The smart home doesn’t end at the back door. Smart outdoor devices have evolved more slowly than their indoor counterparts, but it’s clear that their time has arrived.
These days, you can get anything from an internet-connected lawnmower to a smart sprinkler to keep your yard green. So, just how smart is your lawn?
Smart Technologies for Your Lawn
Manufacturers have designed countless new gadgets to make your lawn care and turf maintenance programs easier and more efficient. Most are integrated with smartphone applications.
Below are five lawn gadget ideas to help get you started on a healthier, greener, smarter lawn.
1. Install a smart irrigation control system
There are now Wi-Fi irrigation control systems that integrate with other smart devices in your home. These systems adjust watering based on weather data they learn from the internet.
This doesn’t just help to ensure your lawn receives the right amount of water but also prevents over-watering. Many of the systems – such as the Orbit 57946 B-hyve Smart 6-ZoneSprinkler Controller– allow remote access using an app.
This feature lets you monitor and manage your system from your phone, tablet, or laptop when you are away.
The B-hyve app is fully functional for android, iOS, or web devices and gives you control wherever you need it to program your timer on the app, at the timer, or let the weather-based software create a program for you.
2. Track soil moisture with a smart plant tracker
There’s a smart way to keep an eye on the moisture and nutrient levels in your lawn’s soil now, too. By using a smart soil sensor, you get real-time information about moisture levels and the temperature of your soil.
How? Sensors like a Smart Plant Tracker transmit the information to an application on your smartphone.
This kind of data can tell you when your plants and grass need additional watering. It also prevents overwatering. This information, in turn, helps you use water more intelligently.
This soil test kit has 4 stainless steel EC sensors which can record soil nutrients and convert them into a precise data displayed in your phone. The database offers perfect nutrient interval values for different plants. Just follow them!
3. Use smart pest-control equipment
Whether it be rabbits or some other pest wrecking your lawn, there are now smarter ways to fight back. Some smart security cameras have motion sensors and night vision. These cameras can be set up to communicate with your smart irrigation systems whenever they detect movement.
Remember, though, the sensors often won’t know the difference between you and a pest. So, make sure the system is disabled if you plan on staying dry while using your lawn!
Other smart pest control devices have built-in motion sensors. The Orbit 62120 Garden Enforcer Motion Activated Sprinkler will chase pests away with a sudden burst of water. And it waters your garden, too.
What sets the Orbit Garden Enforcer apart is its exclusive Detection Mode feature.
4. Use a smart weather station
Smart home weather stations – like Ambient Weather’s WS-2902C Osprey – collect data related to weather using sensors. The sensors gather information from your home area to provide a detailed look into the moods of Mother Nature. They then relay the information using a smartphone app.
By recording the data in real-time, home weather stations offer you accurate information long before weather disturbances become imminent. You can then adjust your lawn care and gardening routines accordingly. Now, how smart is that, eh?
5. Use a robot lawnmower
Robotic lawnmowers have been around for a while now, but there are always new models hitting the market. They work on systems that are like those of robot vacuums. They map an area either with sensors, GPS, or an electronic boundary.
Rather than vacuuming though, as autonomous robots for mowing, the machines cut grass, instead.
The Robomow RS630 Battery Powered Robotic Lawn Mower works within an electronic fence created by a boundary wire. You can manage this mower using an app you can download to your smartphone.
You can also integrate the operations of the RS630 into your Alexa Smart Home network. This allows you the convenience of issuing voice commands when you want the robot to mow your lawn!
LARGE YARD CUTTING PATH: Dual blade, and 22" cutting width ensures an efficient and effective cut in larger yards up to 3/4 acre (32,760 square feet) and inclines up to 20 degrees ; Battery Type 26V Lithium
Bringing Smart Tech to Your Lawn
If maintaining a healthy lawn seems like an uphill struggle, you can bring new tech outdoors to help you. By now, smart technology has expanded well beyond indoor heating and lighting.
Just like smart tech inside your home, smart outdoor technology adds an invaluable layer of convenience to your life.
Sure, bringing smart technology to your lawn might mean a little spending. But we say convenience is worth the expenditure.
In the end, surrendering the everyday drudgeries of lawn care to smart tech means more time for family and friends. That’s always a worthy investment.
