In 1953, Honeywell introduced its iconic round thermostat, the T86, designed by Henry Dreyfuss and now part of the Cooper Hewitt museum’s collection. Since Nest has launched its round and smart thermostat, Honeywell never stopped suing the company for patent infringement, probably to kill the super innovative new comer.
The Lyric looks a little like the Nest, the main similarity lies in its rounded shape and the quality of the materials it is made of. Other than that, the device is white, which differs from the black surface of the Nest, and the display in the center is slightly smaller. Competition always fosters innovation and, in this case, it made Honeywell create a beautifully designed product that leverages the company’s great design history. And, since Google has acquired Nest, hoping to bury the startup in legal paperwork may not be a good option any more.
The geofencing capability is the main smart feature, it uses the location of your smartphone to sense when you are not at home and turns the thermostat in energy saving mode. The device sense when you are coming home and can adjust the temperature right for the time of your arrival. You can set your preferred temperature, the algorithm integrates indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, and weather, to provide the optimal settings for you.
Mutliple smartphones and tablets can be connected to Lyric, so the whole family can interact with the smart thermostat. Users can manually adjust the temperature, either from the Lyric App available for iOS and Android, or directly from the dial control on the device. There are two buttons on the left and on the right, one for looking at the weather information and one for setting back your temperature when you are away. The proximity sensor wakes the screen when someone is approaching the Lyric to display the temperature.
A colored halo around the Lyric indicates whether the thermostat is cooling (blue), heating (red) or in energy saving mode (green). The thermostat provides alerts and information about maintenance and help you find a service professional.
The Lyric will be available at retail in August 2014 for $279. For more information check www.lyric.honeywell.com
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