What if your house knew you were on your way home after a long day at work? And what if your house could then turn on the air conditioning so you always returned to the perfect climate? That’s the goal behind Honeywell’s new smart thermostat Lyric. Unlike Nest’s smart thermostat, which learns your habits to raise or lower the temperature, the Honeywell Lyric uses geo-fences to set the temperature of your home. The Lyric tracks your cell phone to see how far away you are, and adjusts temperature accordingly. On your way home? Lyric can optimize for comfort. On your way out? Lyric goes into energy saving mode. You can tell Lyric to start optimizing for comfort when you’re a couple miles away from home, or when you’re right outside. Lyric also has humidity sensors that can keep your home cool without turning the air conditioning on. Got a separate add-on humidifier? Lyric can control that, too. If you like the sound of Lyric, it’ll be available this August for $279.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.