The Victorian House

Upgrading to a Smart Thermostat


This post is sponsored by Honeywell.

I received a Lyric thermostat and compensation in exchange for coverage. All opinions and thoughts about this product are my own.

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We’re continuing to modernize our Victorian’s heating system. We’ve already replaced the boiler with a more energy-efficient model, and we had thermostatic radiator valves installed on our radiators throughout the second and third floors. Now our latest change has been upgrading to a Lyric thermostat.

Old Thermostat

The house’s existing 1980s model was missing its cover, and I was glad to replace it with something more attractive. This may be a bit dorky, but I actually have a favorite thermostat, design-wise! My grandparents had The Round in their home, and it has always been my standard for what a thermostat should look like. The Lyric draws on the design of The Round, marrying the look with smart new features.

Installing the Lyric Honeywell Thermostat

The Lyric app walks you through the installation, and it’s pretty straightforward. I was all set with the power off, and with my phone and a screwdriver handy. There was some wall damage hidden beneath the old thermostat, so I used the Lyric’s optional backplate to cover it. (When I eventually wallpaper or paint the dining room, I’ll repair the plaster and remove the plate.) I mounted the new thermostat, reattached the wires, and connected to it wirelessly, but then I had to name it. Ack, the pressure! So I named it “Hottie” because, you know… it keeps us warm. Clearly I am not good at naming devices on the fly. (Also, I didn’t realize everyone would see what I named it!)

Lyric Thermostat "Hottie"

Besides an upgrade in appearance, our new thermostat will also help us save money. Weather and humidity are taken into account with its Fine Tune feature, insuring that 70 degrees actually feels like 70 degrees. You can also further adjust the temperature at any time manually or via the app. We’re keeping the house fairly warm during the day because of the baby, but I did program the thermostat to cool the house down by five degrees when everyone is asleep. The kids get up around 6am so I set that as our family’s awake time for the thermostat, but sometimes I’m up with Calvin for couple of hours before everyone else. I love that I can adjust the temperature through the Lyric app on my phone, without leaving my bed.

Lyric Honeywell Thermostat

The Lyric also has a pretty interesting geofencing feature; it can detect when you’re away based on your phone’s location and adjust your home’s temperature to save energy. When you’re back within range (you choose the distance), your heating/cooling system will kick on and the house will be back at your preferred temperature for your arrival. It’s great for us because we don’t have a set schedule from day to day, and sometimes I do some solo traveling for the blog. Geofencing can be configured with multiple users, so it only kicks in when everyone is away. Smart!

The Lyric Honeywell Thermostat, Installed

We’ve made so many changes to the functional elements of our house that improve its comfort and efficiency, but that go unseen. Upgrading to The Lyric addresses those issues, and looks good too.

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  • Sarah @ 702 Park Project
    November 12, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    These things are so cool! Our house was built in 1902 and is about 3800 square feet with NO insulation…so our heating and cooling bills can get up there. We installed the similar Nest a few months ago though and I swear it has already paid for itself in energy savings!

    • Making it Lovely
      November 13, 2014 at 11:28 am

      So glad to hear that! We’re expecting to save with ours, too.

  • Liz M
    November 12, 2014 at 2:44 pm

    We’ve been looking at Honeywell products for updating our system. Good to know you like it.

  • Joanna
    November 12, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    I work in a hardware store and I (randomly) love hearing about new products like these. This is AWESOME! I so wish we sold these, but I hope they become available in our company soon. Can’t wait to have a play and see all the features first hand. I went to a conference recently and met with a Drayton rep and they have some cool products being introduced on the market, but I saw nothing as swish as this!

  • judy
    November 12, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    I keep seeing this and wanting to buy it because even though we have a new Lennox system installed to the tune of 12 thousand dollars I am having no luck with the supposed smart thermostat. It is supposed to track what I enter and duplicate it from that point on. But nothing -nada zip- zero change in temperatures? I have managed to carefully put the instruction book where I can’t find it so I just may buy this and hope for a better-Much Better-result. Does this comment make me look too……….Dumb?

    • Emily
      November 13, 2014 at 12:35 pm

      Judy – have you searched online for a version of the instruction manual? Worth a try before you drop $200 on a new thermostat!

      When I bought my house last year, I needed to replace a non-programmable thermostat. I think the Nest (and this Lyric which I hadn’t heard of before the post) look so nice and fun, yet I wasn’t sure I could justify the increased cost. I figure the $25 5/1/1 programmable I bought will do a good enough job, I can’t imagine it saving me $200 worth of energy to make the fancier ones worth while. I hope you all find great savings with yours though!

      • judy
        November 13, 2014 at 5:59 pm

        Hey Thanks for the tip-I always look for help on line, I think the guilt of putting the paperwork for the new system where I can’t find it has embarrassed me so that it didn’t occur to me to just go the Lennox web site and see what the manual has to say.

  • Alisa
    November 13, 2014 at 8:32 pm

    By far the greatest thing so far about our new Honeywell- not having to crawl out of bed to turn the heater on.

  • Joanna
    November 14, 2014 at 10:57 am

    That slideshow you can get to by clicking through to Honeywell’s site from your post is like a trip down memory lane. I think I’ve had almost every version, at one time or another, in one house or another, of Honeywell thermostat that they show, including the round.

  • Peter
    December 3, 2014 at 4:40 am

    This thermostat is great and so convenient.And in spite of all it looks great!