CE Pro April 2022 - 32

OUTDOOR TECHNOLOGY
are being more selective in
the projects they choose to
take on as they look to maximize
their revenue and profit
in the face of an extreme
labor shortage. Thus, they are
taking on fewer projects for
higher price tags.
Looking at the price
component first, the survey
shows that nearly one in 10
(9.7%) outdoor projects last
year had a price tag for more
than $100,000. That is nearly
double the 5% figure from
2020. At the same time,
Vanco: Beale Street Audio Delivers
Attractive New Outdoor Options
Over the last
several years, outdoor
entertainment
systems have
become much more
popular. We've
found that homeowners
have
an appetite for a better experience than what can be
delivered with a simple Bluetooth speaker. Even the best
Bluetooth speaker is designed to service 1-2 people. If
you have 10 people, the experience isn't ideal. If it's 50,
the experience is non-existent.
As outdoor projects continue to boom, Beale
Street Audio has expanded our outdoor line. An outdoor
system should, in its way, be just as invisible as indoor
system. Just as an indoor system " disappears " when the
homeowner is fully immersed in the content, the outdoor
system " disappears " when the user never has to think
about how far away the receiver or speaker is. A great
outdoor audio system has the space completely evenly
covered. This was exactly our aim as we developed the
new products for Beale's outdoor line.
Beale Street Audio's outdoor line provides dealers with
legendary Beale Street quality that can meet the performance
goals of outdoor spaces in an affordable price.
With our recent additions of a down-firing landscape
subwoofer and a new size of the popular pendant speaker,
dealers can now spec a full outdoor audio project
from the Beale Street Audio line.
With the new accessory kit dealers enjoy greater
flexibility options for the pendant speakers, they can be
mounted, or steaked into the ground and easily positioned
for optimal listening. Beale's outdoor line provides
the well-rounded, versatile audio experience
needed for any outdoor application.
smaller outdoor jobs for less
than $1,000 represented
6.5% of all 2021 projects,
down slightly from the 10%
figure the previous year.
Dealers remain bullish in
terms of pricing heading into
2022, with nearly one-third
of them (32.3%) expecting
the average price tag for
their outdoor installations to
rise. Nearly two out of every
three integrators (61.3%)
anticipate prices will remain
the same, while 7.4% expect
a decline in price.
In terms of how common
outdoor projects have
become, in 2021 only 6% of
dealers did not do a single
outdoor job. On the flip side,
9% of integration companies
reported doing more than 21
outdoor installations. Heading
into 2022, CE pros expect
to continue to be selective.
According to the research, integrators
expect the number
of outdoor projects to grow
a modest 7.6% this year. That
would essentially mean the
average number of projects
would remain the same in
2021 at seven. However,
nearly half of integration
companies (44%) anticipate
their outdoor work to
increase by more than 10%,
with 12.5% of those predicting
a jump of 25% or more.
As noted in past CE Pro
surveys, integrators tend to
be optimistic in their estimates,
so we will see if that
holds for outdoor work.
The market for outdoor
projects is not isolated to
warm weather climates.
Dealers across all parts of the
32 | CE Pro April 2022
United States, Canada and
internationally are performing
outdoor installations routinely.
Not surprising, dealers
located in the Pacific Coast
states of California, Oregon,
Washington, Hawaii and Alaska
thrive the most in outdoor
work because their clients will
spend more time outside than
in other parts of the country,
driving higher demand. But
even the Upper Midwest
states of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois,
Michigan and Wisconsin have
a solid chunk of integrators
doing solid outdoor jobs,
while the Rocky Mountain
states of Colorado, Nevada,
Arizona, Utah, Wyoming,
Idaho, Montana and New
Mexico are also a stronghold
for outdoor projects.
Audio, Networking,
Surveillance Are Most
Common
The outdoor market is
becoming much more wide
ranging from a technology
standpoint. A decade ago, the
outdoor market likely would
have strictly involved surveillance
cameras and speakers
and that's about all. But in
2021, networking nudged its
way to become the second-most
common outdoor
equipment type installed,
behind audio. Meanwhile, video
entertainment, landscape
lighting, outdoor shades/
privacy/insect screens, and
even smart furnishings and
structures are well represented
in outdoor work.
Looking specifically at
outdoor audio, according
to the data, 59% of outdoor
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CE Pro April 2022

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