I would look at alternatives to having a "lawn" in the first place. In almost any climate, there are a lot more productive ways to use your land than raising an eternal crop of stuff you just cut and throw away. Put that surface area to work, harvesting solar energy in some way, even if it's nothing more than composting your grass clippings to feed a backyard garden.
Also, look into "integrative" housing design, which means a more holistic approach based on first principles, rather than tweaking the status-quo with than latest gizmos. For example, if you spend enough on insulation, you might not need a heater in winter, and end up with a lower total capital cost. Or by including a water feature, combined with appropriate shading and ventilation, you could reduce your summer A/C bills by 90 percent, and thus save a bundle on the A/C capacity to install. There are lots of people preaching this sort of thing, but the most prominent voice among them is probably Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
As for your lawn look into permaculture. There's a ton of stuff on YouTube about this, and numerous blogs, groups, etc... Basically, you can set up your yard to be a "food forest" that naturally produces food, year round, at no cost and with very little maintenance. Checking out this trend will be very worth your time.