Ecobee thermostat plug

Not sure how much familiarity there is with the Ecobee thermostat, but I just want to provide my quick review and why I think it's awesome for anyone with steam heat. You can use it just like a standard thermostat, or you can program it, set setbacks, etc. etc. The real beauty for steam heat users comes with two features:

1. The ability of it to automatically log run-times daily and monthly and to see that information easily and in detail through their portal. Since I recently replaced my boiler and made some other changes to my system, I was able to quickly see just how much my total system runtime improved (went from a mix of really short and really long cycles and super long total run times to ~20 minute cycles and much improved run time).

2. The ability to use remote temperature sensors for occupancy sensing but more importantly to use them as "remote thermostats". If for example your thermostat is in a bad spot (too cold or too hot), you can base the temperature setting off a remote sensor (or multiple sensors) that you place in a more ideal spot(s). In addition, if you have a room that's just a bit colder, you can put a sensor in that room and have the temperature setting be an average of what the sensor sees and what the actual thermostat and/or other sensors see. You can have multiple sensors in different rooms, use an average of any combination as a thermostat reading, and you can disable the temperature sensor in the thermostat itself if you want to. With all the different options, it provides many ways to make your heat more even throughout your house, or make a specific room warmer or cooler if you wanted to.

While my steam system is working great, just like most it's installed in an old house that isn't well insulated. Hence, I have some rooms that are cooler and some that are warmer than others. The Ecobee has made a massive difference in how evenly my house is heated, and since I have a 15 month old at home it gives me a bit more control over the temperature in the nursery. While having thermostatic vents on every radiator would be great, it's cost prohibitive for me and I'd be hard pressed to even fit them easily based on how close some of the vents are to my walls. I hope this is helpful for anyone considering it! No, I'm not affiliated with Ecobee in any way, I'm just very impressed with it.