10 Ways to Add Tech to Your Summer Backyard
By Shelley Little July 21, 2015 in Ideas
Ah, summer…the time to relax, enjoy the outdoors and spend time with friends and family. What better location for that than your very own backyard paradise? Especially when it is tricked out with the latest technology.
Your backyard doesn’t have to take a backseat to the amazing smart technologies that are making their way into our homes and lives. Adding technology to your backyard can make your life easier, safer—and a lot more fun. Check out these backyard tech trends—you are sure to find some inspiration for your backyard or patio.
1) A Robot to Mow Your Yard
If you live in a home with a backyard lawn, you know how welcoming a freshly mowed yard can look and feel. And if you are the person responsible for mowing that lawn, you also know how tedious and labor intensive that job can be.
There is good news for you, tech-minded lawn master! Just like there are floor cleaning robots for the interior of your home, there is now an outdoor version that will mow your lawn for you. How’s that for fresh inspiration?
2) Become a Grill Master
There’s a price you pay when you’re the person in charge of the grill—your freedom to join the rest of the party. It’s hard to walk away and join the bocce game when everyone’s stomachs are depending on you and your tongs.
Burning the food is not an option, so thankfully, there’s an app for that! There are now digital thermometers that monitor your food to your desired temp and then send an alert to your device, even as you party up to 150 feet away. What a great way to grill!
3) Get Water Savvy
Have you seen that person whose automatic sprinklers come on…when it’s raining? Backyard tech means you don’t have to be that guy. Even the chore of keeping the lawn green can be handled by a smart controller.
The smart irrigation controller pays attention to the weather and only turns on the sprinklers for the appropriate amount of water when it actually needs it. This impressive piece of technology not only saves you from the mundane chore of watering the lawn and garden, it can also make you more of a water conservationist and lower your bill.
4) Remote Control Everything!
If you want to step it up a notch and have control over all of your systems (entertainment, lighting, water, security etc.), then consider having a whole-home system installed. The tech savvy DIY’er can integrate all of those systems too.
Imagine you are poolside and want to turn up the tunes. Grab your remote and it’s done. Lights too bright inside the house for your nighttime soirée? Turn them down. Depending on how complex your system is, you might even be able to close the blinds from the neighbor’s prying eyes, all without leaving the party. Now you just need a remote to refill everyone’s drink.
If you want to step it up a notch and have control over all of your systems (entertainment, lighting, water, security etc.), then consider having a whole-home system installed. Image Source: Highgate House
5) Lifesaving Tech
Backyard technology can give you some peace of mind too. Those with a backyard pool can add a pool alarm to keep your household (and neighborhood) safe.
Pool alarms can be adjusted so it doesn’t go off when a toy falls in, but instead only alerts when a pet or child goes in without supervision. In combination with a pool cover, a pool alarm can be an actual lifesaver.
6) Your Own Outdoor Theater
What could be a better way to spend an evening with friends and family than watching a flick under the stars? Outdoor projectors and screens bring the cinema to your backyard space.
There are projectors that will dock your Apple device, going beyond just DVD’s for viewing. You can now stream movies from your device (like your latest vacation highlights) or apps like Netflix. All you have to do is make the popcorn!
7) Add a Living Room to the Backyard
Maybe you don’t need a theater in the backyard, maybe just a big screen television to watch the game. You certainly don’t want to lug your TV outside—what if an unexpected rain shower pops up?
Never fear, now you can add a waterproof outdoor television to your entertainment arsenal. And if a television set outside doesn’t go with your yardscape, a number of options for weatherproof housings exist for blending your TV into your decor.
8) Turn Up the Volume
Mellow jazz, upbeat dance, cool reggae—whatever music is your style, there’s no reason to keep it inside. For as many genres of music there are, you have almost as many options for outdoor speaker technology.
You can have waterproof speakers, portable speakers, solar powered speakers, hidden underground subwoofers and a myriad of other choices. Wireless, streaming music can flow from any location in your backyard, including in the pool!
9) Hidden Backyard Tech
We’re not quite done with speakers yet because there are so many options available. Your tunes can come covertly from your landscaping from speakers hidden in the plants and lawn.
Don’t forget to have your speakers rock! Literally. There are a wide variety of quality speakers that look like stones so they blend seamlessly with your outdoor living space. No one will know where those awesome tunes are coming from, but they will certainly enjoy the atmosphere it creates.
10) Let There Be Light
Bring a little bit of Vegas to your pool and outdoor landscape with your own light and fountain show. It’s a perfect way to keep your pool as the centerpiece of your backyard, even while it’s not in use. There is a broad selection of floating devices that will liven up that lovely blue space.
Maybe fountains are a little much for you. You can still add colored lights to completely change the mood of your pool—and your summer backyard gathering.
Current technology has certainly got the ability to make your backyard everything you want it to be. Whether you are looking for your yard to be a calming oasis or party central, there is a device out there to help you make the most of your summer. Which will you choose?
Read more: http://freshome.com/10-ways-add-tech-summer-backyard/#ixzz3iooL8MlZ
