Ikea Myrvarv Light Strip (review)

Ikea Myrvarv Light Strip (review)



Many people tend to assume – as did I at one point – that living in Taiwan would expose me to a plethora of technologically advanced devices. To some degree this is correct, and the country’s use of contactless cards, and online purchases for train tickets, for example, was way ahead of most countries in the west. However, some of the more basic smart home stuff continues to be hard to come by, despite some of the components possibly originating in Taiwan. A case in point is the Trådfri line of smart home devices and related products. Whilst the company’s Trådfri line has been around for at least a couple of years now, Ikea in Taiwan is only now getting to see a trickle of these smart home products on local shelves. This, despite the massive popularity of Ikea in Taiwan. We now have the Omlopp spotlights, the Ikea Remote Control, Motion Sensor and Smart Plug, as well as the Trådfri 10w and 30w Drivers, but oddly enough, not much else. In fact, the Trådfri gateway is still not actually for sale in Taiwan! It’s a good job international shipping is available…To get more news about led neon light strip manufacturer, you can visit htj-led.com official website.

So with that in mind, today I’m reviewing a product purchased from Ikea UK, controlled by a remote and LED driver bought in Taiwan, and exposed to HomeKit via a Zigbee gateway purchased in the USA…Phew! The review product in question is, of course, the Myrvarv LED Light Strip.
If you’re at all familiar with Ikea, you’ll know the prices are usually quite low, but with generally high-quality design. This doesn’t go for the packaging, which is plain, and non-descript, whilst also following a theme or pattern. This aesthetic is exemplified perfectly, in the packaging for the Myrvarv. Everything you need to know is on the front, with the strip length, lumen count, power requirement and basic functions, all laid out very simply, much like their manuals;

If you’re not familiar with Trådfri, then there are some devices you’ll definitely require to get them to become smart, as well as get them exposed to HomeKit. For example, all their smart devices require the Trådfri gateway for making them functionally ‘smart’, which not only allows the devices to interact with each other in the Ikea Home Smart app but is also essential for getting devices into HomeKit. In the case of the Myrvarv, you not only need the gateway, but you’ll need what is described by Ikea as a ‘Steering Device’, which in this case is the Trådfri Remote Control. This steering device is used as a middle man to initially get the devices to talk to the Gateway. It’s a bit of an odd setup, but it is what it is. This remote also becomes paired to the device you’re eventually using if it’s capable of using the remote for functionality.

As you can see, this is a lot more involved than a standard HomeKit compatible light strip, which comes with a built-in transformer, power supply, and control, as well as the ability to connect directly to your WiFi network (like the Vocolinc L2), or directly to a hub (like the Hue Light Strip), but there are some advantages, especially if you have a few light strips, all in one area, that you want to control as one. The Trådfri Driver only requires one outlet for up to nine separate light sources, and all of the lights can be controlled simultaneously, as it’s the driver that’s exposed to HomeKit, not the individual lights.

Unlike standard light strips, the Myrvarv comes complete with a diffuser, to ‘diffuse’ the light from the individual LEDs, so the strip has a more uniform, solid line of light. The Philips Hue Outdoor light strips also use a diffuser that also helps to protect the strip and the internal electronics from the elements. As the strip has to reach the Driver, which may well be located a fair distance, the cable that comes with the Myrvarv is quite long (sorry, I haven’t measured it…), so it should be long enough for most situations. At the end of the strip is a cap, and the extras inside the box, also include a spare cap, if you decide to cut the strip at some point, and want to close up the diffuser again. The end of the power cable that fits into the Driver is a two pin socket that plugs into the external bus that comes with the 30W driver.

The diffuser housing the LEDs uses silicone rubber, so it’s pliable, but also a bit tactile, and as such it does attract dust and hair quite easily, although assuming the strip is either hidden or far enough from close up inspection, it’s not really an issue. The rear of the strip comes with cut marks, as the strip can be cut. As far as we’re aware, the strip can’t be extended, but then if you want more than a two-metre strip, you can just buy another strip and plug it into the existing Driver. As you can see in the third image, the strip actually appears to utilise two lots of diffusion, with an inner and outer layer. It makes you wonder what the lumen output would be like with these diffusers removed.