Outdoor Lighting, Entertainment, & Automation Ideas for Your Home

Imagine you’re on an evening stroll and spota restaurant or home lit up with warm, ambient light. You hear music wafting through the air and laughter while people enjoy drinks or a dip in a pool. “I want to be there,” you think as you pass by. 

What if your backyard could feel that way? With recent advances intechnology, you can take the power of the smart home to easily customize and control your outdoor space’s atmosphere. Outdoor lighting, speakers, screens, and even pools can be controlled from one system. 

To get started, you’ll need weatherproof equipment and an installation that syncs technology to one compatible smart home system. Explore the possibilities for your Des Moines, IA, home below.  

SEE ALSO: What Are the Benefits of a Professional Control4 Installation?

Outdoor Lighting 

Control your porch lights, landscape lighting, holiday lights, and pathway lamps from one controller. Whether you use Control4 or Savant, you can illuminate the entire backyardby using your smartphone or tablet, even adjusting the lights’ color and brightness. Or say, “Alexa, turn on the porch lights.” 

Sensors activate your driveway lights as you pull in with the car, and custom scenes on your home system automatically turn on your outdoor lighting at sundown. Before you get home, swipe on the lights remotely, so you return to a lit-up house. 

Smart Shades 

Outdoor porch screens and awnings areeasier to enjoy when they only require a tap of a button. Imagine tapping “Nighttime Porch,”and the screen lowers, lights turn on, and mellow music starts playing out of your outdoor speakers (more on that below!). A professional can wire all your outdoor tech to connect to one intelligent system, inviting you to spend more time in your outdoor spaces. 

Outdoor Security 

The cameras, smart locks, and alarms that protect your property can also be connected to your outdoor technology. Via the Savant or Control4 app, you can lock doors, check security footage, and change access controls for visitors. Motion sensors that trigger outdoor lighting to turn on can also notify your smartphone if it catches unusual activity. 

Automated Pool &Hot Tub 

Yes, even your pool, jacuzzi, or sauna can be part of the smart home ecosystem. Turn on your pump remotely, so while you’re clearing up dinner, you start the jets and set the temperature. The water will be all ready for you once you step outside in your bathing suit. 

Outdoor Entertainment 

Your backyard is as fun as any restaurant patio or rooftop bar when you have a high-fidelity outdoor audio system. Musicis evenly distributed across your lawn over weatherproof speakers, which are wired underground to connect to your home automation system. You can even bring the bass to the yard with a burial subwoofer! 

And who says you need to stay cooped up indoors to watch your latest Netflix discovery? Outdoor TVs withstand rain, snow, and heat, and the ultra-bright screen means you can watch programs even on a sunny day.  

Smart Irrigation 

Irrigation systems can sync to your smarthome, too! Turn on the sprinklers right from the app or create an easy-to-adjust schedule, so your lawn is always lush and green. If the grass is dead, you won’t be inclined to enjoy all your outdoor entertainment. So why not add irrigation to your smart home this spring? 

If you’d like to learn more about smart home automation, we can keep you updated with our free monthly newsletter. Sign up by pressing “Subscribe” in the righthand tab! And to get started with your Des Moines smart home, contact our team here.