Why Are Heat And Cool Disabled When Ecobee Is Calibrating?

I’ve often found myself going to ask Alexa a question only to realize I was nowhere near one. Smart devices make life much more convenient, don’t they? Ecobee is a home automation company that specializes in smart home devices. One such device is their smart thermostat.

Sometimes, though, smart devices have moments of…unintelligence. Perhaps you’ve experienced this with your Ecobee thermostat. Occasionally, you may notice your Ecobee shows a calibrating message that states your heating and cooling has been disabled. Why does that happen?

An Ecobee thermostat calibrates after its initial installation as well as any time it reboots. When it’s calibrating, the thermostat is attempting to accurately gauge the home’s temperature. The calibration process is usually between 5 and 20 minutes at which time you are unable to use your HVAC system. This is the reason for the disabled message.

Ecobee’s built-in sensors measure the temperature in the room as well as humidity and room occupancy. The device also has the capacity for up to 32 wireless sensors which you can place in other rooms.

During calibration, these sensors are working to get an accurate temperature reading. Calibration occurs at the initial installation of an Ecobee or any time the system has to reboot. During this time, you can’t use your HVAC system which is why the message reads that it’s disabled.

Rebooting may cause an Ecobee thermostat to recalibrate. If the system reboots, it’s understandable that it would then need to re-read the room for the correct temperature.

Occasional rebooting is a normal function of the thermostat. Constant rebooting signals an issue with the thermostat or another part of the HVAC system. Simple fixes include changing the furnace filter or cleaning the AC drain. More challenging fixes may involve wires.

The following reasons are why the device might reboot:

As a safety precaution, furnaces have an automatic shut-off feature to prevent the machine’s internal temperatures from getting too hot. Some furnaces go further and also shut off the power to the thermostat. Because of this temporary loss of power, the thermostat is required to reboot.

Your furnace may be overheating because it’s running for too long. Lowering the target temperature a few degrees may help.

It’s possible that your furnace is overheated because it needs to be cleaned. The most common reason for overheating is dirty furnace filters. These should be changed regularly and can easily be done yourself.

In order to operate properly, Ecobee needs a continuous 24 volt AC power supply. The thermostat gains power by the R and C wires. These must be connected correctly to the HVAC board or Ecobee Power Extender Kit and the back of the thermostat.

It may be that the wiring is loose, damaged, or installed incorrectly if the system keeps rebooting.

If the wires aren’t connected to terminals tightly enough, fully press down the tabs next to the terminals.

If the wires are improperly spliced, this disrupts the power supply and is also a fire hazard. In this case, it’s best to call an electrician to install new wires.

If the wires are corroded, detach them from the terminal and scrub with a wire brush. You may still notice some corrosion. In this case, mix 3 tablespoons of baking soda in 1 cup of warm water and apply to the wire with a toothbrush. You’ll notice fizzing. When it stops, the corrosion should be gone.

We’ve discussed many reasons why an Ecobee thermostat might calibrate and why the heating and cooling are disabled. Perhaps you still have more questions. Below are things other Ecobee users asked about the smart thermostat.

Ecobee thermostats let you program automatic temperature changes on a schedule. However, if you manually bump the temperature up a degree or two, it stays that way. Other programmable thermostats continue their schedule regardless of a manual temperature change.

To override this feature, go to the Main Menu > Settings > Preferences > Hold Action. Set it Until Next Activity. Now, you should be able to manually change the temperature without disrupting the scheduled program.

You can reset the Ecobee thermostat from either the physical button or through the display menu on the thermostat itself. The physical button’s location is on the bottom left corner of the device. Pressing the reset button clears all of your schedules and preferences and reverts the thermostat back to its factory settings.

Using the menu, you can isolate certain things to reset, such as schedule and preferences. This way you’re not wiping the whole thermostat if you only need to change one thing.

Not usually. Most smart devices remember the schedule and set programs and will continue to run them. However, you can only make manual changes. If you want to change the temperature, you’ll have to do it directly from the device. The app and computer can’t control it because there is no Wi-Fi during a server outage.

This is different than a power outage. In the event you lose power, your Ecobee will continue to run your HVAC system on whatever power it has stored up. Once the battery dies, your HVAC system becomes disabled, and the Ecobee recalibrates once the power is restored.

As wonderful as smart home devices can be, they have their faults. Ecobee thermostats are no exception. Sometimes, they display a calibrating message. This is confusing and disconcerting because, at the same time, your heating and cooling are disabled.

You should expect an Ecobee to calibrate after first installing it, and it should be up and running after no more than 20 minutes. It also calibrates for a bit longer than normal after its routine firmware updates.

If it seems like your system is constantly calibrating, your Ecobee is rebooting often. This can signal a bigger problem with your HVAC or the device’s wiring.