Best outdoor standing lights (2025): Govee, Eufy, Lepro

Resistant to weather factors. Every model needs to Weatherproof rating For outdoor survival, if you don’t see one, don’t buy it. The control box usually has a lower rating than the rest of the lights, so make sure you can place it somewhere less exposed to the elements. (As mentioned above, make sure you have an outdoor outlet, and check if there is only one outlet on a particular side of your house in case that limits your installation options.)

A range of installation options. You’ll need a kit that comes with plenty of options for your installation, including adhesive and perforated mounting options. What you need will vary based on the layout and materials of your home; For example, you’ll need adhesive for homes you can’t drill into. WIRED reviewer Kat Merk, who tested a few different standing lights, particularly liked the sets that have stands that you attach to your home so the puck-shaped standing lights can slide onto.

Controls for individual lights. This should go without saying, but some cheap lights won’t give you this ability or have more barriers to custom control. Make sure you will have easy individual controls otherwise you may find yourself frustrated with the results of the design of these lights. It’s similar to the design controls you see Smart bulbs and Smart string lights.

Great app. This goes hand in hand with the need for individual lighting control, as a good app determines whether these and other features can be accessed. Govee and Eufy, two of our favorite permanent outdoor lights we’ve tried, both have good, easy-to-use apps and come with pre-loaded designs. These tech companies make more than just outdoor lights and make other of our favorite gear, so they’re a good brand we trust to create a usable product and app. We also like the affordable Lepro lights, although the app has some extra hoops to jump through to access the controls, while the Lumary Brutal experience for our tester.

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Our favorite permanent outdoor lights

We’ve tested a few standing lights in different homes, and we have a few clear favorites. These are all options we recommend, provided they match your home’s exterior The limitations mentioned above.

This model from Govee was one of our top picks on our site The story of smart Christmas lights For some reason, it’s still one of our favorite models at this price point for everything you get with it. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill tested the 100-foot chain that comes with six sections, plus an extension code. He found installation easy, and used adhesive and screw clips to secure the light discs and cables. This is a set you can cut and paste, but he says this is not a task for the faint of heart. She has IP67 ratingAnd IP65 rating for the control box. The packed companion app has everything you could want inside it: color controls, several scenes (Govee’s own lighting effects), scheduling capabilities, and even a music sync option (although that seemed a little weird). There’s Matter support, and Govee can connect to Alexa and Google for voice control. Simon says he would like these lights to be closer together and for the design to be more precise, so you can see the wires quite easily.

WIRED reviewer Kat Merk tested two different sets of standing outdoor lights in her home, and Eufy’s S4, which includes RGB with warm and cool whites, is by far her favorite. I found the app very easy to navigate and find the features you want, from preset holiday scenes (120!) and colors to schedules and brightness adjustments. There’s also an AI feature that lets you create personalized light shows based on moods and scenarios. It was relatively easy to install on her home, which has non-standard architectural features, as this kit has extensions and can be cut and attached. She says the lights aren’t quite as bright as the lights Lomary Max Shown below, but the brightness is adjustable. There’s also a radar motion sensor included, which you’re still testing. The Eufy S4 range also works with the Matter protocol, so it will work with Apple, Google, and Alexa smart home systems. It has an IP67 waterproof rating like the Govee shown above.

Lepro’s E1 AI lights are a solid, affordable option, but you’ll have to work around the app’s AI to get the most out of them. WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar says it was easy to install using adhesive strips and cross screws (kit included) to the porch roof, though he wishes he had installed it facing toward the street instead of down onto his porch so it would be more visible. He says it’s very bright, but make sure to point it to the outside of your house to get the best effect from the street. The app has a lot of good controls, but you’ll have to navigate the AI ​​mode first, which will prompt you to use it. Martin says he clicks through all the steps of the AI ​​and then can access the regular controls afterward to control these lights like a smart bulb. You’ll also get different weatherproofing depending on which size you get: While the 150-foot version has an IP65 rating for the lights and IP67 for the power adapter, the 50-foot and 100-foot models have an IP65 rating for the lighting kits but no weatherproofing for the power adapter, so it must be in a sealed outlet. If you are using an outdoor outlet without weather protection, upgrade to the 150-foot size.

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Options if you can’t install permanent outdoor lights

Not every home is suitable for these types of lights. I’ve yet to find a permanent lighting kit that works for my home, so here’s what I used instead, plus what I’ll be testing next as a potential solution.

These lights are photographed on a tree, but have an IP44 weather resistance rating (for both lights and power supply) for use outside. I love how much you can customize these lights. You’ll use the app to take a photo of how the lights are set up, whether that’s around your tree, around your porch railing, or along the front of your house, and then you’ll be able to customize the lights and pattern based on how you arrange them. There are a lot of fun lighting designs already in the app, and you can design your own. This is a good option if you can only use string lights but want smart capabilities. These lights are also compatible with Amazon, Google, and Apple systems.

The GE Cync outdoor light bar is what I’m testing next for this story, along with the brand Eve Smart Lights ($143). Since I have a second floor balcony with a metal railing, I like the idea of ​​attaching an outdoor strip light to it to get the bright lighting effect you see with permanent lights. It’s IP65 waterproof, and sounds like a fun idea for anyone else with a porch design. This guide will be updated soon with my testing notes.

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Permanent outdoor lights are not recommended

Lumary Outdoor Permanent Max Lights ($270 for 105 feet): The Lumary lights were frustrating and limiting for our testing. The instructions suggest installing from the left, which increases the difficulty if you don’t have a power outlet on that side of your house (Lumary confirmed this wasn’t required, but the directions made it seem mandatory). The installation instructions also assume that your cornices are flat. WIRED reviewer Kat Merck, who tested this set, has cornices with cross beams, which further complicates the spaces, and unlike other sets, Lumary does not accommodate non-standard architectural elements such as pinnacles, gables, or sections without cornices. What’s more, the Lumary app is geared toward all Lumary smart lighting products (of which there are a great many), so the basic functions of permanent lights—like timers and saving custom scenes—are buried deep and not easy to use. Worse still, when I tried to add the lights to the Lumary app on another phone, the power box for the lights stopped working and had to be replaced. She liked how bright the lights were, and the fact that there was an actual remote, but the app, turning off the power box, and architectural limitations compared to other sets make us skip it.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the downsides of permanent Christmas lights?

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The only real drawback to permanent Christmas lights, or permanent outdoor lights of any kind, is the cost. These bulbs usually cost much more than a string light, even smart ones. This is because they are designed to last longer in your home, and the more expensive kits allow you to cut and connect wires to fit your home exactly instead of dangling strings and extra lights. It’s an investment, but you can enjoy it year-round.

Are permanent outdoor lights worth it?

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Yes, because you’ll install it once and you’ll be ready to use it for every holiday in your future: Christmas! Halloween! Head your favorite sports team to a big championship game! Graduation your kid (or yourself)! As with smart bulbs that can give you so many options within your home, the possibilities are endless and it’s something you’ll be able to use and enjoy all year round.

How does WIRED test permanent outdoor lights? What happens when we finish the test?

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WIRED tests permanent outdoor lights in our reviewers’ homes. We tested these lights on three different homes in separate areas with hazardous weather: Washington state, Missouri, and Scotland. We install them on the homes themselves and leave them for at least a few weeks, if not months and years (depending on performance), to see how they hold up. Our picks remain in our homes for long-term testing, as these lights are meant to be durable, and used sets are safely disposed of.

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