Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights (Christmas Lights / Holiday Lights DIY)

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thanks for watching! Let me know below what you think!

[@ruthcordts3731]

josh is there a way you can help me better understand my system , i have the elite system and im trying to do the scene where you went to AI and said you were excited and the white lights were flashing looking kind of like strobe , id like tom do that for my Halloween decorations

[@joshwallettravels]

@@ruthcordts3731I just went into the AI section then the AI lighting bot. It’s possible that the options could differ with region, app version, or model. I hope you found this setting.

[@sarawallet2944]

Love these lights. I like how you can leave them up all year long and use them for multiple different occasions.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Yes these are really great and super convenient!

[@JC-dc9oz]

awesome video! thank you! I do think the Eufy E22 lights are designed a little better as they have a slot to drill in a screw for each light, ,making them truly permanent

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You can use the clips with the Govee, but I haven’t found them to be necessary. I installed another brand (not Eufy) at my mom’s house and they had a spot for a screw but I opted to skip the screw, and there haven’t been any that fell.

[@Matthew-oz7oy]

I'm glad I watched this video very informative and now I know how far away I should Mount the lights I was going to mount them on the outside of the soffit but so glad I waited

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I’m so happy this was helpful to you. I’m sure that saved you tons of time as I know any rework is a huge hassle! Enjoy your lights!

[@jimbates6227]

Your situation and mine are similar. I installed them front and back of my home last year and am now about to do the remaining two sides. Our experiences differ slightly though. (1) My soffits have a simulated wood grain, and the 3M adhesive strips didn't hold the bulbs well enough. So, I purchased extra clips and put one beside every bulb. I only want to be on the ladder, once. (2) I mounted the power supplies and controllers in the attic, so they are completely out of the weather and out of view. (3) I'm not a fan of the Govee app. I am replacing each of their controllers with an ESP32 running WLED. This will give me greater flexibility and won't rely on the Internet. Thanks for the video.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Yes it sounds like we do have similar setups. I agree with the ladder once idea. I’m sorry that the 3m weren’t enough for you as it made installation much easier/quicker to be able to skip the screws. I agree that the Govee app isn’t ideal, but I usually end up with creating time automations and then only using the app to change the seasonal items. I’ll have to consider going the ESP32 route as it would be superior to have everything work well and be local!

[@athiffaraz3117]

Can you share which extra clips you used to attach?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

The first time I installed I used screws about every 4 lights, but I realized they weren’t really doing anything so when I installed a few hundred feet more, I didn’t use any of the clips.

[@IdoNomb]

I got the pro lights. This year Holidays at my house will be lit!!! I won't use the 3m take to attch them though because my HOA doesn't allow to have this. Maybe if I submit a request as a permanent install, hmmmm. But ama use light clip hangers that i found on Amazon. The screw in to the soffit but can unclip to remove the lights easily after tw holidays

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thanks for watching. You are going to love the lights! The 3m tape is hidden by the lights so the HOA doesn’t need to know (we won’t tell them). I would ask about a permanent install as that would be the best setup for you.

[@jonryan7304]

Absolutely great video , just ordered the 150ft set , really looking forward to installing them . Huge thanks from Ireland 🇮🇪

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I appreciate the kind words! Enjoy your new lights!

[@HolidayHouzCollective]

My only thing is what if I have shingles tiles? Like I don’t have that flat surface below or where the gutters are like everyone who has these lights do. (I’m in az) I would love some help & if you think I should still buy them

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I’ve seen people put extensions out from their house to hold the lights, but I think I would do something different with your situation. I’d look at something like these: amzn.to/3Z3GIgy Govee lights on Amazon to see if that would be a better option for you.

[@HolidayHouzCollective]

@ thanks for replying & the recommendation! I really appreciate it! I agree! Keep up the great work & content!

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thanks for the kind comments and good luck with whatever lights you decide to pursue!

[@caromartinez6690]

Hi Josh great job with your video and the installation. I am planning to install this in my house in my deck, I was wondering what should I do if the area is less than the length of the whole line, is there a way to turn the extra lights? I image you can cut the line either. I appreciate your feedback, thanks

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thank you for the positive remarks. You have a couple options. Although the lines are not officially curable I’ve seen people say they have cut and it works as long as sets of 4 lights are maintained - this is at your own risk and would likely void the warranty, but you could look for it in Google. Next, to point out, the strings aren’t the whole line, they are about 15 feet each. You can also set a certain light off, but that is limited based on the pattern. Finally, you could hide/cover them which I have had success doing with another brand. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

[@stevencastelletti577]

Great video very informative. I am a beginner with any type of home work. I just purchased two boxes of the 100 foot permanent lights. Is it possible to hook two together with one power source or do I need both power sources? Thank you so much.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thank you and welcome to the Smart Home world! You can connect *some* of the lights from one to the other, but you need to 2 power sources to get to the full 200 feet. A single power source can only handle 150 feet and that is true even if they weren’t sold as 150 set.

[@stevencastelletti577]

Thank you so much, my friend

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You’re welcome! Good luck on your install. Take your time and clean well. Also, doing it on a warm day may be best, some people have speculated that installs in the cold are likely not ideal.

[@stevencastelletti577]

@@JoshsSmartHome I am in Iowa and it’s cold in extremely windy. I hope I can get these up before Christmas. Lol.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Good luck. One person said they used a hair dryer, but that would be at your own risk.

[@westcentralpowerwash]

Hey, I am going to have a lot of excess. What should I do with that or can I cut it? Thanks

[@JoshsSmartHome]

They advise against cutting them but I’ve read other do it successfully as long as they only cut at increments of 4 lights, but this would be at your own risk. The sets aren’t one long set of lights, so I would see if you can configure them to end at the end of one of the strings which are about 16-17 feet long. The best way I would recommend is to “cheat” the lights either at an end or the space between lights and then hide the cord.

[@arturopalma7997]

Thanks for the video, when you have more than one kit connected, do they sync as one when you play the scenes?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You can control them in the app as a group or through Google Home to coordinate the lights.

[@crystallenz4404]

Can you show me what the power box looks like, can stings be plugged in a couple different ways? We have a a house that is about 150degree front, and the outlet is in the middle, so I would like to go one way with some and other way with other…how do I go both ways?!

[@JoshsSmartHome]

That’s a good question. The box has a single connection point. You would need two sets each with a box or to connect them from an outlet at one end (or run an extension cord to one end). An alternative is to use a different brand that offers a splitter such as Asahom. You can check out the comparison between Govee and Asahom in my other video. Let me know if you need any other info.

[@ReneeZavala-v9b]

Do you have any suggestions for a roofline that doesn’t have an overhang all the way around? We have about 50 feet (roughly 25 feet on each side) without any overhang.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

If I didn’t have an overhang, I’d be looking at these amzn.to/4gY9s2D on Amazon. These look nice and have a better setup for your situation.

[@jjwill9982]

i always wanted this lights for my house but problem is they dont sell it in my country and shipping here from the govee amazon store does not make sense. really love this lights and hoping can get it here in my country.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I hope they make it to your country too. I know there are a bunch of alternative brands as well. Some of those brands are good (I liked Asahom a lot) and some are worse, but you could check to see if any are available.

[@jjwill9982]

@@JoshsSmartHome i know i bought recently yeelight permanent outdoor lights when they had their Halloween sales. after 3 weeks waiting they told me its out of stock and will be refunding my payment. guess they cleared the US orders first and left me in the dust. But kudos to them and their Customer service, they made it right by giving me christmas lights for free due to thier mess. just accepted the fact will not be having this type of lights for christmas and will be looking forward to the christmas tree lights. haha

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Once you have them, I’d be interested in your thoughts. I haven’t used that brand yet. Good luck!

[@westcentralpowerwash]

I saw you did the white light for that ambience. Can you do that where each light is spaced out every other bulb rather than every bulb lit?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Yes, you can select exactly which lights are on. Sometimes we just turn on the individual bulbs at the corners or a bulb every 4 lights or something like that. You could even do different colors for different lights. Basically, you can set it however you want.

[@westcentralpowerwash]

@@JoshsSmartHome great, thanks for the response. If you mentioned it in the video, my fault. Thanks!

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I may or may not have. Either way, no worries! I am here to help make all of our homes smarter, so feel free to ask any questions.

[@sensationlily]

The lights are well secured with the sticker it comes with? Does not fall after a while?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

They are secured as long as you properly clean the surface first. I use rubbing alcohol for up to 30 seconds then press firmly for 30 seconds. I haven’t had a single one come off after summer heat and winter cold in Pennsylvania.

[@Coleridge208]

Hi Josh, Great video! Can you tell me the setting you used for your perimeter lighting? The app is forcing me to choose a "Direction" in the DIY section which creates an effect. I just want them to be on like yours. Thanks

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thanks for the positive feedback! Yes the app is a little tricky as you have to choose a direction, but I get around the issue by setting the speed all the way down so it never actually moves. Enjoy your lights!

[@Coleridge208]

Okay, great. Thank you!

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You’re welcome! Let me know if you have any other questions.

[@ryanstarkey3011]

Good evening. My soffit situation is identical, having to install into unsupported vinyl. This makes me nervous. Have you had any adhesive issues with not having any back support as you press into the vinyl? Thanks for sharing!

[@JoshsSmartHome]

When it landed on the gaps, I either cheated it towards a flat surface or used double sided super awesome 3M tape to bridge the gap and stuck it to that. I haven’t had a single light fall off without a human causing it and some of my lights have been up about a year and a half. As long as you clean well and press long they stay. I did both mine on hotter days, but I’m not sure if that made a difference or not.

[@ryanstarkey3011]

@JoshsSmartHome Thank you very much. Definitely will clean like crazy and going to try to get it done this weekend in the 60s even if I have to use a hair dryer!

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Haha, I’m sure you will do great! Enjoy the lights

[@tcm3000]

how far away the wall .my wall it's black color so not sure 2inch is it good ?thanks

[@JoshsSmartHome]

They recommend 2 to 4 inches. I place around 3 inches. For something unique (like your black wall), I would put a couple up and look at them at night to make sure it looked good before I did the whole set.

[@shammy313]

Off the controller, how many strings of lights can be hooked together?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

The maximum is 150 feet per controller. Which is 9 strings. The pros can go up to 200 feet but need a Govee driver if you go past 150 feet.

[@Gmariex0726]

Hi! Is the control box water proof by chance ?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

It’s IP65, so it’s ok in mild conditions but not extreme such as flooding. I put mine in a weatherproof box or in my garage for extra protection.

[@hectormaldonado653]

We have two sets of the pro 200ft to wrap around our entire house. So, based off your video they cant be connected together correct? However they can be synced together vs the app.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Correct. They cannot be physically connected together, each must use a separate plug/outlet. In the app, you can create a group out of them to control them together.

[@hectormaldonado653]

Awesome! Thanks for the quick reply.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You’re welcome. I hope that we can create a community here where we can all help each other to improve all of our lives.

[@mrprfct7069]

Can you use these without the Govee app as it has too many security vulnerabilities? If not, do you recommend other similar devices that won’t require connecting to a 3rd party server ?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Check out this Govee to MQTT bridge github.com/wez/govee2mqtt

[@claytonschroeder]

Have you had any issues with Bluetooth not connecting? I just bought some and they are not connecting. I’ve tried the reset, uninstall, hold the power button and nothing works. I’ve also tested before I installed and they worked fine. So weird.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Over the 18 months we’ve had lights, we had maybe a couple times where it acted up for a minute or two, but it seems to resolve itself. So I would say no major issues. I prefer to control them via WiFi through Google Home for on off and just change the scenes when it’s time with the Govee app.

[@claytonschroeder]

@@JoshsSmartHome turns out it’s the power adapter. The green light is flashing. It seems to be a known issue, but Govee support has been very helpful and sending a replacement in 2-5 days.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Glad you were able to get it resolved. It’s a shame you had the issue in the first place.

[@Truthbomb918]

How long is the power cable to the first led?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

It’s about 20 or 21 feet from the plug to the first light. The controller is about 3 or 4 feet from the plug. In one situation I needed more length so I used the included extension to make this portion longer.

[@Truthbomb918]

@@JoshsSmartHome thanks for that. Think I'll be purchasing them

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You’re welcome. Glad to hear I was able to help.

[@KrishSubra]

Can I go with pro, 200 ft or should I get 2 100 fts [which works better for installation]

[@JoshsSmartHome]

It really depends on your installation location. First, if you don’t have convenient outlets at boat locations, the 200 ft option would better fit your needs. I wanted the original (not pro) to match my already installed lights, but only pro allows exceeding 150 ft with one controller, so I needed 2. You could go with 2 100ft if you need them in a non-continuous setup with easy access outlets.

[@ronbyrd1434]

It seems like there are pros and cons to the non-pro versus the pro version. It doesn’t appear that you have any brakes in your lights. We have several and we’re looking at the pro version because of that. I keep hearing that you cannot cut the non-version lights. Is that true?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thanks for watching and great question! The non-pro doesn’t officially allow you to cut it, although there are several folks that documented cutting it successfully as long as you have it sectioned in increments of 4 lights (although one would reason that this voids the warranty if you care about that). My lights had 2 extensions. I used 1 just to extend the beginning of the one string to under my deck and I gave the other to a friend that installed ASAHOM brand (see my other video on that install). The 2 extensions included I believe were about 12’ each. Let me know if you need additional info.

[@ronbyrd1434]

@@JoshsSmartHome thanks for the reply. I will watch your video about the ASAHOM brand also.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You’re welcome. I was skeptical when I checked them out but I was really impressed!

[@ronbyrd1434]

@@JoshsSmartHome I thought I added a comment on here already about the Asahom lights support. There does not appear to be a website and I have not gotten a response back from the Support email. Govee has responded multiple times to my questions.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I’m sorry to hear you haven’t received a response. I’ve sent a copy of your message to my contact with ASAHOM and I will let you know once I hear back. Customer support is important!

[@ArtificialExperience]

Your video posted 2 months ago, is the adhesive holing the lights or did you have a few drop off?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thanks for watching. None fell off (one was pulled off on purpose by someone doing work). This is the second and third strips I’ve installed. The initial 150 feet I installed in July of 2023 and not a single one fell off. Make sure you clean well with rubbing alcohol and press them firmly for 30 seconds, that’s why mine have stayed perfectly.

[@ArtificialExperience]

@@JoshsSmartHome 👍Ty

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You’re welcome. Let me know if you have any other questions. By the way, they are on sale right now! amzn.to/4dGMhHk

[@jeffgruber618]

How did you find it stick to the soffit?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

It does great if you thoroughly clean with rubbing alcohol. I have almost 400 feet, most of which have been up about 18 months with no issues!

[@jeffgruber618]

@ glad to hear! I’m installing mine in the next week or so also on soffit. I also heard install when it’s colder out can effect the adhesive. I’m up in Canada and it’s starting to cool down but not too bad yet. Hopefully a warm day when I install.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I installed all of mine when it was warm but it was over the summer in Pennsylvania, so it just happened that way. Make sure you press firmly for 30 seconds also to get a good bond.

[@athiffaraz3117]

How's the 3m tape holding up?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

The 3M is holding up perfectly. Not a single light has fallen. 150 feet of the install has been up a year and a half with none of the lights 3M failing. As long as the surface is cleaned well and it is pressed for enough time, they work great!

[@justinsmith4839]

You are supposed to put them further away from the house, so you get maximum lighting.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

Thanks for watching. Govee recommends 2 to 4 inches from the wall, so this is in their sweet spot. You could place them to your desire for different lighting.

[@justinsmith4839]

@@JoshsSmartHome Wish me luck I am installing a 150 ft and 100 ft kit all the way our house should be interesting lol.

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I’m sure it will go well. Just take your time and it is well worth it!

[@justinsmith4839]

@@JoshsSmartHome question do you know if I would need to use both transformers / power switches. I bought a 100 ft set and a 150 ft set. I assume I will need to plug in both and use both transformers / power switches correct then sync the two separate sets together?

[@JoshsSmartHome]

You need to use both controllers. They handle 150 ft maximum.

[@02Nawal]

Way too much work and time for some lights. No thanks

[@JoshsSmartHome]

I understand that it is some work upfront. From someone that has been up and down with Christmas lights year after year and dealt with the lights that stop working, this is well worth that initial effort. These have worked flawlessly - no bulbs out and always stay in place. The simplicity after install and the fact that I don’t have to climb the ladder in the cold makes it worth it to me.

[@lisaaquino6840]

How many boxes did you use for your house

[@JoshsSmartHome]

We used 3 sets 1-150 ft 2-100 ft and an extra string. We only bought it this way due to the price at the time.