The electrocaloric effect (ECE) in (1 − x)BaZr 0.18 Ti 0.82 O 3 -(x)BaSn 0.11 Ti 0.89 O 3 (BZT18-BST11, 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) ceramics is investigated near room temperature using a calorimetry method. The ceramics exhibit relaxor-like ferroelectric characteristics and by merging phases, a large electrocaloric (EC) response is observed in the system. The largest entropy change is 4.8 Jkg −1 K −1 (along with a temperature change of 3.5 K), which is induced under an electric field of 10 MV m −1 for the 0.8 BaZr 0.18 Ti 0.82 O 3 -0.2 BaSn 0.11 Ti 0.89 O 3 ceramics. This result reveals that the coexistence of multiple phases improves the ECE of the ceramics, which provides an effective route to achieve a large EC response using a small electric field.This article is part of the themed issue 'Taking the temperature of phase transitions in cool materials'.