Finally, the UK sees launch of Honeywell’s HomeKit-enabled Lyric thermostats
Thanks to an overdue launch, HomeKit support is finally coming to the UK.
Honeywell had an Apple HomeKit thermostat available in the US (the Lyric Round), but UK support was rather lacking. With the launch of Lyric T6, Honewell finally has a HomeKit product for us in the UK to play with too.
The Lyric T6 joins the growing range of smart thermostats from Honeywell. Designed to replace your current thermostat, it provides control of your entire house, although room-by-room control will require more power (and expensive) tech such as Evohome.
The most exciting part of the T6 is the HomeKit support, allowing thermostat control simply by talking to Siri. Have an Apple TV? Now you can use voice commands even whilst away from home, as the media player will act as a bridge.
In demos that we saw, the HomeKit instantly converted the command to turn up the heat to the thermostat.
With the launch of Apple’s Home app and iOS 10, you can integrate Lyric T6 into your scenes as well. For example, you can have the heating turn up and lights turn on when you arrive at your home. Honeywell have confirmed that both Amazon Echo (Alexa) and IFTTT support will be launched in the coming weeks, matching Evohome’s level of control. Further control is allowed through Honeywell’s dedicated Lyric app. It comes with a simple interface, and a dial control so you can quickly set a temperature. Unlike the newer Evohome app which makes changing the temperature a bit of a faff, this is rather neat.
There are also some clever options in the app. These include holiday mode, allowing you to turn off the heat at a specific date, and having it turn on at another. The Lyric T6 also has built-in geofencing, meaning it tracks all family members via phone to only turn off once the last person leaves home. The geofence radius can also be set manually so Lyric T6 turns on & off when you prefer.
The touch-screen thermostat allows for direct control over the heating too. Honeywell stated their design of the unit was intended to be ‘classic and timeless,’ meaning the thermostat looks a little plain by today’s standards. Having said this, it’s less likely to age or look out of place (unlike some other smart models). Either way, we found the Lyric T6 unobtrusive, and it will sit neatly in a variety of homes.
There are two versions of the Lyric. The first is the regular T6, which will connect via wires to the boiler’s receiver box. This is the best option for those already with a wired thermostat. The alternative option is the T6R, which is independently powered & communicates with the boiler’s receiver box wirelessly.
Both versions are for central heating only, with neither supporting hot water systems. The T6 comes in at £179, and the T6R at £200, with installation costs being separate.
