This is a Just the Facts (JTF) post: generated by AI from my own raw material (voice memos, session notes) and a short outline I wrote, then checked by me. What's a JTF?
Our nephew lives in our basement guest room, and he kept leaving every light on down there. I nearly called an electrician. Instead I spent $9.99 on a 100ft strip of no-name LED lights to light the path to his room. It worked so well that we've since bought two more.
It felt like karma, but actually it was bad design
- Shira and I both grew up with our dads telling us to turn off the lights when we left a room. So it seemed only fitting that we were now saying the same thing to our nephew.
- But really, the problem is the wiring. When he comes downstairs to a dark basement, there's one switch, and it turns on about 12 recessed can lights. He walks to his room and goes in, and the whole space stays lit even though nobody needs it.
- I thought about having an electrician rewire things, maybe adding a second switch so only the path to his room would light up.
- On a whim, I tried something cheaper and more fun first: 100ft of LEDs run along the walkway to his room. At $9.99 I didn't see how I could lose. Either it would fix the problem or I'd learn something useful.
A no-name brand that really delivers
- I bought the generically named "100FT Led Lights for Bedroom, Color Changing RGB Led Strip Lights" from GANZQH. Strip lights I'd bought in the past were always too short and never looked as good as the box, so I expected to be disappointed. I wasn't.
- 100ft is a lot. I had enough to criss-cross a bit. They worked right out of the box, the remote was usable right away, and the Bluetooth app does everything it needs to.
- Installing them was easy. The strip is basically tape with tiny LEDs on it, light enough that the sticky backing held on the first try. I plugged it in at the starting point, peeled the backing, and pressed it along the baseboards and up the walls.
- Right after that we bought another 100ft to line the stairs down to the basement. Then we bought one more for our goddaughter's bedroom so she'd have fun lights too.
- The basic strips have been a perfect fit all three times.
The limitations of going generic
- The app isn't polished, and some people would call the lighting effects basic.
- For a more public part of the house, like the kitchen, I'd probably pay for a fancier strip.
- For a kid's room or basement decoration, though, this is the best $10 I could imagine spending.
- I have no idea how hard they'll be to take down. That's a problem for another day.
The verdict: win-win-win
- Our nephew: He likes the lights. They make the walk to his bedroom fancy instead of plain. He also likes showing his mood by picking just the right color. We have to guess what the colors mean. I suppose teens don't come with an instruction manual.
- Us: No more yelling "turn off the lights!"
- Our electric bill: The LEDs should cost a lot less to run than 12 can lights, especially with the app's timer turning them on and off at set times.
Resources
Behind This Post
The outline I wrote
- It felt like Karma, but actually it was bad design
- Both Shira and grew up with our Dad's scolding us: turn off the
lights when you leave a room!
- So it's only fitting that we're saying the same thing to our
newphew J who moved into our guest room in the basement.
- But really, it's a design flaw: when J comes down stairs and finds
a dark basement, he flips a single switch which lights the
area. That's like 12 light cans. He then walks to his room, goes
in, leaving the entire space lit that no longer needs it
- I thougth about bringing in an electrician to re-wire things, and
perhaps install a second lightswitch, so that only the area he
needs lit stays lit.
- But, on a whim, I tried a cheaper more fun solution: a stringing
100ft of LEDs along the corridor to his room.
- At $9.99 for the LEDs, I didn't see how I could miss: either we
solve our problem, or learn something useful along the way.
- A no-name brand that really delivers
- I picked up the generically named "100FT Led Lights for Bedroom,
Color Changing RGB Led Strip Lights" from the brand GANZQH and
braced for dissapointment.
- It never came
- The LEDs were a home run: 100ft was a generous amount,
installation was a breeze, the color, brightness and pattern
choices feel complete, the remote was usuable immdaitely and the
bluetooth app is compeltely functional
- Installation was effortless because the LEDs are so tiny and
lightweight that sticky backing allow them to stay fixed to whever
I put them on the first try
- The first thing we did after installation was to buy another 100ft
to line the steps going down to the basement. We then bought
another 100ft pack and put them in our goddaugther's bedroom so
she too can have fun lights.
- In all three cases, the basic LED strips have been a perfect fit
- The limitations of going generic
- The app isn't the sexiest, and the choice of LED behavior may be
considered only basic.
- In general, I would probably invest in a fancier LED strip if thisu
was for a more public part of the house
- But for a kids room or basement decoration, this is seriously the
best $10 I could imagine spending
- I've got no idea how much of a hassle uninstallation will be; but
that's a tomorrow problem
- The verdict: Win-Win-Win
- J: he enjoys the lights, as they turn the walkway to his bedroom
from basic to fancy. He also appreciates that he can relay his
mood by setting just the right color (of course, we have to guess
what the colors meean; I guess it's too much to ask for teens to
come with an instruction manual)
- We: no more yelling, turn off the lights!
- Our electric bill: the cost of the LEDs is projected to be way
less, especially using the timer the app includes that turns them
on and off at a given time
