House architecture
Outline the house and carry that architectural lighting to the retaining wall.
- Eaves / horizontal lighting
- Govee H6172 Govee H6173 Govee H6175
- Vertical sides / corners & porch pillars
- Govee H61F5
- Retaining wall
- Govee H6173
Build & DIY
Build for every season.
Not just one night.
House With The Lights starts with a year-round Govee foundation, then layers landscape lighting, window and effect surfaces, music-reactive control, outdoor audio, and specialty show effects on top.
The goal is a display that can change its look without rebuilding the property for every occasion.
01 / The philosophy
Start with
what stays.
Govee first, by choice.
The lighting foundation is designed for year-round reuse. Change scenes, colors and effects for the occasion, while keeping the core installation in place.
Start with a permanent, approachable foundation. Add complexity only where it earns its keep.
- Setup
- Year-round
- Day-to-day use
- Low-touch / minimal maintenance
- Main control
- Dedicated iPad running the Govee app
02 / The property
Build the property
in layers.
Each part of the property has a job. Here's the gear installed in each area, with links to the product details.
Landscape & pathways
Extend the lighting into the garden, flower bed and paths.
- Garden spotlights
- Govee H7094
- Front flower bed
- Govee H7086
- Pathways
- Govee H3501 Govee H7052
Boundaries & windows
Give the fence lines and front windows their own lighting surfaces.
- Fence tops
- Govee H61A8
- Fence netting
- Govee H6811
- 4 front windows
- Govee H70B3
4 H70B3 Curtain Lights 2 kits cover the 4 front windows—one complete kit per window.
Show effects
Layer inflatable uplighting and front-house patterns with independent moving-head effects.
- Inflatable uplighting
- Govee H7058
- Front-house projection
- Govee H7073
4 × XPC 60W moving-head stage lights
Four moving-head fixtures are mounted on a rail above the dining window; an onboard microphone drives sound-active behavior and DMX synchronizes the four fixtures together.
Exact model not yet inventoried.
Halloween display
Seasonal inflatables bring the Halloween characters into the yard.
This shows how the display is organized. It isn't a wiring diagram, and product pack sizes don't tell you how many are installed here.
03 / The operation
Control stays
simple.
Choose the look through the Govee app. For music-reactive operation, onboard microphones listen to the outdoor speaker audio and compatible lighting responds.
4 H1167 controllers deployed See the controller
App-driven / microphone-reactive
The Govee lighting layer
Choose the scene
Dedicated iPad
Set the lighting
Govee app
Music controllers
4 × Govee H1167 Outdoor Light Show Box controllers
Listen to the music
Onboard H1167 microphones hear the outdoor speaker audio
Lighting responds
Microphone-driven audio-reactive lighting through four H1167 controllers
Sound-active / DMX
The independent moving-head layer
Shared music
Outdoor speaker audio
Onboard microphone
Onboard microphone hears the outdoor audio
Sound-active response
Microphone-driven sound-active operation
Four fixtures linked by DMX
One lead audio-reactive subsystem synchronizes all four heads together through DMX
04 / The soundtrack
The lights need
a soundtrack.
The outdoor audio is part of the system: music for visitors, and the audible source for both reactive lighting layers.
The outdoor audio gear used with the display.
Speaker amplifier
Rockville RPA40BT
The Rockville RPA40BT serves as the receiver and amplifier for the outdoor speakers.
Subwoofer amplifier and low-pass filter
Fosi Audio BT30D
The Fosi Audio BT30D non-Pro provides subwoofer low-pass control.
Main outdoor speaker pair
Klipsch AW-650
One Klipsch AW-650 pair serves as the main outdoor show speakers.
Additional outdoor speakers
Polk Audio Atrium 4
Two black Polk Audio Atrium 4 speakers join the outdoor show audio system.
Garden / outdoor subwoofers
TIC GS50
Two TIC GS50 subwoofers provide garden and outdoor bass.
05 / The changing look
One foundation.
A lot of different nights.
Change the theme, not the build. The same installed lighting is reused across holidays, game days and everyday architectural scenes.
- Christmas
- Halloween
- Independence Day
- St. Patrick's Day
- Easter
- football games
- other event or seasonal themes
In the display /
More Halloween light, from the garage to the porch.
Another net above the garage
We added another net light above the garage, bringing another layer of color to the front of the house.
All four tombstones are running
All four tombstones are now set up and working. Their WS2811 12mm bullet lights use an SP107E controller and an SP901E data splitter, with a 3.5mm audio feed from our WiiM Mini group.
Four blacklight floods on the porch
Four XYCN 200W blacklight floods, model Black-200w-4, now accent the porch. They bring out the green glow of the fabric and skeletons against the purple-lit entryway.
06 / Room to experiment
Add complexity
where it adds value.
Additional WS2811 lighting and controllers are being phased in for more projects.
Complementary advanced and custom expansion, not a replacement for the primary Govee ecosystem.
Four gravestones join the Halloween display.
Our Halloween display now includes 4 gravestones fitted with WS2811 12mm bullet lights, connected to an SP107E controller and an SP901E data splitter.
The SP107E receives the display's audio stream from our WiiM Mini group through a 3.5mm audio connection. This is a separate controller setup alongside the Govee lighting.
We'll add step-by-step guides as we document more of the actual installation. This page is an overview, not an installation manual.
Go deeper
See the pieces.
Then see them together.
This page documents how House With The Lights is structured. Actual outdoor electrical installation and product mounting should follow manufacturer instructions and applicable local requirements.