Permanent Outdoor Holiday Lighting

[JM Aggie08]

Just purchased the 100' Govee permanent outdoor lighting kit. I'd previously gotten quotes from Jellyfin and other installers exceeding $1500-$3000 for permanent lighting installation...I'll take my chance on a $300 DIY kit (which has incredible reviews, btw).

Anyone have experience with these?

 

[thestrangebrew1]

No experience but following to see how installation turned out. I tried convincing the wife to let me just leave our regular LED bulbs up and she didn't like the way it looked. If these can be hung up permanently and have a small footprint that can't be seen from the road, it might be worth it.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I’d never heard of it, but now that you got me thinking, I probably wouldn’t mind RGB lighting strips under the eaves that could be safety/security lights most of the year and then go red/green or orange for the appropriate holidays.

 

[Red Squirrel]

At some point I might want to do something like that. The key is to try to keep it out of the sun as the UV will break down the plastic and fade the bulbs over time. One idea I've had is to use ws2811 led strips and mount them right under the gutters or end of soffits, it would be a different look than regular lights though but it would light up the wall and ground.

What would be super cool is light bulbs that are just an ethernet base and PoE powered. You setup jacks along the whole house that are home runs to a PoE switch and each bulb gets an IP address with a telnet server to send basic commands to it. Automate it all with scripts and you could do all sorts of fun stuff and it would not rely on proprietary software like lot of the "smart" lights do.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I've watched several videos -- installation seems very straightforward. They come with a high-strength 3M backing with optional mounting brackets (I'll opt for the brackets). I'll have to sketch out my routes and where I'll use the included extensions. Thankfully we have outlets in several location on our eaves and decent wifi coverage directly outside of the house.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I looked them up. 100' for $399 on Amazon is pretty pricey. I would pay that price just for the time saving once installed but not sure the wife would go for it lol

 

[JM Aggie08]

I looked them up. 100' for $399 on Amazon is pretty pricey. I would pay that price just for the time saving once installed but not sure the wife would go for it lol

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/govee-wi-fi-rgbic-outdoor-permanent-string-lights-100ft-white/6586210.p?skuId=6586210

 

[nOOky]

I'm looking at doing lighting similar to that this year instead of hanging up icicle lights. Problem is I'll probably wait until it's cold and windy out like I always do. Another problem is that we have a two story home and it's waaaay up there at the peaks, I don't even have a ladder that reaches, yet.

 

[deadlyapp]

For those interested, costco seems to be selling the Govee kits.

I'm still on the fence, they aren't the same feel or vibe as traditional xmas lights.

If you want soffit lighting for mood purposes, or want to run lighting for any manner of other holidays (Halloween, Easter, etc) they make sense.

I'd need probably 2-3 kits for the coverage I'd want so I haven't really pulled trigger.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I got a kit sold as 'Rock Lights' for motor vehicles. They're intended to be installed along the frames and wheel wells so they're pretty small and durable.

I leave them on white most of the year, but can program them to fade through a range of colors. I did red and green last December. I could do orange and purple for October and pastels (Easter Egg colors) if I wanted to.

Cost varies but is generally around $40 for 8 'pods'. One problem is the lenght of cable. Since they're made for vehicles, each 'pod' only had about 6', but you can buy extension cables and y adapters.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Chicken lights could be an option too, I think that would look cool. I wonder if they make RGB ones.

https://www.pinterest.com/lmh1273/chicken-lights/

 

[Greenman]

My wife want's Christmas lights this year, house is 2 stories with a 12/12 roof. The only way those lights are going up is if I rent a boom lift.

 

[jmagg]

I installed small rubber coated hooks under my fascia board and beyond. Lights go up and down easily although I'm only 12 ft off the ground.

 

[Greenman]

For those interested, costco seems to be selling the Govee kits.

I'm still on the fence, they aren't the same feel or vibe as traditional xmas lights.

If you want soffit lighting for mood purposes, or want to run lighting for any manner of other holidays (Halloween, Easter, etc) they make sense.

I'd need probably 2-3 kits for the coverage I'd want so I haven't really pulled trigger.

Just saw the Govee kit at costco, $349.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I've got about 100' by measure from Google Earth, but I've also got a pitch that goes up to a height around 20' so I'll need about 150' worth of lights (more likely about 140'). I haven't looked into it too much but I don't have a lot of places to hide excess. I thought I saw the lines can be trimmed?

 

[Shmee]

I have a set of Govee RGB smart bulbs for the inside, I put them in lamps. They are pretty nice, controlled from my phone, can turn them on or off or change colors, brightness and patterns. I use rainbow typically, it's very pretty.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I've got about 100' by measure from Google Earth, but I've also got a pitch that goes up to a height around 20' so I'll need about 150' worth of lights (more likely about 140'). I haven't looked into it too much but I don't have a lot of places to hide excess. I thought I saw the lines can be trimmed?

Get 3 50 footers.

https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Assistant-Changing-Control-Bedroom/dp/B092D5DT63

https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Bluetooth-Control-Bedroom-Kitchen/dp/B08Y8N7TSF

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Govee-49-2ft-Wi-Fi-RGBIC-LED-Strip-Light-Color-Changing-Dimmable-Voice-Control-Alexa-Google-Compatible-Energy-Efficient-Low-Voltage/5013814441

They have a 65 footer too.

 

[zinfamous]

I use many sets of the govee string lights and I really like them. The only problem is that storms and trees will break some of the strings. So I either replace them or, usually, just splice them back together. It works....but the taped seals are never perfect so water does sneak into the connections, and then I find that the lights like to just turn themselves on every once in a while (I keep a remote in my kitchen to turn them on and off).

....or I guess it's possible that one of my former tenants has given one of the remotes to one of his side pieces, who now drives around every once in a while, turns them on, and drives away snickering, the jerk.

oh shoot, looking at the link, I might need to get those. pretty awesome.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I've got about 100' by measure from Google Earth, but I've also got a pitch that goes up to a height around 20' so I'll need about 150' worth of lights (more likely about 140'). I haven't looked into it too much but I don't have a lot of places to hide excess. I thought I saw the lines can be trimmed?

Correct, they can be trimmed as needed!

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Within limits. There are defined cut points, usually a few inches apart.