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Smart Christmas Lights: How to Choose and Schedule Them

If this year you want to stop crawling behind the tree to plug and unplug the lights, you have two options: buy smart string lights or a smart strip, or make the string lights you already have smart with a Wi-Fi plug. Here we explain how to choose and how to get everything on a schedule.

First, decide where they'll go

The most important question isn't color, it's location. Not all lights can handle the outdoors, and each product sheet tells you with its protection rating (IP).

For indoors

The LC-1424 smart RGB LED string lights are 25 m long with 200 RGB LEDs, enough for a large tree, a staircase, or several windows. They're rated IP44 but designed for indoor use: avoid direct exposure to water and sun. Besides app control, they have a button with 12 lighting modes.

For the balcony, front of the house, or garden

If you're decorating outside, look for IP65 or higher:

  • The LC-1324 smart Christmas string lights have 50 LED bulbs with 3 cm round covers along 13 m, plus a 3 m power cord. They're IP65 and work indoors and outdoors, between −20 °C and 50 °C.
  • The LC-1353 Christmas string lights measure 10 m and have 60 RGB LEDs. The string is IP65, but its controller is IP20: it has to stay in a dry place protected from water.
  • The LC-1352 LED bulb string lights have 12 polycarbonate bulbs over 7.3 m. The bulbs are IP65 and the controller IP44, which needs to be protected from direct rain.

One detail comes up again and again: on almost all outdoor string lights, the water-resistant part is the lights, not the controller or the adapter. When you install them, keep that part under a roof.

Color: RGB, RGBIC, and white light

RGB string lights change color, but they show only one color at a time along the whole string. That's the case with the LC-1424 and the LC-1353.

Lights with RGBIC technology can show several colors at once in different sections, which makes moving effects possible. The LC-1352 is RGBIC and also has a separate warm white light, nice for a quiet dinner.

If you like classic Christmas white, the LC-1324 combines RGB colors with warm and cool white light, and you adjust the brightness from the app.

For outlining windows, frames, or shapes, a neon-style strip can be a better choice than string lights. The LC-1344 smart neon LED strip is RGBIC, 5 m long, and made of flexible silicone. The strip is IP67, but the adapter and controller aren't water resistant, so outdoors they also need to be protected. It installs with the included clips and screws; it isn't self-adhesive.

How to set schedules in Lloyds Smart

All of these string lights and the LC-1344 strip connect to your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network and don't need a hub. Once you add them to the Lloyds Smart app, scheduling them is simple:

  • Open the device in the app and go to the schedule option.
  • Create an on time for the evening and an off time for the night.
  • Choose the days it repeats.

If you have several sets, group them to control them together. The LC-1424, the LC-1324, and the LC-1352 support groups; in the case of the LC-1352, up to 4 strings of 12 bulbs. With the LC-1424 you can also share control with your family, so anyone at home can turn them on from their phone.

Left the house and forgot to turn them off? Do it from your phone with an internet connection.

Control them with your voice

All the lights we mention work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The LC-1424, the LC-1352, and the LC-1344 can also be used with Siri through Shortcuts. Link the Lloyds Smart app with your assistant and you can turn them on or off with a command.

Several also have a music mode. The LC-1324, the LC-1353, and the LC-1344 have a built-in microphone that syncs the lights with whatever is playing in the room; the LC-1424 and the LC-1352 do it from the app.

Make your usual string lights smart

If you already have string lights you like, there's no need to replace them. Plug them into a smart plug and you can turn them on and off from the app, with schedules and with your voice. Keep in mind that the plug only controls on and off: colors and effects still depend on the string lights.

  • For indoors, the LC-1312 dual smart plug is a 2-piece set, each with two outlets you control separately. It's for indoor use only.
  • For outdoors, the LC-1325 set of 3 Wi-Fi plugs with IP44 dual extension includes two indoor plugs and an outdoor dual extension with IP44 protection against splashes and dust. Each outlet on the extension is controlled independently, so you can put the front of the house and the garden on different schedules. When you're not using it, store it under a roof.

The plugs in both sets are rated 15 A and also work with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Tips for a worry-free season

  • Check old string lights before plugging them in. If you see frayed wires or broken bulbs, it's better not to use them.
  • Follow the use stated on each product sheet: anything labeled "indoor only" shouldn't go outside.
  • Don't daisy-chain too many extension cords or leave connections on the ground where water can pool.
  • Schedule them to turn off in the early morning hours. You save energy and don't have to remember.

Need help choosing?

If you're not sure which ones are right for your tree, the front of your house, or your garden, message us on WhatsApp from our Contact page and we'll help you put together your decorations with Lloyd's products.

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