Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
External lights It doesn’t need to be just for the holidays. I had been meaning to add some new proper lighting to my patio space, which was previously dimly or poorly lit, Solar lanterns. I bought it many years ago, and since then, it has suffered from the dangers of inclement weather and the “curiosity” of wild animals for a very long time.
I was investigating Smart LED strips For a while I decided it was the right time to pull the trigger. Like many homeowners, I’ve heard mixed things about outdoor LED strips: some report that they’re surprisingly effective for outdoor lighting, while others say the opposite. In the end, I settled on two sets of LED light strips $30 It’s from a fairly unknown brand, so it was cheap enough that even if it didn’t work as advertised, I wouldn’t get a huge investment.
As it turned out, these very cheap LED strips surprised me in many ways, most of which were fun, some frustrating, and some unexpectedly delightful. Here’s how.
- They’re brighter than you’d expect
The lights were a little brighter than I expected.
As mentioned earlier, I chose two inexpensive boxes Amazon Smart LED Stripsensuring it was weatherproof and provided the lighting modes I was looking for (good options for the holidays as well as neutral modes for the patio bar).
Installation was annoying in places because the cheap plastic clips the company included kept breaking when I was using galvanized concrete nails to attach them to the existing concrete on the porch and patio. In fairness, the clips are not meant to be driven into. It comes with small screws, which work well on smooth surfaces, although the clip part itself is still not suitable for attaching to the bar and holding it in place.
These lights work better with cool colors than warm colors, but some traditional lighting likely helped as well.
However, once they were in place, I was very impressed with how bright the strips were. Although they are not very visible in photos, they are bright enough to glow even in full daylight and really stand out at night. Naturally, brightness depends partly on the color you select, with cool colors really glowing. If you crave more light, you can also install aluminum channels or diffusers to boost brightness further, but for my purposes, out-of-the-box brightness was adequate and a welcome surprise.
Keep in mind that these are not floodlights. They work well for mood and ambient lighting, but they’re not necessarily a perfect fit Security lighting around outdoor cameras.
2. Weatherproofing doesn’t mean “set it and forget it.”
The installation where I had some issues was with the light bar, mostly due to the plastic clips.
The lights you choose are IP68 waterproof rated, which means they are completely sealed against dust and other particles and should be able to withstand complete immersion in water. However, like anyone who owns outdoor gear or furniture, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “waterproof forever.” Even waterproof devices can wear out over time. Although I haven’t had any functional issues with my lights due to the weather (despite the large temperature shift and precipitation in the Northeast), I have had some adhesion issues.
I used concrete tape to secure the strips while installing the clamp, but over time the adhesive deteriorated and eventually failed, causing the strips to bulge away from the surfaces they were attached to. Although there was no failure of the light bar itself, it did mean I had to go back and attach additional clips.
The real problem again was not the light bar itself, but rather the clips, which had warped due to exposure to the elements over time. Many of them cracked, so I finally gave in and bought higher quality, more sturdy metal clips to keep the strips secure. Another option you might consider if you’re installing them yourself is channel, which has pre-drilled holes and is designed to keep the LED light strip completely flat, straight and snug.
3. Automation can be strangely addictive
I spent a lot of time playing with the settings and even syncing the lights to the music.
I spent more time than I expected adjusting colors, modes, and transitions. Especially during the first week, I spent a lot of time with… Magic lantern application Which you use to set up lights, adjust settings, and play with lighting patterns. You can also sync the lights to the music, so I spent many hours finding the playlists that produced the best effects and testing things like videos of ambient noise or how the sound of a stove crackling affected tapes. (Top tip: Wildlife sounds produce adequate lighting.)
However, the app’s user interface was terrible. The software is where you may find most of the issues with a cheap, unknown brand LED strip. It was still easy enough to use but not visually appealing. Also, unlike some more expensive options, there was no option to sync these lights with a smart home platform, which would have been a welcome feature.
4. They’ve changed how space works feel
The LED lighting strips I placed outside my home did not consume a lot of energy and allowed me to create the ambiance for my home.
Patio lights are especially effective in shaping the mood of a space. The warm lights at dinnertime went well with the sunset or the outdoor fireplace on my patio, while the cool lights were good for watching movies at night or grilling. It’s hard to overstate how much a simple change in lighting can have on an outdoor party, especially at sunset. You can also create a sense of distinct zones in the space by changing the lighting profile in each zone.
But the disappointment was the warmth. Since the strips are LEDs, they tend toward brighter, cooler tones rather than warm, muted colors. While changing colors toward orange and yellow helps, they will never match the warmth of traditional incandescent lighting unless you spend more to get the higher end. A passion or Goofy Lighting bar.
5. Connectivity can be the weak link of cheap strips
The Magic Lantern app is functional enough, but the UI isn’t very good.
The only major problem, and surprisingly worse, was the connectivity issues. Although the strips came with a dedicated remote as well as app control, they sometimes had difficulty registering input. They frequently lost connection to the app while playing with it, and reconnecting was often a frustrating exercise in patience and endurance. On the upside, once you set up a routine or pattern, or just chose a fixed color, they kept that setting almost universally until I changed it manually.
An experience I will gladly repeat
The remote wasn’t the best, but aside from that and some minor installation and software issues, the lights got an entry price of over $30.
Overall, I came away with a positive impression of the smart LED light strips. Aside from some installation and connection issues, I was impressed by its durability, brightness, and versatility. Because they are inexpensive, they are an easy solution to upgrade outdoor lighting or change the ambiance of an outdoor space.
I will say the next step for me is to add some traditional lighting fixtures, mostly to address the color temperature issue. For really warm spaces, which I often crave for parties at twilight or in the early evening hours, traditional lighting is definitely best; Ultimately, LEDs are a great complement to larger spaces and brighter lighting. It’s also unparalleled in terms of control and customization. I expect that spending more on a name brand product will also give you a better installation and software experience.