I’m a smart home expert, yet I never get to test any smart outdoor lighting. Why? Because I live in a Brooklyn brownstone rental, and while I’m lucky enough to have a backyard, there’s no power or wireless connectivity out there.
So whenever I get offers to test outdoor lights from Philips Hue, Enbrighten, or other smart lighting manufacturers, I usually pass them off to other writers. But not this time.
Nanoleaf’s new Solar Garden Lights are, strictly speaking, not so smart. Unlike Nanoleaf’s other lights, the Solar Garden Lights don’t connect to a network via Wi-Fi or Thread, and while they can be put on timers or run on sunrise/sunset schedules, all those processes must be configured on a remote control, not the Nanoleaf app.
That’s disappointing for those with outdoor setups that include power outlets and wireless connectivity, be it Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, or a combination of the three. In such a situation, you’d likely prefer smart outdoor lights that sync with your indoor scenes, run on elaborate schedules, or are capable of being controlled when you’re away from home.
Nanoleaf’s Solar Garden Lights are powered by an integrated battery that’s bolstered by a solar panel, hence no need for power outlets.
Nanoleaf
But some of us aren’t lucky enough to have backyards bathed in Wi-Fi and peppered with power sockets. My Brooklyn backyard, for example, has no power outlets at all, and the brick masonry of my building means my indoor Wi-Fi router can’t offer reliable outdoor coverage. (Z-Wave, which uses spectrum in the 900MHz range, might fare better, but that wouldn’t help with the power issue.) So as far as smart outdoor lights go—or smart outdoor anything—I’m pretty much out of luck.
That’s why the major limitation of Nanoleaf’s Solar Garden Lights—no network connectivity—is actually a plus for me. For once, I’ll be able to give these outdoor lights a spin.
And the Solar Garden Lights do look nifty. With eight spindly elements each tipped with LED bulbs, the lights glow in eight RGB colors or a range of tunable white temperatures, and you can choose from 11 preset color animations.
You control the lights not with the Nanoleaf app but with an included remote, which can control up to 20 sets of the garden lights at once. Using the remote (which has a range of roughly 30 feet), you can set auto-off timers for 4, 6, or 8 hours, as well as cycle through colors and scenes. Meanwhile, ambient light sensors can turn the garden lights on and off at sunset and sunrise.
Arriving with an IP65 weatherization rating (meaning the lights should be impervious to dust and resistant to water jets), the Solar Garden Lights are powered by an integrated battery that can be charged via USB-C or using the included solar panel, which can be staked in the ground nearby. The lights are rated to run for 4 to 8 hours on the battery, with the solar panel boosting that figure depending on the available daylight.
Two-pack bundles of the Solar Garden Lights are on sale now for $49.99. I’m expecting test units to arrive soon, so stand by for a full review.
Along with the Solar Garden Lights, Nanoleaf has another new light to show off, and this one does connect to Wi-Fi.
The Matter-enabled Rope Light looks similar to other rope-style smart lights I’ve tested, with 420 LEDs crammed into a flexible 5-meter tube. You can bend the rope into just about any shape you like, then mount the light to a wall using the included mounting clips.
The Nanoleaf Rope Light can be bent into a variety of shapes and then mounted to the wall.
Nanoleaf
With 70 light zones, the multicolor Rope Light can be “painted” in a variety of designs using the Nanoleaf app, or you can choose from dozens of available light scenes. The rope can also sync its lights with the images on your PC monitor with help from the Nanoleaf desktop app, as well as sync with the beat of nearby music sources.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart lights.
The Nanoleaf Rope Light supports Matter over Wi-Fi, meaning it can be controlled with the Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings apps. Controlling the indoor-only rope light via Matter may mean forgoing Nanoleaf’s more advanced lighting controls, as Matter can typically only access a smaller set of smart functionality.
The Nanoleaf Rope Light is available now for $69.99, and as with the Solar Garden Lights, I’m expecting a test unit soon.