V-TAC VT-71020 outdoor string lights, 10 m, 20 × 0.5 W LED, coloured RGBY, IP44, 600 lm

VT-71020 is a 10-metre outdoor string light from V-TAC with twenty coloured LED bulbs spaced every 0.5 metres. The bulbs are golf-ball shaped (G45 style), made of plastic and coloured in four fixed colours — green, blue, yellow and red — repeating rhythmically along a black rubber cable.

RGBY means four fixed colours, not colour changing

Worth settling immediately, because the "RGBY" label misleads. This string does not change colour — there is no remote, no app, no programmes and no dimming. Each bulb glows in its own assigned colour the whole time; the effect comes from their alternating arrangement along the cord, not from electronics. If you are looking for colour-controlled lighting, this is not that product; if you are looking for a classic festoon of coloured bulbs, it is exactly that.

The whole string draws 10 W (20 × 0.5 W) and delivers 600 lm with a colour rendering index above 80 and a 270° beam — the bulbs light almost all round, including upwards.

This is a low-voltage string — 24 V

The most important technical fact, and one that is not obvious at a glance: the cord itself runs at 24 V. An adapter with an EU plug sits on the cable, taking 100–240 V AC, 50/60 Hz and stepping the voltage down. In practice that means once the string is run out across a garden there is no mains voltage along its length — a meaningful difference from festoons fed directly at 230 V, especially where the cord hangs within children's reach.

Linkable — up to 50 units

The cord ends in a connector that lets you join up to 50 sections end to end. That changes how the installation is planned: instead of hunting for one long festoon, you buy several ten-metre lengths and link them into a run that fits the pergola, the fence or the marquee. When buying several, note that each comes with its own adapter — in a linked run the first one feeds the rest.

Durability and protection

The cable is rubber and the sockets are waterproof; the rating is IP44. The first digit means protection against solid objects from 1 mm (the string is not dust-tight), the second against splashing water from any direction. Rain and night damp are no problem; a hose jet, a pressure washer or immersion are.

The manufacturer quotes a life of 20,000 hours and over 15,000 on/off cycles, with an operating range of −20 °C to +45 °C — so the string can stay outdoors through winter too. Certificates: CE, EMC. Manufacturer's warranty: 2 years.

Specifications

• Model: V-TAC VT-71020; order code 7438; EAN 3800157637480
• Length: 10 m; 20 light points every 0.5 m
• Power: 20 × 0.5 W = 10 W; luminous flux 600 lm; efficacy 60 lm/W
• Bulb colours: fixed — green, blue, yellow, red (RGBY)
• CRI: above 80; beam angle: 270°
• Supply: adapter with EU plug, input 100–240 V AC 50/60 Hz, output 24 V
• Dimming: no
• Ingress protection: IP44
• Life: 20,000 h; over 15,000 on/off cycles
• Operating temperature: −20 °C … +45 °C
• Material: rubber cable, plastic bulbs
• Linkable: up to 50 sections
• Light source: integrated LED (not replaceable)
• Certificates: CE, EMC; 2-year warranty

Worth knowing before you order

• The colours are fixed — no remote, no programmes, no dimming.
• The cord runs at 24 V — the adapter is included, on the cable.
• Up to 50 units in one run — longer installations are built from 10 m sections.
• IP44, not IP65 — rain yes, pressure washing and flooding no.
• The diodes are integrated — an individual "bulb" is not replaced like a conventional one.