Live data from Hacker News

Honeywell Lyric thermostat

lyric.honeywell.com

51–56 of 56 posts

Re: Honeywell Lyric thermostat

#51
post #23
post #17

What, did Honeywell hire the vaunted Hardware Copying division of Samsung to make this? Couldn't look more like a Nest rip-off if you set out from the start trying to make a Nest rip-off. (Which they likely did.)

In fairness, both the Nest and the Lyric look (and work!) like a digital version of Honeywell's 1950's-era thermostat: http://lyric.honeywell.com/Images/thermostats_slides/1950_th...

So, round thermostat as skeuomorph. I wonder when we'll see a simpler on-the-wall thermostat that still exposes fancy controls and visualizations on a smartphone - seems pointless to me to have essentially the guts of a smartphone along with a touchscreen bolted to my wall when I already have one in my pocket...

Re: Honeywell Lyric thermostat

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In all fairness to Belkin, they did correct their mistake. But still, Belkin is a company that has sold technology products for a while now, and even they couldn't get it right.

The problem with Belkin is that they have a history of selling garbage in nice packaging with decent industrial design. Unless something changes drastically in the company's culture, I doubt their product quality will really improve.

Good point, one of the first routers I got was a belkin, and I learned quickly that they aren't reliable.

Re: Honeywell Lyric thermostat

#53

They sued Nest for allegedly violating patents that Honeywell wasn't using (because they could've owned the Nest market if they'd moved first): http://honeywell.com/News/Pages/Honeywell-Files-Lawsuit-Alle... No thanks. I don't want to reward that behavior.

yes, either that or have Google keep tabs on the temperature in your house. Is there a third option here?

> yes, either that or have Google keep tabs on the temperature in your house.

I'm okay with this.

Re: Honeywell Lyric thermostat

#54

It looks like a poor man's version of a Nest except it costs $50 more and has to be purchased through a contractor. The distinguishing feature that they are touting (the geo-fencing capability) is not something I would even want. I don't want an app on my phone sending constant updates to Honeywell on exactly where I am located. This seems like an established company trying to play catch-up to an unanticipated change…

Purchased thru a contractor? No thanks. That is Honeywell defending their old allies to their failure.

Re: Honeywell Lyric thermostat

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes, either that or have Google keep tabs on the temperature in your house. Is there a third option here?

> yes, either that or have Google keep tabs on the temperature in your house. I'm okay with this.

I'd prefer they not. Nest uses fairly simple principles to make your house comfortable for you, such as working harder to maintain your ideal temperature when you're at home and by predicting when that's likely to be based on past experience.

Plotting the difference between inside and outside temperature versus time and looking for the intervals where they're closest together (that is, when Nest isn't working hard to make you comfortable) probably correlates very strongly with whether you're home at those times.

You might be comfortable with Google being able to predict when you'll be home. I can imagine a lot of people who wouldn't like that at all.

Re: Honeywell Lyric thermostat

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the average populace is generally comfortable doing wiring work.

I'm not so sure. For a home DIYer, changing a thermostat is a pretty simple project. I bought a nice programmable unit a few years ago to replace the old mechanical one, and the entire process took maybe 20 minutes. It's along the lines of "attach the red wire to this screw. Attach the black one to this screw. If you have an air conditioner, put the white wire on this screw." It didn't involve any tools beyond a scre…

> For a home DIYer, changing a thermostat is a pretty simple project.

That's my point, though. Most people aren't home DIYers.

I also had no trouble with my Nest, but most of the people I know probably would have had a local handyman install it.

Post reply on HN