The Honeywell Lyric T6R good thermostat gives up competent smartphone managed heating on your house.

It will not be as nicely often called the likes of Hive or Nest, however the Lyric T6R is only one of numerous Honeywell good house units (together with the zonal good thermostat Evohome), exhibiting the corporate is dedicated to the trade reasonably than simply chancing its luck. 

We have been utilizing the Lyric T6R for round a yr, placing it by its paces and attempting out the assorted options it gives together with scheduling, distant management when away from house, and geofencing. 

Large promoting factors embody its compatibility with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit, in addition to the actual fact the thermostat itself does not must be mounted to a wall. 

Somewhat, the wi-fi field merely must be linked to a standard energy outlet, permitting you to put it in a extra handy location in your house, for higher visibility of the display.  

Value and availability

The Honeywell Lyric T6R has an RRP of £199, however should you store round you possibly can decide it up for round £160 from some retailers (and at time of writing there was an Amazon deal for £149.59 so it is value conserving your eye out for offers). 

There’s a mannequin that requires fixing to a wall which prices £179 (the Lyric T6), however it’s definitely value paying the extra £20 for the added comfort of the freestanding thermostat.

The worth does not embody set up, so it is value getting some quotes in earlier than making your buying determination. 

The Lyric T6R is on the market from numerous main UK retailers together with Amazon, Argos and Very.

Set up and set-up

Whereas the principle thermostat of the Honeywell Lyric T6R merely must be linked to an influence outlet, there’s a second field that comes with it that attaches to your boiler and so must be put in by knowledgeable. 

It took one engineer round half an hour to attach the boiler management unit to our present central heating controls, nonetheless this might differ relying on your own home’s setup. 

At all times examine how lengthy it is going to take, and the way a lot it is going to value, earlier than committing your self to a sensible thermostat buy. 

The boiler management unit then overrides your present heating controls, passing them off to the Lyric T6R thermostat. As soon as put in you may want to attach the thermostat to the smartphone app and your own home Wi-Fi community. 

The Lyric software (accessible on each iOS and Android) supplies a comparatively easy step-by-step information on methods to arrange the thermostat. 

Initially the T6R struggled to hook up with our smartphone and residential WiFi, however after a few makes an attempt we have been up and working. 

When you have an affordable quantity of freedom on the subject of the position of the T6R, you want to be certain it is in a room that’s consultant of your own home’s common temperature; there is no level putting it in a conservatory or a room that is typically poorly heated, as you may find yourself losing energy and cash. 

Design and show

The Lyric T6R has a reasonably simplistic design, it is important a black sq.. 

This implies it does not look as hanging because the likes of the Hive or Nest, which is a disgrace contemplating the comfort of with the ability to place it in a variety of areas across the house. We might have favored one thing that appeared slightly extra alluring to put on our side-table, however it’s useful. 

The touchscreen show dominates the entrance of the thermostat, with the present temperature of your own home proudly displayed within the center. This determine is giant on the display, making it straightforward to learn from throughout a room. 

Faucet the touchscreen and extra info might be displayed on the display together with ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ icons permitting you to shortly enhance or lower the temperature. 

Options and efficiency

As soon as arrange, the core function inside the Honeywell Lyric app is the schedule, permitting you to fine-tune once you need your heating to go on and off, and the goal temperature for when it is on.

You may both select to setup a schedule for grouped days (e.g. Mon-Fri and Sat-Solar) to simply replicate the identical behaviour over a number of days, or you possibly can go for a day-by-day setup permitting you to have a distinct routine every single day.

It’s straightforward to place a schedule collectively, though it does take a short while to get all of the timings right. As soon as put collectively, you possibly can simply regulate the temperature purpose for a sure time interval by tapping it and shifting the scroll wheel to the specified temperature.

The app’s house display exhibits you the present temperature of your own home on the high of the display (and the out of doors temperature simply above it) whereas on the backside of the show a scroll wheel exhibits the you temperature you’ve specified both manually or within the schedule. 

If the Lyric T6R is at present following the schedule, you possibly can manually override it by shifting the temperature wheel on the backside of the display.

When manually overridden you possibly can choose how lengthy the Lyric T6R ought to observe the brand new command earlier than returning to your schedule, which is a helpful function should you’re on the lookout for a couple of hours of warmth earlier than leaving the home or going to sleep.

You may as well flip the thermostat (and thus your heating) off fully from the appliance, permitting you to avoid wasting power once you’re out of the home for an extended time period, with the power to show it again on out of your telephone earlier than returning house – guaranteeing you don’t come again to a chilly home.

There’s additionally a devoted vacation mode the place you enter the dates you’re away and the appliance can be certain your home is heated on your return, with out utilizing any pointless power whilst you’re away – which all helps to cut back your payments.

One other good function inside the Lyric software is geofencing, permitting your thermostat to show itself on and off relying on how shut you’re to house.

You may regulate the dimensions of the radius round your own home, with these residing in additional rural areas ideally wanting a bigger radius, whereas these in cities and cities are greatest off utilizing a smaller radius to make sure you’re not triggering the heating once you’re out purchasing.

We discovered the geofence function labored nicely more often than not, however it is going to require slightly extra battery out of your smartphone so it’s value keeping track of your energy degree should you’re working low.

Members of your loved ones can even have their very own logins to the Lyric app, permitting you to share management with others – and in addition revoke it if vital. Useful should you’re having somebody home sit for you whilst you’re away.

You may as well management the Lyric T6R along with your voice due to integration with Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant and Apple’s HomeKit.

You’ll want to go into your good assistant’s devoted telephone app and hyperlink your Honeywell account and the Lyric T6R as a tool on the service. As soon as linked up you possibly can ask your good speaker – or different assistant-powered system – what the temperature at present is, and to show the T6R up, down, on and off.

It’s helpful to have voice management, particularly in case your palms are full, your telephone is not accessible, or the thermostat is in a distinct room.

The Honeywell Lyric T6R isn’t as featured packed as some rival good thermostats although and it gives only one zone of management. 

This implies you gained’t have the ability to use the Lyric T6R to regulate temperatures in a particular room – any setting is mirrored round your own home and it’s not appropriate with good radiator valves, underfloor heating techniques or scorching water controls (which the Honeywell Evohome is).

Not like some others, it additionally does not study patterns of utilization, or present you particulars on how a lot power you’ve used/saved.

We favored

The straightforward-to-use Lyric software makes adjusting the heating straightforward from anyplace on this planet, and the added geofence function takes away the necessity to keep in mind to show the system on/off once you return/go away house.

We additionally just like the help for the principle voice assistants from Amazon, Apple and Google, permitting you to regulate the temperature of your own home by simply chatting with a sensible speaker or assistant-enabled smartphone.

Set up was additionally fast and straightforward, and the Lyric T6R is a comparatively reasonably priced good thermostat possibility with the additional advantage of not needing to be mounted to a wall.

We disliked

Honeywell gives a variety particular person radiator-valve thermostats, however the Lyric T6R isn’t appropriate with any of them, which means you’re restricted to a single zone of management, reasonably than with the ability to management the temperature in several rooms independently.

Evaluate it to rivals from Netatmo, Nest and Hive although and the Honeywell Lyric T6R does really feel slightly extra primary, with no help for added heating units, no power monitoring and no AI that learns your utilization and adapts over time.

Remaining verdict

The Honeywell Lyric T6R is a straightforward thermostat, however we like the actual fact it is not overcomplicated. It is useful, however in a great way.

It’s straightforward to setup and use, the scheduling function is nice and with the ability to hyperlink it to Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant and Apple’s HomeKit additional enhances its usability.

We’d have favored a extra engaging design, help for different good heating units and both multi-zonal or scorching water management, however what it does provide, it does very nicely.