Honeywell Lyric review: This smart thermostat needs to wise up

Honeywell Lyric thermostat $279.00

Geo-fencing is probably a better solution than an algorithm that takes time to learn your home/away patterns, but that feature alone isn't enough to justify the Lyric's high price tag.

Oh, the irony. Honeywell introduced a round thermostat way back in 1953, but abandoned the shape in favor of rectangles in 1960. Thermostat manufacturers relied on that basic industrial design for the next 40 years, until the geniuses at Nest resurrected the roundand disrupted the industryin 2011. Now Honeywell has an all-new round thermostat of its own. The Lyric doesnt sing, and it wont learn your daily routine like the Nest will, but its not entirely dumb.

Ill discuss the Lyrics capabilities first and relate my installation experience second. That might seem backward, but you wont care about installing it if you decide it doesnt meet your needs and expectations. The Lyrics suggested list price is $280 ($30 more than the Nest Learning Thermostat). Honeywell is running a promotion that brings its price tag down to $229, but its still not an impulse buy.

The Lyric features an attractive industrial design thats just different enough from the Nest to avoid outright imitation. You move a ring around the exterior of the thermostat to set the desired indoor temperature, which is displayed on the smaller display on top of the Lyrics face. The Nest works that way, too, but the original Honeywell Round also had a ring (although it was on the face, not the outer edge, so who's the copycat?). LEDs cast a ring of cool light on the wall behind the Lyric.

You can override the Lyric's geo-fencing when you leave the house, but you can't control it from the web.

The larger display in the middle shows the current indoor temperature. Press the cloud/sun icon on the left-hand side, and this will change to show a periodic weather forecast. Pushing the home button on the right-hand side informs the Lyric that youll be leaving the house, so the HVAC system should be idled to save you money. A proximity sensor brightens the display when you approach.

But the Lyric has more sophisticated ways of knowing when youre home and when youre not, which Ill dive into next. (Honeywell claims the average homeowner will save $130 per year in heating and cooling costs, so that the Lyric will pay for itself in two years. Were not equipped to evaluate that claim, but its established fact that smart thermostats can reduce your utility bills.)

Like the Nest, the Lyric knows when youre away and when youre home desirous of indoor climate control. Unlike the Nest, the Lyric doesnt learn your comings and goings so it can develop a schedule based on when youre home and when youre away. And since there isnt a web interface, you cant change the heat/cool mode or set the target temperature remotely. You also cant manually program the thermostat to heat and cool on a schedule.

On the bright side, the Lyric is outfitted with a humidity sensor that can trigger the ventilation system to move air around your home if the humidity gets too high (increasing the chances of mold growth).

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Honeywell Lyric review: This smart thermostat needs to wise up