Honeywell Lyric First Impressions - Nest has competition?
**Installation update** Most humidifiers that I've seen wired won't work using the C wire and the Ua1 terminal. You need to connect your humidistat wires to U1 and the U2 terminals in order for it work!
U1 and U2 are essentially a "contact closure" connection which is what a humidifier needs to operate.
Newly released Honeywell Lyric smart phone enabled thermostat. Apparently Honeywell's Lyric thermostat was a joint development effort from Apple Inc. and Honeywell. With the HVAC expertise and the program development and marketing prowess of Apple coupled with a marketplace dominated with smart phones it isn't surprising that Honeywell had to create a competing product to the highly accepted Nest smart thermostat - ironically created by the creators of the original Apple iPod.
Is this Honeywell's answer to Nest?
My video will go through:
1. Unboxing
2. Installation - this part is a little long
3. Overview of thermostat
4. Overview of smart device app
5. Comparison to Nest and their corresponding app
Key differences between Lyric and Nest are summarized below:
Nest Pros:
Is made of better materials. Glass and stainless steel construction
Has a simpler looking interface
Has a web portal and smart phone apps
Has Z-wave capabilities
Can link with Nest Protect and other partnered products
Fairly stable product with reasonably reliable firmware
Has been in the marketplace for over 3 years.
Is owned by google
Has energy reports
Shows "leafs" to show you're saving energy over your usual usage habits.
Near idiot-proof installation. Nest can "sense" wiring problems and display it on screen.
Nest Cons:
Has no geofencing
Humidity setting isn't precise - you can't actually set a specific percentage
Doesn't have fine tune outdoor climate compensation
Doesn't display weather stats on front display
Doesn't allow you to tell it how long you'll be away for
Wider than expected temperature swings - overshoots temperatures according to some users.
Has a built in lithium ion backup battery
Lyric Pros:
Has fine tune auto climate compensation
Supports geofencing
Has a somewhat snazzier display and lighting effects
Very precise temperature sensing
Is made by probably the best thermostat maker in the world
Has Apple Inc. backing their development - Or is that a con?
Has precise humidity control
Has more ventilation and circulation options
Supports 3 heat and 2 cooling modes
Lyric Cons:
Cheaper materials used to make it. Plastic front + plastic bezels painted to look like metal
Doesn't have a built it li-ion battery backup - but does use an inexpensive AAA cell
Firmware and mobile app can be a tad buggy
Has no web portal
Is very new to the marketplace so there will be growing pains
Has no energy reports
No energy usage feedback
Installation instructions can be confusing
Either thermostat to be honest will serve the purpose for 99% of the people. I think that both Nest and Honeywell could still dramatically improve their product over time. Small refinements will eventually be introduced that will likely make both the Nest and the Lyric on par with each other.