%, depending on the outside temperature.
How thermostat adjusts for humidity
With Ecobee, you have options to use its humidity control features to either cool or warm your home efficiently. Here is how you can use the thermostat to cool or warm your house based on humidity:
1. Overcool Max
The Ecobee is made with an Overcool max feature that enables your thermostat to regulate humidity levels in your home.
With the Overcool max setting in your ecobee thermostat, your HVAC will be able to reduce the temperature below the specified degree to control the levels of humidity.
2. Set the Ideal Fan Settings
Besides that, you also need to switch your thermostat into “Auto Fan”. This setting will put your HVAC fans “always on” to quickly cycle fresh air in your home and stop the fans when the humidity rises beyond the expected levels.
3. Dehumidify with the AC
With the AC Overcool feature, your Ecobee uses your air conditioning to help decrease excessive humidity in your house even if you don’t install a dehumidifier in the home.
The Overcool max feature helps reduce the humidity level in your house by continuing to run your cooling beyond your comfort setting.
Why Does Ecobee Humidity Seem Inaccurate?
Although the Ecobee thermostat is quite reliable and offers accurate humidity readings, the device might be showing inaccurate readings. The thermostat’s readings can be significantly affected by external factors such as:
1. Mounting location is one of the biggest factors that will affect the thermostat’s humidity readings. It’s advisable to mount the device at least 52 to 60 inches above the floor level for it to measure your house’s relative humidity levels accurately.
This also implies that you should avoid installing the device near vent holes or other sources of heat, as this could interfere with its measurements. Also, ensure to mount the thermostat somewhere where it has good visibility of the room so that it can capture all readings in your house.
If you suspect that your thermostat is in a poor location, you should contact your heating or cooling professional for help. Your professional can relocate it so that the humidity can be accurately read in your home.
2. Exposure to sunlight and air current is another reason why your thermostat is not accurate with its humidity readings. The thermostat tends to give lower readings when it is positioned near air vents, doors, or windows. Also to ensure you get accurate readings, it’s advisable you put your thermostat away from any kind of outdoor exposure.
3. Exposure to airflow from an air duct is another issue that can affect your thermostat’s humidity readings. If you want an accurate reading from your Ecobee thermostat, ensure you keep the device from any kind of airstream.
4. Also, heat loss and heat gain from the wall can affect the device’s readings. Ensure that you place your thermostat on a wall with a good insulator. Uninsulated walls will cause heat gain and loss, which can alter humidity readings for your Ecobee thermostat. Also, ensure your thermostat is in a place with no access to artificial light or sunlight, as they can affect your thermostat’s readings.
5. Furthermore, if the thermostat’s battery power is low, the device will have problems with the way it functions and, therefore, will show inaccurate readings.
5. If you put the wrong settings on your thermostat, the device will read the temperature and humidity incorrectly. The temperature and humidity levels you set on your thermostat should match the season, as explained above.
6. Also, if your thermostat’s sensor is malfunctioning, the device will display incorrect readings. Once the sensor is faulty, you’ll need to replace it with a new one. To avoid the sensor problem, ensure you regularly clean the inside of your thermostat.
7. Lastly, if your thermostat doesn’t work properly, your best solution is to contact your heating or cooling professional for help.
My Final Thoughts
If you’ve been wondering about Ecobee’ accuracy with humidity, now you know that the smart thermostat is efficient in its functions.
The thermostat has features that enable you to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature while maximizing your energy savings.
Although Ecobee thermostat is extremely accurate, its readings can be affected by positioning and environmental factors.
Therefore, ensure that nothing is interfering with the device’s accuracy. Also, you can consider calibrating the thermostat to get more accurate results.