The most likely cause of your fan’s malfunction is a problem with your settings. There are a number of options available in the ecobee settings that will cause your fan to run on a continual basis. It’s possible that none of these settings are to blame, in which case you’ll need to address a wiring issue between your thermostat and your air conditioning fan.
Fixing Ecobee Fan Running Issue: Quick Guide
Ecobee manufactures one of the most effective smart home thermostats now available on the market. Alexa and Apple’s HomeKit are already supported, and it’s easy to get started with it. It also has a built-in speaker, as well as all of the other features that you’d expect from a modern smart thermostat, such as programmability.
While these advantages have been noted, some ecobee owners have expressed concern about having difficulty controlling their HVAC fans after installing an ecobee system. You may easily turn off your fan at any time of day or night by selecting the appropriate settings in the ecobee’s user interface.
What precisely is Ecobee, and how does it work?
The ecobee smart thermostat is now available in black for the calendar year 2019.
It is possible to use your existing HVAC system in conjunction with ECOBEE, a smart home thermostat that may be used in connection with other smart home systems.
The use of these thermostats could result in a savings of up to 23 percent reduction on your heating and cooling expenditures each year. Aside from that, they are versions that have built-in sensors, which can assist you in maintaining a more consistent temperature throughout your home. In addition to learning your pattern over time, Ecobee, like many other smart thermostats, can adjust its settings to suit your heating and cooling requirements better.
In spite of the fact that it has a plethora of useful functions, EcoBee can occasionally experience difficulties when dealing with HVAC fans that refuse to switch off.
How can you determine the source of your HVAC fan’s nonstop operation?
A fan, which is powered by either an electric or a gas motor, is responsible for distributing heating and cooling air around your home. This fan can be utilized as a stand-alone unit or as a component of your home’s heating and cooling system. In addition, this fan can be operated independently of your HVAC system.
This means that there is a possibility that your fan will continue to run even after you have instructed it to do so. When utilizing EcoBee’s smart thermostat to operate this fan, there are several alternatives available. However, one of the first things to look for is a problem with the heating and cooling system.
Have you experienced problems with your HVAC system?
Rooftop outdoor air conditioning systems with fans are available.
To be more specific, as previously said, your fan is normally controlled by commands from your thermostat, which tells it when to run and when to switch off. It is possible that a constantly running fan indicates an issue with the wiring further down the line.
Start by making sure the relay connecting your thermostat and fan is fully functional before proceeding. A malfunctioning relay may cause your fan to become permanently stuck in the “on” position. Additionally, relay switches, faulty fan motors, or other electrical faults could be the source of your fan problems.
If all of your Ecobee settings are right and your thermostat is properly wired, it is possible that you will need to have your fan tested by a professional in the HVAC industry. Meanwhile, in the meantime, here are the Ecobee settings you can use to control your fan until they arrive.
Making Your Ecobee Operate to Its Full Potential
Despite the fact that the Ecobee smart thermostat is one of the most advanced smart home technologies now available on the market, it does come with a few drawbacks that we must work around.
You will need to have our Ecobee thermostat troubleshooted if your fan is always running and the problem is not with your heating and cooling system.
Fortunately, the majority of these issues can be resolved by making a few simple adjustments to the settings. In contrast, others must be resolved by navigating through more complex menus and submenus. Ecobee is jam-packed with features, which is generally a positive thing, but it can make debugging a little more pleasurable because of the number of options available.
To see whether any of these simple remedies for your HVAC fan can help it come back to life, try them out for yourself.
Ecobee Schematics and Wiring Diagram

As a matter of fact, this is our first stop, and it has nothing to do with an Ecobee feature at all, and everything to do with the manner in which it was initially installed.
Customers have reported that wires were crossed during the original Ecobee installation, forcing the HVAC fan to operate nonstop for an extended period of time. One customer even pointed out that the Auto and On fan controls were in the wrong positions! The following steps may be necessary if none of the previous troubleshooting approaches in this article were successful in bringing your fan under control: reinstall your Ecobee from the ground up in order to rule out the possibility that any wires were crossed during the first installation.
Perhaps one of these fast troubleshooting tips will be of use in avoiding this situation in the future.
Was the Smart Recovery Feature intended to accomplish, and how does it work?
Ecobee is a smart home thermostat, and as such, it comes pre-installed with a slew of intelligent capabilities. It is likely that you will spend less time adjusting your system as a result of these capabilities because they “learn” your habits and heating preferences over time.
With information such as when you are at home, your schedule, and your temperature preferences, the Ecobee thermostat can generate an individual profile that can be maintained without the need for human input.
One disadvantage is that if Ecobee doesn’t get it right the first time, you may find yourself with an HVAC fan running longer than necessary. The possibility exists that you will need to adjust the Smart Recovery option if you have been experiencing troubles with a runaway fan.
It’s a plain matter of truth that this one needs to be changed. It’s one of the settings available from the “Preferences” menu on the left-hand side of the screen. Simply choose “Smart Recovery” from the drop-down menu and click “Off” to turn it off:
Even if it turns out that the problem was not caused by the initial attempt, it is always possible to try again later in the same manner.
Take a look at the options you have for holding.
You may use your Ecobee to perform a range of other things in addition to fully automating your HVAC controls.
If you want Ecobee to realize that there is an exception to your automatic heating and cooling plans, you must first put a pause on the scheduling in the Ecobee program. Prepare for a heat wave by doing this, or simply switch things up from your normal routine.
One of the major blocks you may encounter is the inability to keep your fan operating. It is possible that homeowners will wish to leave their fans operating even if the rest of their HVAC system is not. Ecobee offers this feature, which allows you to set a hold for your fan so that it will continue to run while you are away from home.
You can check to see whether there are any current holdouts on your Ecobee home screen by pressing the “Holdouts” button. In addition, because the fan hold settings are completely new as of the most recent firmware update, there is a significantly increased likelihood that issues will arise. Fortunately, addressing this configuration problem is a simple and quick procedure.
To complete the process, simply navigate to the Quick Changes menu and pick the newly added “Fan Holds” option. You’ll be able to create holds that last anywhere between a few minutes and as long as you choose. There’s also the option of disengaging any fan holds that may have been accidentally activated in the past.
There are several options for heat dissipation available.
After your HVAC system has been turned off, your fan will normally continue to run for a few seconds longer than normal. The reason for this is that even after your system has been turned off, residual heat may still be released into your home. Long-term savings will result from getting the most of your HVAC dollar by utilizing the residual energy available in your system.
In order to accomplish this, Ecobee includes a heat dissipation mode that allows it to utilize the residual heating energy. In most cases, this setting keeps the fan running for additional 30 seconds after your HVAC system has been turned off, but it can continue up to 900 seconds! The procedures to take if the amount has been set too high are outlined in further detail further down this page.
The option for heat dissipation is a little difficult to find in the menu structure:
- To access the “Settings” part of the menu, click on the “Settings” button.
- Select “Installation Preferences” from the drop-down menu that appears.
- Look for the “Thresholds” menu item on the main menu.
- During the “Heat Dissipation” section, you will have the ability to modify the parameters.
In terms of the time required for heat dissipation, you are in complete control. It is critical to understand, however, that this option cannot be held responsible for a fan that is continually running. When selecting this setting, the fan can only run for up to 900 seconds at a time, which is a significant amount of time when you consider how frequently your system is used throughout the day and night.
Another option allows you to have your fan running around the clock, seven days a week.
In which case is it best to use On or Auto?

When it comes to Ecobee and other smart thermostat systems, this is a regular issue. It is possible that your fan will be on all of the time if this setting is not set to “auto.”
When the fan is set to “auto,” your system will automatically turn it on whenever it determines that it is necessary to change the temperature of your home. Following that, depending on your heat dissipation settings and the Smart Recovery choices you’ve selected, the fan should shut down relatively soon. When your system is shut off, this usually implies that the fan will only run for a few minutes.
With the “on” setting, on the other hand, the computer is powered up and ready to go. This choice ensures that your fan will continue to run indefinitely. This will ensure that your fan continues to run even when you are not at home! So, what’s the answer to this question?
Go to the Quick Settings menu on your smartphone and pick “Fan” from the list. If you look in this menu, you should be able to toggle between the auto and on options. To get started, simply select the automatic option from the drop-down menu.