Honeywell’s latest thermostat works with Alexa and Siri, and is $100 cheaper than Nest.
The ranks of Apple HomeKit devices expanded today with Honeywell’s new Lyric T5 Wi-Fi Thermostat. Also compatible with Amazon Alexa, the Lyric T5 is aimed at connected home enthusiasts who would otherwise be considering a Nest thermostat or those who already have a collection of Lyric devices.
Honeywell’s $149 device will be available starting in October. Its marquee feature is the ability to control your home’s temperature with voice commands to Alexa (via an Echo speaker) or Siri (via HomeKit and the new iOS 10 Home app or Apple TV). The T5 and the rest of the Lyric connected home line also works with Honeywell’s own smartphone app.
Although they have perhaps less name recognition than Nest, Lyric thermostats are not new to the connected home market. The T5 includes features from previous versions, like geofencing, which helps homeowners save money by putting the thermostat into energy-saving mode when everyone leaves the house. Like other smart thermostats, it can learn a home’s heating and cooling cycles, and then adapt to bring the home to the optimized temperature at the requested time.
The $149 price point is also $100 cheaper than the Nest learning thermostat, so the T5 will appeal to people who are looking to dabble in home automation while keeping costs down. Its styling is markedly different, though: instead of the Nest’s sleek circle with a small screen in the middle, the Lyric T5’s black face is made up almost entirely of a large touch display.
Via the Lyric app, the T5 works alongside other connected home sensors, like Honeywell’s leak detectors and security systems. That integration will likely appeal to homeowners who are including a complete automation system in a new construction or renovation. Nest, too, is adding more devices to its ecosystem, including new outdoor security cameras.
