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Now, August might seem a bit early to think about holiday lights, but it’s actually the perfect time to get ahead on things. Think about it this way: would you rather be up on a ladder when it’s sunny and warm outside, or braving the freezing cold just days before a big holiday?

And with all the new permanent lights out there, like the ones we’re showcasing today, you only have to do this one time. Then you can enjoy the show for years to come. So today, we’re going to be taking a look at a new contender in the outdoor lighting game. This one has quite a few unique features that I think will set it apart. Not only do these lights have top-notch RGB LEDs, dedicated white LEDs, and support for up to 200 feet of lights per string, but you can even cut them to length.

So join us as we dive deep into the new permanent outdoor lights from Enbrighten.

Intro

Hi there, neighbors. I’m Ryan, the tech guy, and welcome back to The Smart House, your destination for the coolest new smart home gear and the best in smart home automations. For today’s installation, we’re actually headed over to my friend Jay’s house. Now, Jay and I have been friends for many years. We actually worked together about a decade ago and recently started working at the same company again. We’ve even traveled to some pretty interesting places for work.

So, he’s been working on some home improvement projects and wanted a chance to check out some permanent holiday lights. So, we went ahead and installed the permanent holiday lights from Enbrighten on his house. You might be wondering why we’re not doing this here at my house. Well, first, I’m sure you’re getting a little tired of seeing my house in every video. Second of all, I, of course, love helping out a friend. And third, and most important, Jay’s house has a roof that I can get to without giant ladders or a lift, making it the perfect challenge for testing out these new lights.

Now, before we jump into all the features of these lights, I want to quickly thank Enbrighten for sending over 200 feet of these lights for us to take a look at. The vast majority of my Z-Wave lights and fan switches in my home are actually from the GE, Jasco, and Enbrighten group, so I’ve been using them for probably over a decade.

One really cool thing that Enbrighten does, which makes them stand out, is their commitment to giving back. They donate 50% of their profit to one of four charities of your choice when you buy through their official website. This is a great way to light up your home and make a positive impact at the same time.

So, let’s talk about all the features of these permanent holiday lights.

Features

So, let’s take a look at what makes these Enbrighten permanent holiday lights so versatile. The first thing that stands out is all the lighting options. These aren’t just typical string lights; they use individually controlled RGB LEDs, which means you can choose from a full spectrum of vibrant colors or go for an adjustable white light. This gives you the flexibility to set the perfect mood for any occasion, whether it’s a festive holiday, a backyard party, or just an everyday glow.

What’s also great is you get everything you need in the box. The All-In-One kit comes with six of the 16.5-foot strands, giving you a total of 100 feet of lighting coverage. That’s 72 LEDs, plus mounting brackets, cord clips, screws, a combination power supply and controller, and even a ten-foot extension cable. So, whether you’re installing these on your home’s eaves or highlighting your deck, the kit has everything covered.

And if 100 feet isn’t enough for you, you can actually extend them up to 150 feet at full brightness or add up to 200 feet total at a slightly dimmed 75% brightness—all with one power supply and one plug. This means you can cover a large area of your home without the hassle of multiple power sources. That’s even more than my house. My house only has 150 feet of lights on it, so this should cover most anybody.

Plus, if you don’t want to actually dim your lights, you can use two separate packs with two power supplies and get the full brightness. You can combine everything in the app. You also have the choice of either white or black wire in plastic housing, so you can have it blend into your home siding or eaves.

As I mentioned before, each box comes with a ten-foot extension cable. This is great if you need to transition from one roofline to another without having to waste a lighting strip. But please note, due to voltage drop, you should not exceed more than 200 feet total in the entire length of the system. This includes all light strips and extensions. If you do need more length, you might consider making two individual strands with their own power supply and plug.

Another great feature of the Enbrighten lights is the ability to cut down the last section of your lights. So, if you get to the end of your roof and find you have a few more lights than you need, you can actually cut off up to eight unwanted LED pucks from the last string. You do need to make sure you have at least four pucks left on that segment. This ensures the system can actually register those lights.

This is really great because a lot of brands don’t give you this option, so you end up with extra lights that you either have to cover up or string along someplace else on your home. Included in the kit is a silicone end cap that you can use to make the connection watertight. So once you cut those lights off, go ahead and install that silicone cap to make sure that no water gets in the wire. And, of course, before making any changes to the lights, make sure you unplug them first.

Now, like most permanent holiday lights, these are built to last with their LED bulbs and weatherproof design. They should be able to stay up all year round for many years to come. I really like the design of these lights. I feel that the wire is much more robust than some other wires out there, and it looks like the lens of these lights is actually removable in case you scratch or scuff them up. I don’t know that for sure, but they do have clips on here, so they should be fairly easy to remove if you have to repair one of the lights.

These, of course, are designed to be waterproof so they can stay outdoors all year long and have a temperature range of -4 degrees Fahrenheit to 131 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if your temperatures dip below -4, you might find the lights become unresponsive or less bright. Of course, you want to make sure these lights are safe, and they meet both ETL and NERC requirements. So no matter where you live or what kind of weather you face, these lights should last many seasons to come.

If you’re getting any help from this video, please don’t forget to give it a like and also subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already. If you do run into any questions, please leave them as a comment below. I try to answer every question that’s left for me.

Now, let’s take a look at the installation process.

Installation

If you’re like me, the thought of installing permanent lights might sound a bit daunting, but the Enbrighten system has made it surprisingly easy. You just really need to reach up and touch your eaves. This is a true DIY project designed for homeowners who want to get the job done without really hiring a professional. Of course, you can, but I did find it’s pretty hard to find folks that work in holiday lights that deal with these types of permanent installation lights.

A quick tip is I always recommend hooking everything up on the ground before you climb the ladder. You might also want to go ahead and add the lights to the app and get them set up on your Wi-Fi. Just make sure everything works before you install it. There’s nothing worse than finding an issue while you’re dangling off a ladder in the air.

Another tip is I like to lay the lights out on the ground around the edge of the house to get a good idea of where everything might go. This lets me know where I need to use the extension piece or where I might have to cut at the end. A great feature of these lights is they come with these snap-in mounting brackets that you can use to secure the lights to your house. This is far superior to tape or even wire mounts.

I really like using both the tape and the screw. You can initially stick the tape up and fit the lights to make sure you like the look of everything, and then go back and secure them with screws. This is great because you have a permanent fit without having to staple each individual light. These mounts are versatile enough to mount on wood, vinyl, and aluminum surfaces. Again, I recommend using the screws for permanent installation. And if your home has brick, stucco, or concrete, you can just pick up appropriately sized masonry screws at your local hardware store, then you’re all set.

The rest of the installation process is pretty straightforward. I usually start at the end where my lights are plugged in and work my way out from there. Also, make sure everything is tight or secure the wires, because you wouldn’t want them to fall down later on. Once everything’s securely installed, you’ve got a great professional look year-round.

Another great advantage is you don’t have to store these—they’re going to stay up on your house all year long. Don’t forget, if you do reach the end of your roofline and find you have extra lights, you can cut up to eight of those lights off the end. Just make sure you secure it with the silicone cap on the end. Just remember to measure twice and cut once

because you can’t reconnect the cords once you cut them. So, plan your layout carefully.

App Tour

Alright, so now that we have the lights up, let’s dive into what makes these lights smart—the Enbrighten app. This is, of course, available for both Android and iOS. This app gives you complete control over your lighting setup. Setting up these lights is actually super easy because it uses Bluetooth to find the lights, and then you just need to add them to your Wi-Fi. So, setup is actually probably one of the easiest that I’ve seen on any lights.

Though, if you are on Android, make sure you hit the Enable Bluetooth button at the bottom. It does activate an extra setting that you need to scan. So, in the app, you have three basic areas. When you get under your light device, you’ve got “Mode,” which has a number of presets that you can create. If you click on any of the presets, the little pin icon will actually take you into some options to enable different effects with that same color scheme.

You can create your own custom mode, which you can customize with a picture. You can change the name, set which color you want, or if you want multiple colors, you can click the advanced button and select whatever color you want. The next option down is the single color mode. Then, on the left-hand side here, you can select the custom color temperature for one of the presets. Or, if you want to create your own color, you can click advanced and select whatever color you want. If you want more than one color, you can click this right here, and it lets you select up to six colors.

Below that are options to enable or disable certain bulbs. However, on mine, it only goes up to 24, which obviously the string I have is a lot longer than 24. So, I’m curious why that is. Right now, I do not see the capability of assigning a specific color to a specific light. You just define a color spectrum of up to six colors, and then it will just go through the different effects with that.

Then, at the bottom here, we have dimming, where you can select from a couple of quick presets—15%, 50%, or 100%—or select your own custom brightness. Then you’ve got an on/off button at the bottom. As I mentioned before, you can group lights together. We’ve grouped the upper and lower lights together, so when we select a mode or color, it will put it on both the upper and lower lights at the same time. But please note, if you do have an effect on here and two different lengths on your various lights, they will start at the same time, but they do not remain synchronized, so you will notice them pulling away from each other after a bit of time.

Then we have automation, where we can set up an automation using various inputs like weather, location, schedule, or device status. There are scenes where you can create more custom scenes if you have more than one type of Enbrighten lights, and then, of course, you get support on the other side. These lights do have Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings support, so you can integrate them using those third-party services.

One advantage of having permanently installed outdoor lights is you can use them for non-holiday things. You can have them come on every night to provide a little additional security for your home.

Closing Thoughts

So, there you have it—the Enbrighten permanent holiday lights. They’re more than just holiday decorations. You can use them year-round for vibrant, customizable lighting for your home.

Now, of course, we need to talk about the price. A 50-foot kit is priced at $109, and a 100-foot kit at $249. If you need a bit more coverage, you can purchase an additional 16-foot string for $50. If you wanted to go to the maximum possible at 200 feet, you’ll need to purchase two of the 100-foot kits. That will come with two power supplies and controllers, so you do have some flexibility in how you want to run them.

Ranking these against some of the other lights, I actually think these are a top contender. Obviously, if you’re comparing these to something like Govee, the problem is the Govee ecosystem is so large. If you have other lights outside, it’s great to have those sync up. But if you’re not in one of those ecosystems and you’re looking to just get started with outdoor lighting, these are a fantastic choice. With their ease of installation, the white LEDs so you can use them all year round, and the company’s commitment to philanthropy, I think it’s a great choice.

Now, as for disadvantages, I think there is some work to be done on the app. It’s not as flexible as some other brands. There’s no store or ability to share modes with other users or search for modes created by other folks. I didn’t see the ability to do individual LED control like you can on some other brands, and of course, their ecosystem is much smaller.

So, if you’d like to take a look at these lights, please use the links I have down in the description. Those, of course, go to help the channel and let Enbrighten know that you got some good information from today’s video.

If you’d like to take a look at my other outdoor light review videos, I have a playlist right over here. And if you haven’t already, make sure you subscribe to the channel by clicking our logo right here. Thanks again! I’ll see you in the next video.