Ecobee Keeps Calling for Heat: Complete Troubleshooting Guide

Is your Ecobee constantly calling for heat even though your home has reached the desired temperature? The thermostat shows “Heating” on the screen, the furnace keeps running, and your home is getting warmer than you want. This comprehensive guide walks you through every possible cause and solution, from simple thermostat settings to sensor calibration issues.

🔍 Quick Diagnosis: Why Does Ecobee Keep Calling for Heat?

When your Ecobee won’t stop calling for heat, you’ll typically see one of these patterns:

Symptom	Most Likely Cause	Fix Difficulty
Shows “Heating” but temp already at setpoint	Temperature sensor calibration off	Easy
Calls for heat repeatedly, short cycles	Temperature differential set too tight	Easy
Constantly calls for Stage 2 heat	Aggressive staging settings or cold outdoor temp	Easy-Medium
Shows lower temp than actual room temp	Failed temperature sensor or poor placement	Easy-Medium
Smart Recovery causing early heat calls	Smart features too aggressive	Easy
Started after adding remote sensors	Sensor averaging or failed sensor issue	Easy-Medium
Heat cycles every 5-10 minutes	Normal behavior with tight differential	Easy

🌡️ Problem #1: Temperature Sensor Inaccuracy

This is the #1 cause – about 40% of “keeps calling for heat” issues.

What’s happening:

The Ecobee’s internal temperature sensor is reading lower than the actual room temperature. So even though your room is 72°F, the Ecobee thinks it’s 69°F and keeps calling for heat to reach your 70°F setpoint.

Common causes:

• Thermostat mounted in poor location (near door, window, vent)
• Sensor needs calibration
• Sunlight hitting thermostat
• Cold air leaking from behind wall plate
• Thermostat mounted on exterior wall

How to diagnose:

1. Get an accurate thermometer (digital indoor thermometer, $10-20)
2. Place it 6 feet from Ecobee at same height
3. Wait 30 minutes for reading to stabilize
4. Compare Ecobee reading to thermometer
5. If difference is 2°F or more – sensor calibration or placement issue

Solution:

Solution 1A: Calibrate temperature sensor

1. From home screen, tap Menu
2. Go to Settings → Installation Settings → Thresholds
3. Find Temperature Correction or Temperature Offset
4. This adjusts the displayed/used temperature
5. If Ecobee reads LOW (shows 68°F but actually 70°F):
   • Set correction to +2°F
   • This tells Ecobee to add 2°F to its reading
6. If Ecobee reads HIGH (shows 72°F but actually 70°F):
   • Set correction to -2°F
7. Wait 10 minutes for adjustment to take effect
8. Verify with your reference thermometer
9. Recommended range: -3°F to +3°F (if you need more, placement is probably wrong)

Solution 1B: Seal air leaks behind thermostat

Cold air from wall cavity can make sensor read low:

1. Turn off power at breaker
2. Remove Ecobee from wall plate
3. Remove wall plate from wall (unscrew)
4. Look in the hole where wires come through
5. If you feel cold air – this is your problem
6. Seal the opening:
   • Use foam insulation (spray foam or backer rod)
   • Or stuff with fiberglass insulation
   • Seal around wire bundle with putty/caulk
7. Reinstall wall plate and thermostat
8. Test temperature accuracy after 30 minutes

Solution 1C: Relocate thermostat (if placement is poor)

Bad locations cause constant sensor issues:

❌ Avoid these locations:

• Near exterior doors (drafts)
• Near windows (sun exposure, drafts)
• On exterior walls (cold wall conducts cold to sensor)
• Near supply vents (blasted with hot/cold air)
• Near kitchen (cooking heat)
• In direct sunlight any time of day
• In corners (dead air zones)
• Hallways with no return air

✅ Good locations:

• Interior wall
• Central location in home
• 5+ feet from doors/windows
• Not in direct sun
• Same room as return air vent
• About 5 feet off floor
• Area with good air circulation

Relocating requires:

• Running new thermostat wire (18/5 or 18/8)
• Patching old hole
• May need professional ($150-300)
• Or use wireless remote sensor as primary (see Problem #6)

⚙️ Problem #2: Temperature Differential Set Too Tight

What’s happening:

The temperature differential controls how much the temperature must drop below setpoint before heating turns on. If set too tight (small differential), heat turns off when target is reached, but immediately turns back on when temp drops 0.3°F.

This creates constant cycling – heat runs for 5 minutes, off for 3 minutes, back on for 5 minutes.

How to diagnose:

• Heat cycles on and off every 5-15 minutes
• Temperature stays within 0.5°F of setpoint
• More noticeable in mild weather
• Furnace/heat pump runs very frequently

Solution:

Adjust heat differential:

1. Menu → Settings → Installation Settings → Thresholds
2. Heat Differential:
   • Default is typically 0.5°F
   • This means heat turns ON when temp drops 0.5°F below setpoint
   • Recommended: 1.0°F to 1.5°F for most systems
3. Example with 70°F setpoint and 1.0°F differential:
   • Heat turns ON at 69°F
   • Heat turns OFF at 70°F
   • 1°F “swing” prevents constant cycling
4. For different heating systems:
   • Gas/oil furnace: 0.5-1.0°F (heats quickly)
   • Electric resistance: 1.0-1.5°F (heats quickly)
   • Heat pump: 1.5-2.0°F (heats slowly)
   • Radiant floor: 2.0-3.0°F (very slow response)
5. Save and test for several heating cycles

Tighter differential = more comfort but more cycling
Wider differential = less cycling but more temperature swing

Most people find 1.0°F differential is the sweet spot.

🏠 Problem #3: Smart Recovery Running Heat Early

What’s happening:

Smart Recovery is an Ecobee feature that learns how long it takes to heat your home and starts heating EARLY so the temperature reaches your setpoint exactly at the scheduled time. This makes it seem like the Ecobee is calling for heat when it shouldn’t.

How to diagnose:

• Heat turns on 30-60 minutes before scheduled time
• Most noticeable on “Wake” or “Home” transitions
• Screen shows pre-heating icon or “Smart Recovery”
• Started after enabling Smart Recovery feature

Example:

• Schedule says “70°F at 6:00 AM”
• Ecobee learns it takes 45 minutes to heat from 62°F to 70°F
• Starts heating at 5:15 AM
• You wake up at 5:30 AM, wonder why heat is running

Solution:

Option 1: Disable Smart Recovery (simple fix)

1. Menu → Settings → Preferences → Smart Recovery
2. Toggle to OFF
3. Now schedule runs exactly at scheduled time
4. Temperature may not reach setpoint until 30-45 min after scheduled time
5. This is normal without Smart Recovery

Option 2: Adjust schedule times (keep Smart Recovery)

If you want Smart Recovery but don’t like early heating:

1. Menu → Schedule
2. Shift comfort settings later
3. Example: If you want heat at 6:00 AM, set schedule to 6:30 AM
4. Smart Recovery will start at your desired time (6:00 AM)
5. Temp reaches setpoint by 6:30 AM

Option 3: Keep Smart Recovery but understand it’s working correctly

• This is actually a feature, not a bug
• Ensures comfort at the exact scheduled time
• More energy-efficient than maintaining high temp all night
• Just understand why heat is running “early”

📡 Problem #4: Remote Sensor Issues Causing Incorrect Temperature Reading

What’s happening:

If you have remote sensors, Ecobee averages the temperature from participating sensors. If a sensor is failing, in a cold room, or incorrectly configured, it can pull the average down and cause constant heat calls.

How to diagnose:

• You have one or more remote sensors
• Started happening after adding/moving sensors
• One room is much colder than others
• Sensor battery is low

Solution:

Check which sensors are participating:

1. From home screen, tap current comfort setting name (Home, Away, Sleep, etc.)
2. View Participating Sensors list
3. These sensors are averaged to determine “current temperature”
4. Common mistakes:
   • Cold basement sensor included in “Home” comfort
   • Garage sensor participating (if attached/detached garage)
   • Sensor in unused cold room
   • Sensor placed near exterior door/window

Remove problem sensors from participation:

1. Menu → Sensors
2. Tap the sensor that’s in cold location
3. For each comfort setting (Home, Away, Sleep):
   • Uncheck Participation for problematic sensor
4. Sensor still detects occupancy but doesn’t affect temperature average
5. Test heating behavior with adjusted participation

Check for failed sensors:

1. Menu → Sensors
2. Look at temperature reading for each sensor
3. Signs of failure:
   • Shows temperature way off from reality (45°F when room is 68°F)
   • Shows “Unavailable” or “Lost connection”
   • Battery icon shows low/critical
4. Replace batteries in weak sensors:
   • Remove sensor from stand/wall mount
   • Use CR2032 coin cell battery (3V)
   • Insert new battery
   • Wait 2-3 minutes for reconnection
5. If sensor still fails after battery replacement:
   • Factory reset sensor (hold button 5 seconds)
   • Re-pair with Ecobee
   • Or replace sensor if defective

Optimize sensor placement:

Best practices for sensor placement:

• Place in rooms you occupy most
• 4-6 feet off floor (not on floor, not on ceiling)
• Away from windows and doors
• Not near vents or radiators
• Not in direct sunlight
• Not in closets or bathrooms

Use Follow Me (smart sensor participation):

1. Menu → Settings → Preferences → Follow Me
2. Toggle to ON
3. Ecobee automatically includes/excludes sensors based on occupancy
4. Only occupied rooms participate in temperature averaging
5. Reduces influence of cold unused rooms

🔄 Problem #5: Staging Settings Too Aggressive

What’s happening:

If you have a two-stage furnace or heat pump with auxiliary heat, aggressive staging settings can cause Stage 2 or aux heat to turn on too quickly, making it seem like the system is always calling for maximum heat.

How to diagnose:

• You have 2-stage heat or heat pump with aux
• Stage 2 or “AUX” light on frequently
• System seems to run hotter than necessary
• High heating bills

Solution:

Adjust stage 2 heat differential:

1. Menu → Settings → Installation Settings → Thresholds
2. Stage 1 Heat Differential: (e.g., 1.0°F)
3. Stage 2 Heat Differential: Should be significantly higher
   • Default: Often 2.0°F
   • Recommended: 2.5°F to 3.0°F
4. How it works:
   • Setpoint: 70°F
   • Stage 1 differential: 1.0°F → Stage 1 turns on at 69°F
   • Stage 2 differential: 3.0°F → Stage 2 turns on at 67°F
   • Gives Stage 1 time to work before jumping to Stage 2
5. For heat pumps with aux heat:
   • Aux differential: 3.0°F to 5.0°F
   • Prevents expensive aux heat from running unnecessarily

Adjust minimum runtime before Stage 2:

1. Menu → Settings → Installation Settings → Thresholds
2. Minimum Time Between Stages:
   • Default: Often 10 minutes
   • Recommended: 15-20 minutes
3. This forces Stage 1 to run longer before jumping to Stage 2
4. More efficient operation
5. Reduces “calling for heat” behavior

Adjust outdoor temperature lockout (heat pumps):

1. Menu → Settings → Installation Settings → Thresholds
2. Compressor Min Outdoor Temp or Aux Heat Outdoor Lockout:
3. Set temperature at which aux heat is allowed
4. Recommended:
   • Don’t allow aux heat above 35-40°F outdoor temp
   • Forces heat pump to work harder before aux kicks in
   • Saves money (aux heat is expensive)

🌍 Problem #6: Smart Home/Away Overriding Your Settings

What’s happening:

Smart Home/Away uses occupancy sensors to automatically switch between Home and Away comfort settings. If not configured correctly, it may keep you in “Home” mode with higher temperature when you expect “Away” with lower temp.

How to diagnose:

• You leave home but heat keeps running
• Ecobee doesn’t switch to Away automatically
• Temperature stays high even when unoccupied
• Have pets or a lot of motion in home

Solution:

Option 1: Disable Smart Home/Away

Simplest solution if it’s not working well for you:

1. Menu → Settings → Preferences → Smart Home/Away
2. Toggle to OFF
3. Ecobee will follow your schedule exactly
4. Won’t auto-adjust based on occupancy
5. Test to see if excessive heating stops

Option 2: Adjust Smart Home/Away settings

1. Menu → Settings → Preferences → Smart Home/Away
2. Smart Away Threshold: How long unoccupied before switching to Away
   • Default: 2 hours
   • Increase to 3-4 hours if you work from home
   • Prevents false Away triggers
3. Sensor participation: Review which sensors trigger Home/Away
   • Menu → Sensors
   • Toggle occupancy detection ON/OFF per sensor
   • Disable sensors in high-traffic areas (hallways near doors)

Option 3: Use geofencing instead

1. Menu → Settings → Preferences → Home IQ
2. Enable Location-Based Smart Home/Away
3. Uses your phone location instead of sensors
4. More reliable for single occupant or couples
5. Requires Ecobee app on phone with location permissions

🔧 Problem #7: Heat Pump Balance Point Set Wrong

What’s happening:

For heat pump systems, the “balance point” is the outdoor temperature at which your heat pump can’t keep up and aux heat is needed. If set wrong, aux heat runs constantly or heat pump struggles.

How to diagnose:

• You have a heat pump
• Aux heat runs most of the time
• System seems to constantly call for heat
• High electric bills
• Started when weather got cold

Solution:

Set proper heat pump balance point:

1. Menu → Settings → Installation Settings → Thresholds
2. Find Aux Heat Outdoor Temperature or Compressor Lockout Temperature
3. Balance point concept:
   • Above balance point: Heat pump only
   • Below balance point: Allow aux heat
   • Typical balance points: 25-40°F depending on heat pump efficiency
4. Conservative setting (saves money):
   • Set aux lockout to 25-30°F
   • Only allows aux when truly needed
   • Heat pump works harder but costs less
5. Comfort setting (faster heating):
   • Set aux lockout to 35-40°F
   • Allows aux more readily
   • Faster heating but higher bills
6. Check outdoor temperature:
   • Menu → Main Menu – shows outdoor temp if enabled
   • Or check Ecobee weather feature
   • Compare to balance point setting

Adjust aux heat runtime limits:

1. Menu → Settings → Installation Settings → Thresholds
2. Max Aux Runtime: Some Ecobees allow limiting aux usage
3. Set to reasonable time (e.g., 30-60 min continuous)
4. Prevents aux from running all day

📊 Problem #8: Schedule Not Configured Properly

What’s happening:

Your schedule has comfort settings with temperatures too close together, overlapping transitions, or holds that override normal operation.

How to diagnose:

• Temperature never seems to settle
• Transitions happen frequently
• Setpoint changes throughout day unexpectedly
• Recently modified schedule

Solution:

Review and simplify schedule:

1. Menu → Schedule
2. Review each day’s comfort settings
3. Look for problems:
   • Too many transitions (more than 4 per day usually excessive)
   • Temperatures too close (71°F home, 70°F sleep – only 1°F difference)
   • Overlapping or conflicting times
4. Recommended simple schedule:
   • Sleep: 11 PM – 6 AM, 62-65°F
   • Wake: 6 AM – 8 AM, 68-70°F
   • Away: 8 AM – 5 PM, 62-65°F
   • Home: 5 PM – 11 PM, 68-70°F
5. Adjust times and temps for your lifestyle

Remove active holds:

1. Check home screen for “Hold” banner
2. If present: Tap banner → Remove Hold
3. Holds override schedule and can cause unexpected heating

Check vacation mode:

1. Menu → Vacation
2. If vacation is active with high temperature
3. End vacation or adjust temperature

🧮 Problem #9: Multiple Remote Sensors Averaging to Low Temperature

What’s happening:

With multiple sensors participating, even if most rooms are at temp, one cold room pulls the average down and triggers heating.

Example calculation:

• Living room sensor: 70°F
• Bedroom sensor: 70°F
• Basement sensor: 62°F
• Average: 67.3°F (even though main living areas are fine)
• Setpoint: 70°F
• Result: Constant heating to reach 70°F average

Solution:

Strategic sensor participation:

1. Menu → Comfort Settings
2. Select each comfort setting (Home, Away, Sleep)
3. Tap Sensors
4. Configure participation smartly:

For “Home” comfort:

• ✅ Living room
• ✅ Kitchen
• ✅ Home office (if working)
• ❌ Bedrooms (unless occupied)
• ❌ Basement
• ❌ Garage
• ❌ Rarely used rooms

For “Sleep” comfort:

• ✅ Master bedroom
• ✅ Kids bedrooms (if applicable)
• ❌ Living room
• ❌ Kitchen
• ❌ Basement
• ❌ Office

For “Away” comfort:

• ✅ Living room only (or thermostat only)
• ❌ All other sensors
• Goal: Monitor one central area, don’t average cold unused rooms

Use “Follow Me” for automatic participation:

1. Menu → Settings → Preferences → Follow Me
2. Toggle ON
3. Only occupied rooms participate
4. Ecobee detects motion and adjusts participation automatically

🧪 Advanced Diagnostic Tests

Test 1: Verify actual temperature vs displayed

1. Get quality digital thermometer
2. Place near thermostat for 30 minutes
3. Compare readings
4. If off by 2°F+: Calibrate sensor (Problem #1)

Test 2: Monitor heating cycle timing

1. Set heat to 72°F (above current temp)
2. Note time heat turns ON
3. Note time temp reaches setpoint
4. Note time heat turns OFF
5. Note time heat turns back ON
6. Normal behavior:
   • Heat runs 10-20 minutes to reach temp
   • Off for 20-40 minutes (mild weather)
   • Off for 5-15 minutes (cold weather)
7. Problem behavior:
   • Cycles every 3-5 minutes (differential too tight)
   • Never turns off (sensor reading low or other issue)

Test 3: Check outdoor temperature impact (heat pumps)

1. Menu → Weather (if enabled)
2. Or check outdoor temp another way
3. Note when aux heat runs vs outdoor temp
4. Expected:
   • Above 40°F: Heat pump only
   • 30-40°F: Occasional aux
   • Below 30°F: Frequent aux normal
5. If aux runs above 40°F: Balance point set wrong

Test 4: Disable all remote sensors

1. Menu → Comfort Settings → [Comfort Name]
2. Sensors: Uncheck ALL remote sensors
3. Only thermostat sensor participates
4. Test for 24 hours
5. If excessive heating stops: Remote sensor was causing issue
6. Add sensors back one at a time to identify problem sensor

📋 Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Flowchart

Follow in this order:

1. ✅ Compare Ecobee temp to accurate thermometer → Off by 2°F+? Calibrate sensor
2. ✅ Check for active holds → Remove holds, resume schedule
3. ✅ Disable Smart Recovery → Test if early heating stops
4. ✅ Adjust heat differential → Set to 1.0-1.5°F
5. ✅ Review sensor participation → Remove cold room sensors
6. ✅ Check for low batteries → Replace remote sensor batteries
7. ✅ Disable Smart Home/Away → Test with simple schedule
8. ✅ Adjust Stage 2 differential → Set 2-3°F higher than Stage 1
9. ✅ Seal air leaks behind thermostat → Stop cold wall air
10. ✅ Consider thermostat relocation → If placement is fundamentally wrong

🔑 Key Takeaways

Most common fixes (90% of cases):

1. Calibrate temperature sensor – Ecobee reading low (40%)
2. Adjust heat differential – Set to 1.0-1.5°F (20%)
3. Fix remote sensor participation – Remove cold room sensors (15%)
4. Disable Smart Recovery – Understand it’s pre-heating (10%)
5. Seal air leaks behind wall plate – Cold wall air affects sensor (5%)

Quick diagnostic questions:

• Is Ecobee temp accurate compared to thermometer? → Calibration
• Does heat cycle every 5-10 minutes? → Differential too tight
• Do you have remote sensors? → Check participation and batteries
• Do you have 2-stage heat or heat pump? → Check staging settings
• Does heat start before scheduled time? → Smart Recovery

When to relocate thermostat:

• On exterior wall
• Near door or window
• In direct sun
• Near supply vent
• Calibration can’t fix (needs >3°F correction)

When to call a pro:

• Thermostat relocation needed
• Consistent 5°F+ temperature discrepancy
• HVAC equipment not responding correctly to calls
• Unusual noises or behavior from furnace/heat pump

⚠️ What’s Normal vs What’s a Problem

✅ NORMAL Behavior (not a problem):

Heat cycling every 15-30 minutes in mild weather:

• Furnace doesn’t need to run long when it’s 50°F outside
• Short cycles are normal and efficient
• If bothered by it: Increase differential to 1.5°F

Smart Recovery starting heat 30-60 min early:

• This is the feature working correctly
• Ensures comfort at scheduled time
• Disable if you don’t want this

Temperature fluctuates ±1°F around setpoint:

• Normal with standard differential settings
• Cannot maintain exact temperature constantly
• Physics and efficiency don’t allow it

Stage 2 or aux heat occasionally in very cold weather:

• Expected when outdoor temp very low
• Stage 1 alone can’t keep up
• As long as it doesn’t run constantly

Heat pump running continuously in cold weather:

• Normal below balance point (30-35°F)
• Heat pumps work harder in cold
• Should cycle off occasionally even when cold

❌ PROBLEM Behavior (needs fixing):

Ecobee shows 68°F, actual room is 72°F:

• Sensor error, needs calibration or relocation
• Should be within ±1°F

Heat cycles every 3-5 minutes constantly:

• Differential too tight
• Short cycling damages equipment

Stage 2/aux runs constantly in moderate weather (45°F+):

• Staging settings wrong
• Wasting energy

Temperature keeps rising 3-5°F above setpoint:

• Different issue – see “Ecobee Not Turning Off Heat” article
• Could be stuck relay or wiring short

Sensors showing wildly different temps (10°F+ difference):

• Failed sensor or sensor in bad location
• Replace battery or relocate sensor

💬 Still Having Issues?

If Ecobee keeps calling for heat after trying these solutions:

1. Document the behavior:
   • What temperature does Ecobee display?
   • What’s the actual room temperature (verified thermometer)?
   • How often does heat cycle? (every X minutes)
   • Do you have remote sensors? Which are participating?
   • What’s your heat differential setting?
2. Take screenshots:
   • Home screen showing temperature and “Heating” status
   • Sensor screen showing all sensor temps
   • Threshold settings screen
   • Equipment configuration screen
3. Contact support:
   • Ecobee support: 1-877-932-6233
   • Provide diagnostic info above
   • They can check for firmware issues
   • May identify unusual behavior patterns
4. Consider professional assessment:
   • HVAC tech can verify equipment operation
   • Confirm thermostat location is appropriate
   • Check for unusual home heating loss issues
   • Cost: $100-200 diagnostic

In most cases, this is a settings or sensor issue, not a hardware failure – you can fix it!