17 Best Home Lighting (2024): Decorative Panels, LED Strips, and Round Lights

Most Smart Lights We Tried

Photo: Simon Hill

There are tons of lighting circuits, strips, lights, and cables. Here are a few of our favorites as well.

Lepro N1 AI Smart Neon Light Strip for $40: This is the same as the Govee Neon Light Strip above, providing any kind of bright light you want with the help of animations, music sync, and more in the app. But, I found the connection to be unreliable and prefer the Govee app. I tried again Lepro S1 AI Smart LED Strip Light ($20)an inexpensive light fixture without a connector, and it’s great for fixed spots.

Connect Smart TV Light Cable With HDMI Sync Box for $47: This is a cheaper version of the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box above, and includes a connection box and a light line suitable for up to 90 inch TVs. It’s working Goodbut the HDMI input is limited to 4K at 60 Hz, and it is not as good as our TVs above, although it is cheaper. I tried again Linkedin Smart Neon Rope Light ($80) and he loved it.

Wiz Smart Neon Flex Strip for $80: This is another cool strip like the Govee Neon Light Strip above. It’s easy to fit and feature, can display multiple colors at once, and supports animations through the Wiz app. It can be rearranged or linked to music. Tried it again and loved it Wiz Smart LED Strip ($22).

Twinkly drops $82: You can stick these strings of LED dots around frames and furniture or hang them anywhere, and the app offers different colors and animations. You can create your own map to get the most out of the results, create your own results, and groups of Twinkly lights together. On the downside, the line is split into two sections, with power controls in the middle, and you won’t find enough dots in the box. Tried it again and loved it Twinkly Festoon ($40) outdoor string of bulbs.

Govee G1 Gaming Light Strip for $45: This is very similar to the Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip for PC mentioned above, but not as good. It’s easy to fit, comes in two sizes (for monitors 24 to 26 inches and 27 to 34 inches), and illuminates your game. But it relies on Govee’s desktop software to sync. Unfortunately, streaming services like Netflix stand as copyright infringement, so syncing doesn’t work with them. Compatibility with Govee DreamView and Razer Chroma lets you sync other lights and peripherals.

Moonside Lamp One for $65: This modern lava lamp looks beautiful and has 120 layers of bright colors that can display millions of colors and themes (art). You can also create your own themes or have the lights match the music. Unfortunately, the application is very difficult, and the lamp is made of a light frosted plastic, so it is easy to accidentally drop it.

Philips Hue Go 2 for $90: This bowl-shaped portable lamp has a lid so you can read it, and it makes a great bedside lamp with nighttime dimming and 520 lumens to wake you up in the morning. You can change the temperature and choose from millions of colors. This new version (2019) has Bluetooth, so you don’t need the Hue Bridge. Battery life is limited; if you increase the light, you will have the chance to get two hours, but the darkness, it can last about 10.

Nanoleaf Elements for $160: Plastic reflective caps can look bad on some walls (especially black ones), so Nanoleaf offers this version of its large hexagonal panels with a wooden finish (still plastic). Like all of its other panels, you can arrange Nanoleaf’s Elements in any way you want, and it helps control and connect music. Sadly, they only emit white light, but with a color temperature range of 1500 K to 4000 K, you can go from cool white to brilliantly bright.

Luci Solar Cloud Light for $33: If you need lights that you can take on the road or on camping trips, this smart device from Mpowerd can light up your RV or campsite. The canister pops open to release the waterproof (IPX4) cable lights. Press the power button to use them as a lamp or rotate the light colors of the strings. There’s a solar panel on top to recharge (but it’s slow) and a port that goes in both directions (so this can double as power bank).

Nanoleaf Lines are $140: Our previous player choice, Nanoleaf Lines (8/10, WIRED Recommends) project light from the back of each line onto the wall, bringing out the colors and creating a beautiful scene. Even when turned off, Lines looks better than most smart lights because it casts shadows on the wall and can pass through artwork. They can also boast a PC display for enhanced gaming (Razer Chroma is also supported).

Lifx Lightstrip for $75: This isn’t as bright as the Philips Hue Gradient Smart Lightstrip, but it offers more colors, different zones, and more beautiful animations. The program allows scheduling and can gradually light up the morning room. There is also music syncing using your phone’s microphone. The integration of Smart home is stable, and there is no need for space, but when I tried the old version ( Lifx Z), was often disconnected from Wi-Fi and was unresponsive until it was reset.