Honeywell’s Lyric thermostat doesn’t just learn, it adapts. The coolest smart thermostat contender we’ve seen since Nest, Lyric adjusts a home’s temperature based on proximity, not predictability. It’ll actually be part of a broader network of smart home devices that also will fall under the Lyric moniker, but the thermostat will be the first device in the line.
Using a technology the company calls geofencing, the connected thermostat keeps tabs on members of the household through their Android or iOS devices. Geofencing uses the location of your smartphone to automatically turn 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.
Temperature also can be managed using the unit’s round control dial on the thermostat itself. A novel proximity feature signals the display to turn on only when a homeowner walks up to the Lyric thermostat. 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. Users also can view a 12-hour weather forecast from the thermostat.