Outdoor living areas provide a great way for homeowners to spend more time outdoors doing the things they love. That includes watching their favorite shows.
Many homeowners take televisions designed for indoors outside when hosting game watches or movie nights under the stars. While such televisions can function outdoors, unless they’re specifically designed for outdoor use, chances are they are not protected against the elements.
Special enclosures built to protect indoor televisions can do just that, but homeowners also can consider televisions designed for outdoor use.
Outdoor televisions have become more popular as more and more homeowners look to extend their living spaces outdoors, and these uniquely designed televisions can often withstand elements like rain without losing their functionality.
Many outdoor televisions also are designed to handle reflection from the sun, ensuring that homeowners won’t have to limit their outdoor viewing experiences to evenings or late nights when the sun has set.
When shopping for outdoor televisions, consumers should do their homework and pay attention to features they may not consider when shopping for indoor televisions.
For example, outdoor televisions should offer wide viewing angles, as backyards tend to be bigger than living rooms. That means more people can make it over for backyard game watches and movie nights, which underscores the importance of wide viewing angles that make it easy for people seated all over the yard to make out what’s on the screen.
Avoid electrical missteps
Electrical equipment is necessary to run home appliances. Some people may find they have a shortage of electrical outlets to power their devices, and as a result they may turn to extension cords or power strips.
While that may seem like an easy fix, it is easy to inadvertently overload outlets and circuits by connecting more than one power strip or extension cord together in a practice known as “daisy chaining.”
According to the U.S. Office of Compliance, using a daisy chain in the workplace violates the National Electrical Code as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rules.
While it may not break code at home, overloading any outlets increases risk for fire. The National Fire Protection Association indicates that more than 45,000 residential fires are started each year due to electrical failure and malfunction.
Overload causes products to overheat, and that can spark fires in the power cords themselves or inside the wall where electrical lines are hidden.
