“Worth it” depends on what you’d otherwise do. For a homeowner who was never going to light the house, no. For a homeowner who hires a seasonal install every year, usually yes. For a homeowner who hangs lights from a ladder every November, it’s a question of what your Saturdays and your safety are worth. Here’s the full picture.
New to the idea? Start with our overview of permanent Christmas lights: what they are, how they look and where we install them.
What you’re actually buying
A permanent system is not “Christmas lights that stay up.” It’s an exterior lighting system that happens to do Christmas. The track under your eave runs warm white at dusk every night of the year, lighting the architecture and the perimeter, and switches to any color scene from your phone: holidays, game days, birthdays, awareness months. Most owners use the everyday warm white setting far more than any holiday scene. That’s the part people underestimate before they own one.
The benefits, in order of how often we hear them
- Never dealing with lights again. No install appointment, no takedown, no storage, no ladder. It’s done.
- Game day. In an Illini town, orange and blue on Saturdays is reason enough for a lot of our customers.
- Everyday curb appeal. The warm white accent setting makes a home look finished every evening. Neighbors notice.
- Security. An evenly lit perimeter from the roofline eliminates the dark corners floodlights miss, without glare.
- Every other holiday. Halloween, the Fourth, Easter, Valentine’s, Diwali. Seasonal installs cover one holiday; permanent covers all of them.
- Longevity. Rated for 25+ years. Our 5-year warranty covers materials and workmanship.
The honest drawbacks
- Up-front cost. It’s a system purchase, priced per foot. See the cost guide.
- It’s a roofline system. Wrapped trees, netted shrubs, wreaths and garland still require a seasonal install if you want them. Many customers add those in December.
- Bulb size. Seasonal C9 bulbs are larger and sparklier up close. From the street, warm white looks the same.
- Not for every house. Rentals, homes you’ll sell within a year or two, and homes with unusual roof edges may be better served by seasonal lighting.
- It’s permanent. If you change your mind about colors or want a different design, that’s a programming change, not a redesign.
The break-even math
Take what you’d spend on a professional seasonal install each year. A permanent system typically costs a few years of that. After the break-even point, the permanent system costs essentially nothing to run: a few watts of electricity and no annual fees. For a home that would light up every year for the next decade, permanent is the lower total cost, and it delivers 300 extra nights of lighting per year that seasonal never does.
If you’d only light up some years, or you’d do it yourself for the cost of a box of lights, seasonal or DIY is cheaper. The honest comparison is in permanent lighting vs. seasonal Christmas lights.
Questions to ask any permanent lighting installer
- Who makes the lights and what are they rated for? We’re a licensed installer of Orca Smart Lighting, rated 25+ years.
- What does the warranty cover and who services it? Ours is a 5-year company warranty, serviced by the crew that installed it.
- Is the track color-matched? It should disappear by day.
- Does it have a dedicated warm white diode? RGB-only systems make a tinted “white.” Ours have a separate warm white.
- Do schedules run if the Wi-Fi drops? Ours do.
- Can I see one installed nearby? We can point you to homes in your area.
Our take
If you’re already paying for lights every year, or spending a weekend on a ladder, a permanent system is worth it on convenience alone, and the year-round use is a bonus you’ll use more than you expect. If you only want Christmas, and you want big bulbs, trees and greenery, a seasonal install is the better fit. We’re happy to quote both so you can decide with real numbers.