The Nest thermostat, now owned by Google, is likely the most well-known widely available connected thermostat on the market — but it’s not the first and it won’t be the last. A number of companies, including Honeywell, offer rival Internet-connected thermostats that look to save you money and keep you comfortable. Each different model has pros and cons, but Honeywell’s latest offering is shaping up to be one of the most enticing options so far.
Designed with simplicity, savings and comfort in mind, Honeywell’s new Lyric thermostat is the first offering that will fall under the company’s new Lyric brand.
In some ways, the Lyric thermostat is unlike anything Honeywell has ever launched before. It features a unique look and a simple interface that is carried forward in the accompanying Android, iPhone and iPad applications.
In other key ways, however, the new Lyric thermostat is very much like older Honeywell offerings: For example, it’s compatible with 97% of residential homes in America.
Like the Nest, the Lyric thermostat learns your schedule and adapts over time to strike the perfect balance between comfort and energy cost savings. It also can be controlled completely from a mobile app or using the sleek and simple interface on the device. For a nice added touch, a single tap on a capacitive button will display the current weather conditions and the day’s forecast.
Honeywell’s Lyric also sports a few key features that the Nest does not have. For starters, the company’s mobile apps feature extremely thorough installation guides that are interactive and include detailed installation videos. Not having to hire an electrician alone could potentially save users hundreds of dollars.
There are also a few nifty features that are unique to the Lyric thermostat.
For example, most people have to set their thermostats at different temperatures throughout the year to achieve the same comfort level. The Lyric thermostat takes outside temperature and humidity into account when setting the temperature, however. This allows the temperature set by the user to feel the same all year round.
Honeywell will also make APIs available so that smart home solutions makers such as Insteon and SmartThings can support the Lyric thermostat and other upcoming Lyric devices.
The Lyric thermostat will launch in July exclusively at Lowes for $279, and then it will be made available in August across a number of additional U.S. retailers.
Honeywell’s full press release follows below.
COMFORT WHEN YOU’RE HOME, SAVINGS WHEN YOU’RE AWAY: INTRODUCING HONEYWELL’S LYRICTM THERMOSTAT
The Thermostat That Recognizes Your Family’s Busy Lifestyle, Heating And Cooling Your Home Based On Smartphone Location
MINNEAPOLIS, June 10, 2014 – There’s no such thing as a regular routine for today’s busy families. No two days are alike and schedules change by the minute. Honeywell (NYSE: HON), the leader in managing home comfort and security for 125 years, is today launching the LyricTM thermostat to put you back in control. The Lyric thermostat knows when you are coming and going, based on smartphone location, to deliver comfort when you’re home and savings when you’re away.
The Lyric thermostat is the first offering in a new family of innovative connected home products from Honeywell, the recognized category leader found in more than 150 million homes globally. The Lyric thermostat is designed for how people really live today:
- Using the location of your smartphone, the Geofence feature automatically turns the Lyric thermostat into energy saving mode when a home is empty, and then senses when you are coming home and heats or cools the house to your preferred temperature.
- The Fine Tune feature factors indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, and weather into its algorithm, enabling it to provide the most comfortable temperature for homeowners. No other do-it-yourself Wi-Fi thermostat on the market does that.
“Most people don’t have a predictable pattern to how they live their lives; why not have a thermostat that adjusts based on your real-time schedule?” says Beth Wozniak, president of Honeywell Environmental and Combustion Controls. “With the Lyric thermostat’s Geofence capability, my house returns to my preferred comfort setting when I’m within a few miles from home. Quite simply, the Lyric thermostat offers me the ability to keep my life in tune – delivering comfort when I’m home and savings when I’m gone.”
Beyond a smartphone, the temperature can be managed using Honeywell’s familiar round dial control on the thermostat itself. With the Lyric app (available via the App Store on iTunesTM and Google PlayTM), homeowners can adjust their home’s temperature to life as it happens, wherever they are. When a homeowner walks up to the Lyric thermostat, a built-in proximity sensor signals the display to turn on and show current temperature and the home’s heating or cooling status. A soft halo of light in orange (heating), blue (cooling), or green (away/energy savings) momentarily illuminates around the thermostat to indicate it is making temperature adjustments. Additionally, touch-sensitive buttons flank the center display – one for accessing current and upcoming weather information, and one for setting back your temperature while you’re away. The Lyric thermostat provides easy-to-understand alerts on when to change a filter, if and when your furnace needs servicing, and even help find a trusted service professional.
The gloss white finish and silver accents of the Lyric thermostat, along with its shallow depth and flush wall mount, add a contemporary appearance to any room. Beyond contemporary design and innovative functionality, it delivers the same reliable control and accuracy for which Honeywell is known since it introduced the iconic ‘RoundTM’ in 1945.
The Lyric thermostat is available now via professional heating and cooling contractors, and will be available at retail beginning in August 2014 for $279 (MSRP). To learn more, please visit http://www.lyric.honeywell.com. Consumers who want installation assistance can search for a local contractor at http://www.lyric.honeywell.com.
