can i turn off just the time of use feature on my ecobee without disabling all the other smart stuff?

Diagnosis

The "Time of Use" feature in the ecobee SmartThermostat Premium is a specific subset of the eco+ suite designed to shift energy consumption to off-peak hours based on your utility provider's rate schedule. When this is active, the thermostat may preemptively cool or heat your home (precooling/preheating) or slightly adjust your setpoints during peak windows to save money. This is managed by a cloud-based algorithm that syncs with your local utility's pricing data. If you find your home is too warm or cold during specific windows, or if you have switched to a flat-rate electricity plan, the Time of Use feature becomes a hindrance rather than a help. Because ecobee designed the eco+ menu as a modular system, this feature operates independently of the "Smart Home & Away" or "Schedule Assistant" logic. You can disable the pricing-based logic without losing the occupancy-based automation or the AI-driven schedule optimizations. To confirm this is the issue, check your thermostat's screen for a "leaf" icon or a notification stating "eco+ is optimizing for cost"; if these appear during hours you want full manual control, Time of Use is the culprit.

How to Fix It

To disable the Time of Use feature while keeping your other smart automations active, follow these precise steps on your device or mobile app:

1. Open the ecobee app on your smartphone or wake up the SmartThermostat Premium screen.
2. Navigate to the Main Menu (the three horizontal lines) and select eco+.
3. Inside the eco+ menu, you will see a list of five distinct optimization toggles. Locate the one labeled Time of Use.
4. Tap the toggle switch to move it to the Off position. The slider will change from green (active) to grey (inactive).
5. Leave the other four sliders—Smart Home & Away, Schedule Assistant, Community Energy Savings, and Adjust temperature for humidity—in the "On" position to maintain your other smart features.
6. Wait approximately 60 seconds for the command to sync from the cloud to the thermostat hardware.

If That Didn't Work

• Check Utility Enrollment: If the toggle is greyed out or missing, you may be enrolled in a "Demand Response" program directly through your utility company. In these cases, the utility overrides the thermostat via a separate agreement. You must contact your electricity provider to opt-out of the "Smart Savings" or "Peak Rewards" program to regain local control of the Time of Use settings.
• Reset eco+ Calibration: If the thermostat is still behaving as if Time of Use is active, go to the eco+ menu and toggle all features off, wait two minutes, and then toggle only the ones you want back on. This forces a refresh of the configuration file on the ecobee servers.
• Verify Time Zone Settings: If you want Time of Use on but it's triggering at the wrong time, go to Main Menu > Settings > Installation Settings > Time. If the time zone is incorrect, the thermostat will apply peak-hour logic to the wrong part of the day, making it seem like the feature is malfunctioning.
• Audit Your Schedule: Ensure that your "Comfort Settings" (Home, Away, Sleep) aren't conflicting. If you have a very restrictive schedule, the Schedule Assistant might be overriding your manual changes, which can be mistaken for Time of Use behavior.

Heads Up

• The "Leaf" Icon: Remember that the green leaf icon on the home screen does not always mean Time of Use is active; it simply means you are running a setpoint that is energy-efficient.
• Humidity Overrides: If you keep "Adjust temperature for humidity" on, your AC may run longer than usual even if you've disabled Time of Use, as it is prioritizing "Feels Like" temperature over the actual thermometer reading.
• Firmware Updates: ecobee pushes eco+ updates silently in the background. If you notice the Time of Use toggle has flipped back to "On" after a system update, check your email for notifications from ecobee regarding new utility partnerships.