MINNEAPOLIS — Honeywell has announced the launch of its new Lyric™ smart thermostat which the company said knows when homeowners are coming and going, based on smartphone location, to deliver comfort when they’re at home and savings when they’re away.

Using the location of the user’s smartphone, the Lyric thermostat’s geofencing feature automatically turns it to energy saving mode when a home is empty, and then senses when the user is coming home and heats or cools the house to the 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.

“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?” said Beth Wozniak, president of Honeywell Environmental and Combustion Controls. “With the Lyric thermostat’s geofencing 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 iTunes™ and Google Play™), homeowners can adjust their home’s temperature 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 thermostat also provides alerts on when to change a filter, and if and when the furnace needs servicing.

The Lyric thermostat is available now via HVAC contractors, and will be available at retail beginning in August 2014. For more information, visit www.lyric.honeywell.com.

Publication date: 6/16/2014

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