Technology touches nearly every corner of our lives, from the office to the commute to your home. This is especially true if you have a security system or any home automation features. You won’t be surprised to learn that outdoor tech is one of the fastest-growing areas of home technology.
While you can add tech to your outdoor living spaces at any time, it’s easiest to do it during a large outdoor living project. Hiding wires and control panels is a simple task during a hardscaping or landscaping project.
Let’s take a look at some of the top outdoor tech trends.
Outdoor lighting and landscape lighting provide security and ambiance to your outdoor living spaces. You may have some of these fixtures on a dawn to dusk timer. But automation takes that a step further. Let’s say you want the outdoor kitchen lights to come on before you get out there, Use your smartphone to turn on the lights. You can also install motion sensor lights that light the stairway as soon as you approach, or turn off the outdoor kitchen lights when you’re done cleaning up.
Related Reading: Outdoor Lighting Ideas to Increase Your Home’s Curb Appeal
If you want to have the best WiFi connection no matter where you are in your yard, you may want to consider a dedicated outdoor network. This will allow for unmatched signal strength for streaming high-resolution sound and 4K streaming video without lagging or freezing.
A stationary BlueTooth speaker may work for a small space, but if you have a large backyard and you want everyone to hear your curated playlist, an outdoor sound system is the way to go. It can include wired and wireless speakers in every corner of your backyard, from the pool to the secluded fire pit area to the outdoor kitchen.
Related Reading: Sonance: The Outdoor Sound System of Choice
Outdoor TVs have been around for a few years now, and the quality continues to improve. Hold movie night outside, or watch the big game with a crowd while you grill up some game day grub in your outdoor kitchen. These weatherproof TVs with anti-glare screens have high resolution to compete with your TVs indoors.
Related Reading: Selecting the Best Outdoor TV for Your Patio
Up to this point, most of the tech options we’ve discussed have to do with outdoor entertaining. But we would be remiss if we didn’t cover pool automation technology. It truly makes the life of a pool owner easier. Control pool pumps, the filtration system, pool lights, and sanitation from anywhere, any time from your smartphone. And don’t forget an automatic pool cover. Easy peasy.
A word to the wise: hire professionals to design and install your automation and outdoor tech systems. They’ll ensure proper installation and save you headaches.Â
The best time to add many of these outdoor tech options is when you are designing and building your outdoor living spaces. Our design team can incorporate the tech you want into your overall project. We are now setting design consultation appointments for fall installation. Check out our Portfolio for examples of our work, and to gain inspiration.
We work with homeowners throughout the Capital Region, including Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.Â
