How a Busy Family Balances Energy Conservation and Summer Comfort

Any parent who has ever tried balancing the schedules of young children knows how important it is to simplify their lives. Erica, a busy mom of four, realized she could do just that with SmartSensor, an energy conservation device that unlocks the potential of the ecobee experience.

Erica and her family live in North Nashville, where the climate is known to shift faster than you can change your cowboy boots. How to stay cool in summer without raising their utility bill is a parenting challenge. “Sometimes we experience all four seasons in one week,” she says. “We may have 100-degree temperatures one day, and it could plunge to the lower 60s the next. Smart home thermostats and devices that can help us manage things like that are really important to our family.”

Their house also has its own temperature challenges like high ceilings, seasonal hot spots, split-level floor layouts, and a lower-level master suite and upper floor kids’ bedrooms. “It’s almost like we have three levels in our house. I’ve never seen anything quite like it until this one.”

When Erica and her husband, Calvin, moved into their first home together, they knew investing in a smart thermostat could help take a few things off their daily to-do list. She credits Calvin for helping her family practice easy energy conservation habits around the house. “Just being married to him has made me a more eco-conscious person. I’ve always cared and did my part, but he’s way more into researching how our house can produce a smaller carbon footprint.”

When deciding what smart home devices she wanted to welcome into her home, Erica explored many options and, ultimately, decided to choose ecobee. “This is the second house that we’ve installed an ecobee smart thermostat in. Before making our first ecobee purchase, we did our research. We looked online, and the company has a great reputation, so that’s what initially drew us to it. We’ve recommended ecobee to friends many times; we continue to be impressed.”

To take Erica’s home comfort to new levels, we recently asked her to enhance the potential of her ecobee3 lite smart thermostat by giving our state-of-the-art SmartSensor 2-Pack a try. And it didn’t take long for her to notice the difference SmartSensor makes. “It works awesome with our existing system. There weren’t any hiccups installing it at all.”

SmartSensor adjusts your ecobee smart thermostat based on both temperature and occupancy. This allowed Erica and Calvin to target comfort in the rooms that matter most, like their family’s playroom. “It’s where the kids and their friends gather,” she says.” “In the past, we’ve used fans to try and regulate the temperature for them.”

An advanced industrial design allows for an extended SmartSensor five-year battery life, as well as a new pairing range of up to 60 feet and enhanced wide-angle detection. All of this results in better reliability, connectivity, and distance detection than ever before. And what’s more is Erica thinks it looks pretty great in the room, too. “SmartSensor is so cute. I love that you can sit on the shelf and not really notice it. Right now, it’s sitting next to a succulent. It looks like it truly belongs there.”

What was even more surprising to Erica was the way SmartSensor can help manage hot and cold spots in her master bedroom, as well as provide an average temperature from multiple rooms for whole home comfort. “In the past, we’ve had trouble with temperature variance because the thermostat is in a totally different area of the house. At first, I didn’t really think about how the SmartSensor might improve things. After a few nights, I realized our bedroom was a lot more comfortable. I noticed it right away.”

Erica loves how the sensors have amplified the power of her ecobee smart thermostat. But mostly, she’s looking forward to discovering even more ways to simplify her family’s day-to-day schedule with smart home technology. “We really enjoy the product,” she says. “We’re excited to see how it continues to improve our quality of life.”