Outdoor Living With Tech
How about an outdoor living room this summer in your Pittsburgh, PA home? Yes, you can now enjoy all the comforts of your indoor spaces outside, with amazing outdoor technologies that were made to not only stand up to the elements, but to perform at a high level making it a seamless transition from inside to outside. Hanging out in our backyards is nothing new, but these days the design certainly looks like one big family room, with full kitchens, dining areas and comfy seating completed with area rugs and entertainment setups. When building these outdoor spaces, many people want to stay outdoors without the inconvenience of going back and forth inside. We are excited to offer our design and installation services for outdoor audio, all-weather TVs, motorized shades, and lighting control. So, whether you’re entertaining, relaxing, or spending family time - doing it in your backyard or patio with all these incredible technologies will only enhance the experience. Here are some ideas for outdoor living with great home technologies:
Outdoor Audio Installation
Weatherproof speakers are now available in many shapes and sizes, including rock speakers for better décor, however the most important thing about outdoor audio is that you need to have a well-balanced system to keep the music in your yard and not broadcasted to neighbors. In addition, without walls for sound to bounce off, sound waves scatter, making sound unclear, forcing you to turn up the volume, where it becomes too loud and a bit unclear. A subwoofer and the right placement of speakers can provide beautiful music, so that you can walk from inside to outside without noticing a quality change. We discreetly install wiring underground and work with landscape design to hide speakers. Décor and design are just as important as it is indoors, so we pay attention to these details. In addition to having audio in the outdoor living spaces, some people are also installing audio in the front of homes and along the path to the front door for holidays like Christmas and Halloween, when audio in these areas can add to the festivities.
All-weather TVs Become Center Stage
Outdoor TVs have become one of the most purchased pieces of tech for backyards and patios in the last two years. Imagine watching sports, concerts, and movies on a beautiful high-quality screen outside this summer. TVs are available in different versions to ensure glare free watching, so understanding where the TV will go is important. Some of the screens are brighter than indoor TV screens and are available in 4K, along with matching soundbars and more, so that you can create a great movie theater like experience outdoors. Are indoor TVs safe for outdoor use? No, even if the screens are waterproof and made for bathrooms, they are not built to stand up to extreme hot and cold weather and can even cause a fire, not to mention voiding the warranty. Another option for a movie like experience in your very own backyard is a movie screen and projector. No matter what you decide, having a screen outdoors will keep everyone outside for longer periods, getting the most out of the warmer seasons and into the fall.
Landscape Lighting and Motorized Shading Gets An Upgrade
Garden lighting has long played a part in backyard or patio design; however, lighting is now available in tunable colors and can be controlled by apps. This enables you to program lighting to turn into different colors, dim or go on and off at specific times. If you have a pool, what about changing the colors in it? Get the lights set up for a party, holidays and more with these new choices in color and forget worrying about changing those lights when the special occasions arrive. Lighting can be connected to surveillance systems, music and more. Motorized shading can also be controlled by an app and is now available in a multitude of colors and materials depending on how much shading you need. Shades offer UV protection and keeps the bugs out. Like everything else, we are taking lighting design and motorized shades outdoors with the latest tech to ensure we continue to bring the comforts of the indoors outside.
Smart Home Automation Extends To The Outdoors
Outdoor audio, video, lighting, and shading can be controlled by ONE smart home automation app. By integrating all your outdoor technology into a smart home system, which you might already have installed in your home; you can activate every speaker, TV, shade, and lighting in and out of your home with the press of one button. You can also include your outdoor tech as part of your in-home GOOD NIGHT shut down routine, where with one touch or voice command your entire property goes to sleep, turning the right tech off and keeping the others on or adjusted for the night. Connecting your outdoor tech to a smart home automation system will provide lots of convenience and endless ways to create a more relaxing fun experience, where you can truly extend your life seamlessly to the outdoors. Another element to consider is your Wi-Fi network when building outdoor living spaces, as you take more tech outdoors. Most Wi-Fi networks are not built to accommodate all our wireless devices, so we always look to make sure there’s a well-built network available so that Wi-Fi isn’t interrupted. If needed, we can design and install one that will support all your technology outdoors.
Bringing your home technology outdoors will only enhance your outdoor living. It’s never too early to contact us, especially because we understand what it takes to maximize the tech side of things and can end up saving you money with the correct input early in a project. It may be time to take more of your life outdoors. Ready to learn more? Contact us or stop by the Listen Hear Smart Homes showroom to demo some of this incredible technology.