It’s official: I’m an RGB addict. It was only a few years ago that I adamantly claimed, “RGB is a waste of money, and I’ll never add it to my PC!” Fast forward to today, where not only does every component in my case glow with RGB goodness, but RGB lighting has spread from just Living In My GameSpace and into the other rooms of my house. Govee decided that wasn’t enough, and they sent me a set of their Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism, their latest iteration of outdoor light strands. Now my entire neighborhood gets to see just how glorious RGB lighting can be!
Overview
The Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism brings innovation to outdoor lighting: each lighting module houses three LEDs beneath a prism lens, letting you create either blended color gradients or striking simultaneous beams. This “prism effect” transforms what would normally be a simple string of lights into a dynamic, layered canvas.
Built for permanent outdoor use, the Prism lights are rated IP68 for modules (accessories rated IP67) and designed to withstand temperatures from –22 °F to 140 °F. Whether in snow, rain, or summer heat, they’re meant to stay up all year long. On the brightness side, each module can deliver up to 60 lumens while providing richer color transitions and motion effects than traditional strips. The spacing between Prism modules is wider than older Govee lines, but the broader beam spread helps fill gaps visually.
Installation is reasonably flexible. Each light module ships with adhesive pads pre-applied (and 15 extra pads in case you need to move a light), and there are screw-mount options built in for more secure attachment or rough surfaces where the sticky pads won’t hold. The kit also includes extension cords (two 12ft and two 4ft cords) so you can route around corners or across eaves. For larger gaps, such as between rooflines, the lines can be cut and spliced with a 3-wire line. The kit includes six waterproof splice connectors to keep water out.
From a smart-home perspective, the Prism supports Matter, Alexa, Google Home, and full control via the Govee app, allowing you to integrate your outdoor lighting into home automation or gaming setups.
Specifications
- Price (100ft, 150ft, 200ft): $539.99, $, $699.99, $679.99
- Hardware Color: White
- Number of lights (100ft, 150ft, 200ft): 36, 54, 72
- Lighting colors: 16 million colors, RGBWWIC
- Lumens: 60 lumens per light
- Color Temperature: 2700K-6500K
- App Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Control Methods: Govee App, Google Home, Alexa
- Matter Compatible: Yes
- Voice Control: Yes
Installation
When the word ‘permanent’ is involved, I get a little concerned. I’m more Tim the Toolman Taylor than a professional installer, so visions of hours of measuring, tons of drilling, damaged wires from bad splice jobs, and a finished display marred by unsightly holes from getting it all wrong the first time filled me with dread. Fortunately, Govee knows what they are doing, and the reality of installing the Prism lights was much less complicated than I had envisioned.
Traditional holiday lights are a jumbled mess, and it can take hours just to untangle everything, followed by a painful installation. try to wrangle a 100’ of cord and hang it from small S-hooks screwed into your roof eave. The end result is a bunch of loose-hanging wire with an underwhelming display of dimly lit bulbs.
Govee’s approach with the Prisms is much easier, and handling 150 feet of lights is a breeze. Each set of Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism is divided into shorter 16-foot segments, with watertight connectors that tie the entire strand of lights together. I was able to hook the whole set together, lay it out to get a general idea of where the lights would go, and then start the installation by hanging a single segment. From there, I easily connected the next segment, set it in place, and then repeated the process until my entire display was done.
Hanging each segment is super easy. Each light has a piece of adhesive to attach it to whatever surface you are hanging your lights on – mine are hung from a vinyl soffit. The adhesive only works on clean surfaces, so you should wash and dry them before hanging the lights. If you are worried about the adhesive’s durability, each light also has two screw holes for attaching the set with screws, providing extra peace of mind. I hung my set over a month ago without using screws, and the adhesive is still holding strong.
I was working with a relatively simple layout, and the included extensions were enough to span the short gaps where I didn’t want any lights. I didn’t have to do any splicing, but I had a couple of leftover segments, so I did some cuts anyway. Govee includes a few heavy-duty connectors in the kit, and they were easy to use, even for a novice like myself (Govee still recommends using a professional electrician).
Govee On Display
With everything installed, I waited for nightfall to see my final display in action. And wow, is it impressive! Unlike standard holiday light strands that just show as pinpoints of light across your roof, the Outdoor Permanent Lights Prism bathe the entire surface beneath them in light.
I emphasize this because placement is an essential factor to consider when using the Prisms. Unlike traditional bulbs, the Prism lights are omnidirectional. If you hang them on something that doesn’t have a wall beneath it – on the edge of a very long eave or across an open porch – there is nothing for the light to shine upon. Even something as basic as my garage door, recessed a couple of inches behind the rest of the wall, left a portion of the wall without any light. I’m lucky enough to have a couple of extra segments that I can run across the top of my garage, but if you have a bunch of recessed areas, buying extra lights could make an already expensive kit unbearably costly.
I was also concerned that the siding type would affect the brightness and color of the lighting. Fortunately, this turned out to be a non-issue. The lights shine off brick walls just as well as they do on vinyl siding. And the lights are bright enough that they drown out the base color of your house.
Where the Permanent Outdoor Lights Prisms really shine (pun intended) is in their ability to create amazing light shows. For everyday use, the kit can produce white light ranging from a soft 2700K cool white to a bright 6500K daylight white. Each bulb also covers the typical 16 million colors you find in most RGB lights.
The three-bulb design can produce three separate colors on each light head. The lights are farther apart than on other Govee light strands, but the angled heads and extra luminosity – 60 lumens vs. 40 lumens of the Govee Outdoor Lights 2 – help the Prisms cover a larger surface area. The three bulbs per head also create a better light gradient, which results in a smooth transition of colors as your light show runs across the whole strand.
Speaking of light shows, the Govee App remains a standout option for creating impressive displays. The app comes packed with over 100 preset displays, covering major holidays and other themes. There’s also a music mode with eight different preset scenes to choose from.
You can use Govee’s AI Lighting Box to create additional scenes. You can type, talk, or upload a picture, and the AI will generate a new custom scene. Since we are coming up on Halloween, I tested the AI with a simple prompt: “Make a Halloween scene,” which created a scene that transitioned between purple, orange, and blue. I found that the bot had trouble creating specific scenes: adjusting my prompt to “Make a Halloween scene with flashing purple and orange lights” made a scene not unsimilar to the original prompt, and the bot wasn’t able to create a scene with just the colors I asked for, no matter how many times I reworded my request.
I had much more success digging into the DIY portion of the app. I could personalize my own color palette to great effect. Govee also offers a wide variety of lighting effects, and I was able to find the perfect light fade effect, set the light intensity, and adjust the speed at which the lights change colors.
It only took a few minutes to create a DIY scene that I was pleased with. Using timers, I have the Halloween display come on just before sundown. To ensure I don’t annoy the neighbors, the display automatically switches to a very dim white light a few hours later, turns off at 1 am, and then turns back on for an hour in the morning when I am coming home from work. It’s a great system that’s versatile enough to do what you want, and easy enough that you’ll actually use it.
Final Thoughts
I always dreaded the approach of the holiday season just because I didn’t want to take the time to get out the ladder, untangle the strings of lights, and then hang them up each year, especially since I always waited too long and had to do it during bad weather. The Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism has eliminated every obstacle (other than getting out the ladder) I have to deal with when setting up a light display every year. Instead of the time-consuming process of the past, I now just have to punch in a new display in the app for each holiday.
The Prisms aren’t the first permanent light system, though, so are they worth the price? If you just want a simple display and cost is a major factor for you, then one of Govee’s other permanent sets may be the better choice. But if you want some of the brightest lights and coolest lighting effects, you can’t go wrong with the Prism’s three-bulb heads.
