Govee’s new Prism lights take permanent outdoor lighting to the next level with a brand new design that’s specifically tailored to their triple-color lighting effect. Unlike its previous year-long outdoor smart lights, these ones have three individually controllable segments that, as their name implies, create a prism–like effect on your house’s walls.
Not only does this look stunning in person but it also allows for multiple colors from each fixture to blend together, especially now that they come equipped with Govee’s Luminblend tech too.
With its third generation of permanent outdoor lights, Govee has made another big change that makes installing them a lot easier. Instead of just adhesive strips on the back of each fixture, there are now screw holes on either end to hold them more firmly in place too. You don’t have to use them but I did with my install for added peace of mind.
As Govee’s permanent outdoor lights have become more advanced, they’ve also become more expensive and that’s definitely the case with these new Prism lights which start at $539 for 100 feet. However, you are getting extra features like IP68 waterproofing on the lights, Matter support and they are a completely new design compared to the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro.
My Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism review will help you decide if these are the best smart lights for the exterior of your home or whether or not it’s worth spending slightly less for an older, less advanced model.
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism: Cheat Sheet
- What is it? A set of weatherproof smart lights with tri-color fixtures that are perfect for the holidays but can be kept up all year long.
- Who is it for? Smart home enthusiasts and homeowners that are tired of putting up and taking down their holiday lights each year.
- What does it cost? The Govee Prism lights start at $539 for 100 feet, $699 for 150 feet and $859 for 200 feet.
- What do we like? The new tri-color lighting effects, how they feature both adhesive tape and screw holes for a more permanent installation and how the lights themselves have an IP68 dust and waterproof rating.
- What don’t we like? That Govee’s Prism lights are its most expensive permanent outdoor lights yet, that the lights are spaced farther apart from each other and that their power supply is only IP67 rated.
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism: Specs
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Price
$539, $699, $859
Length
100ft, 150ft, 200ft
Waterproof rating
IP68 (lights), IP67 (accessories)
Temperature range
-22°F to 140°F
Installation
Adhesive strips, screws, cuttable, extendable
Light technology
RGBWWIC / Luminblend
White light range
2700K–6500K
Brightness
40–60 lumens per light
Lifespan
50,000 hours
Smart ecosystem
Govee Home app, Alexa, Google Assistant, Mater
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism: The ups
Besides featuring a brand new design, the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism are easier to install than previous models. However, it’s the unique lighting effects and color combinations from having three individual controllable segments that really make them stand out.
From puck to prism
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
At 3 x 1.5 x 1 inches, Govee’s new Prism fixtures differ significantly in size from its original Permanent Outdoor Lights or the Pro model which both feature a puck-like design. This additional length is needed to accommodate the two extra controllable segments you’ll find on each fixture as well as the screw holes on either side.
The Prism light fixtures are still quite small but they aren’t compatible with any third-party accessories such as the clips and mounting tracks people often use when installing Govee’s standard or pro permanent lights due to their new shape. Thanks to the screw holes on either side of the Prism lights though, you won’t need them either, unless you’re going for a very clean install where the wires connecting each fixture are completely hidden.
Although this is my first time installing Govee’s permanent outdoor smart lights, I’m glad I waited as one of the biggest changes with the Prism lights besides their new shape and tri-color lighting effects is how you install them.
Now with more permanence
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After unboxing the Prism lights Govee sent over for me to check out, I was left with a dozen 16-foot strands of lights, several short and a few long extension cables, a couple of splicing devices, a power supply and a control box. Inside the separate accessory box, you also get quite a few extras to make your installation easier like spare adhesive pads and multiple packs of mounting screws. However, the number of light strands and extras does depend on the overall length of the kit.
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I know double-sided adhesive strips have improved a lot over the years but as someone that lives in a more humid climate, I prefer to go with a more permanent option like screws instead. Fortunately, with its Prism lights, Govee gives you the best of both worlds: each fixture has pre-installed adhesive tape on the back but there are also two holes on either end so you can mount them using screws. The lack of screw holes and having to rely solely on adhesive tape is one of the things that always held me back when it came to installing Govee’s permanent outdoor lights.
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Now with the Prism lights though, I was able to use the adhesive strips on the back of each fixture to hold them in place on my soffit. Then I went back with my drill and put a screw in either end for a truly permanent install. To Govee’s credit, you do get a ton of screws and wall anchors in this kit. However, as I installed them on a wooden soffit, I ended up using wood screws instead.
Speaking of the installation, while somewhat difficult at times and certainly time consuming as I wanted to get everything right the first time, it was a lot easier than I expected once I found my rhythm.
One last trip up the ladder
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
The appeal of Govee’s new Prism lights or any of its previous permanent outdoor lights is that you won’t ever have to go up on a ladder again once you’re finished. I had this same idea right before the original model came out, back when I covered my porch ceiling with Govee’s smart string lights. In fact, that project was what got me to ditch Philips Hue for Govee in the first place.
The appeal of Govee’s new Prism lights or any of its previous permanent outdoor lights is that you won’t ever have to go up on a ladder again once you’re finished.
After having our roof redone over the summer, I jumped at the opportunity to review Govee’s new Prism lights as I wouldn’t have to take them down for years. When installing the company’s permanent outdoor lights, you absolutely need to plan your installation before you get started. Since we eventually want to finish our porch ceiling, I decided to skip that area entirely. Instead, I started the install on the side of my garage, went all the way around the backside of my house and finished at the front.
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One really important thing when installing Govee’s Prism lights (and its other permanent outdoor lights) is the spacing between each fixture and the wall. You want it to be even all the way around but you also need to decide how close or far away each fixture is from the wall. Govee recommends leaving a gap of between 2 to 4 inches. A closer install will give the lights a more concentrated look while positioning them farther away will result in a wider light spread or ‘wash’ effect.
To get the spacing of my lights just right, I used a 3-inch wide Bergenes bamboo phone holder I picked up on a whim at IKEA when buying parts for my DIY rollable workstation. I put it between the edge of the wall and each Prism fixture which I secured with the pre-installed adhesive tape. Then I put a wood screw in on either end, stretched out the cable in between them until it was completely straight and repeated the process 70 times.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Working atop a 12-foot ladder was difficult as I hadn’t done that before but the actual installation was fairly simple once I got into the swing of things. The one part of the installation that initially had me worried was getting the lights up to the upper part of my roof at the front of my house.
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With two extensions connected together though, I was easily able to continue my run of Govee’s Prism lights. After about four days of working on and off for four hours at a time, the installation was done and it was time to turn everything on.
Not just for the holidays
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If you’re like me and don’t want to put up and take down holiday decorations every year, Govee’s permanent outdoor lights are the perfect solution. While there are three preset scenes for Christmas, you’ll find ones for all of the other holidays throughout the year from Halloween to St. Patrick’s Day and everything in between.
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The fun doesn’t stop there though, as there are natural scenes that mimic the seasons, ones for day-to-day life, scenes for the universe and so much more. You can also sync your lights to music either from your phone or the control box next to the power adapter, create your own scenes using the Govee Home app’s DIY tab, have Govee’s AI chatbot do it for you or even apply scenes other people have made from the Share Space tab. The possibilities and the customization aare almost endless.
Given these are smart lights after all, Govee’s Prism lights can easily be added to the rest of your smart home. Out of the box, they support Alexa and Google Assistant which means you can use one of the best smart speakers to control them with just your voice or set up simple or even complex automations with them. One new thing with its Prism lights is that Govee has added Matter support, which lets you seamlessly integrate them with Apple Home, Samsung’s SmartThings and even more smart home platforms.
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One use case that I didn’t really think about until after my installation was complete was just using the Prism lights for everyday illumination. For instance, there are no lights in the back alley behind my house. Since you can control each strand of lights individually or combine several, I created a preset in the app where just the alley and the backside of my garage are lit up.
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Govee’s Prism lights are expensive if you’re only using them as holiday decorations. However, when you compare their price to what it would cost to run electrical wires and install outdoor bulbs around your house, they’re actually a great value. At the same time, since you can turn on fixtures individually, you can create a scene where only the corners and the ridge of your roof are lit, which gives off a very chic look you can have enabled all year long.
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism: The downs
Govee’s Prism lights are a whole new way of doing permanent outdoor lighting but this does come with some tradeoffs. You’re paying top dollar for the company’s latest and greatest outdoor lights plus, the way they’re designed will make them look a bit different once installed compared to Govee’s previous lights in this category.
Trading spaces
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Besides going into a store like Costco and seeing Govee’s permanent outdoor lights at a discounted price, the other way that many people find out they even exist is by seeing them installed in their neighborhood. However, if you’ve been eyeing your neighbor’s standard or pro install, you might be unpleasantly surprised when you start putting up your new Prism lights.
The reason for this is that unlike Govee’s standard or pro permanent outdoor lights, the fixtures on its new Prism lights are spaced much farther apart. For instance, the standard fixtures are 16.5 inches apart and the pro ones are 19 inches apart. Now with Govee’s Prism lights, there’s just over 33 inches between each fixture.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Once installed, the standard and pro fixtures will be a lot closer to one another which gives them a more concentrated look overall. Meanwhile, at 33 inches apart, Govee’s Prism lights achieve a more layered and dynamic look since they are spaced a lot farther apart. Now there is a reason for this and that’s so that the illumination from their three controllable segments can blend together, creating their namesake prism-like effect.
It’s also worth noting that you get less fixtures overall with Govee’s Prism lights. For instance, with a 100-foot kit, you only get 36 fixtures with them whereas you get 72 fixtures with the standard model and 64 with the pro one. While this does make installation easier, especially when combined with the new screw holes on the Prism lights, the overall effect will be less high-density.
A permanent (yet pricey) investment
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Govee’s permanent outdoor lights started out very affordable but as they’ve become more complex and started incorporating new lighting technologies, they’ve gone up in price significantly.
Let’s take that same 100-foot length. Govee’s original permanent outdoor lights were priced at $299 for that set. The pro model, which added RGBWWIC or red, green, blue, white and warm white colors along with an integrated circuit for individual control and the ability to cut them, are priced at $439 for this length.
This jump in price from model to model turns what was a fun set of smart lights into more of an investment.
Then there’s the new Prism lights, which cost $539 for 100 feet. Sure, Govee added even more features and tech along with a brand new design including IP68 waterproofing and Matter support but if you have a large home or want to completely cover multiple stories, a 200 foot kit is priced at $859.
This jump in price from model to model turns what was a fun set of smart lights into more of an investment. While you can certainly install them yourself, many people get them professionally installed which further adds to the cost. Fortunately with the Prism lights, you likely won’t need a third-party track mounting kit, though this does depend on your house’s layout and your soffit.
Although you are paying a lot for a large set of Govee’s Prism lights, if you consider that some people have regular Christmas lights professionally installed each year, this makes them seem like a steal. Plus, you don’t have to ever take them down. I wouldn’t jump into a permanent outdoor light installation on a whim and I recommend you do the necessary research and planning before adding them to your cart too.
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism: Verdict
The Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism set a new standard for waterproof, exterior smart lights you don’t have to worry about taking down. The tri-color lighting effects are a sight to behold in person and with 100+ preset scenes and the ability to easily make your own, they can set the mood for any holiday or really any occasion for that matter. Installation is also now even more permanent thanks to those new screw holes and with Matter support, it’s even easier to add them to your smart home.
While the wider spacing between fixtures may be a deal breaker for some along with their higher price, you’re getting a lot of long-term value with these lights and very unique lighting effects that will have the Joneses keeping up with you for a change. Still, if you aren’t quite fully invested in the idea of permanent outdoor smart lights or have more roof to cover, it might be worth checking out Govee’s previous lights in this category before committing to its Prism lights.
I for one am very pleased with how my install turned out even though it did take quite a lot of hard work. At the same time too, I’m glad I waited for Govee’s Prism lights. While those screw holes might seem like a relatively small upgrade, they’re a game changer when it comes to achieving a truly permanent installation.
