Why December looks the same every year
Around Thanksgiving, the tub of Christmas lights comes down from the attic. Half the strands are knotted, a few bulbs are dead, and the ladder is waiting by the garage door. Most people do it anyway, because a lit house feels like the holidays, but nobody enjoys the setup. Then, once the season ends, you climb up and undo it.
What permanent Christmas lights really are
Permanent Christmas lights take the yearly setup off your calendar. Instead of hanging strands every season, a low profile LED track is installed once along the roofline and left in place. The track is matched to your trim, so it reads as part of the house in daylight. Control lives in an app on your phone. Pick red and green in December, then a warm white glow for ordinary evenings.
What that means day to day
The obvious win is the ladder. The part people do not expect is how often it gets used the rest of the year. Warm white along the eaves is genuinely useful after dark. Birthdays, team colors on a Saturday, Halloween, a quiet evening on the porch: it is all the same system.
Fair questions to ask
The first question is always what it looks like when the lights are off. Nobody wants a house that looks
https://johnathanhigf959.swiftnestly.com/posts/professional-landscape-lighting-installation-a-practical-guide-for-homeowners-thinking-about-landscape-lighting like it is waiting on Christmas in June. The color matched track is the answer to that. It is sized to sit tight against the trim line and matched to your trim color, so at noon from the sidewalk it looks like trim.The second question is who fixes it if something quits. Ask who you call two years after the install, because that answer says more than the brochure does.
Comparing the two honestly
There is a real case for classic strands. If you look forward to it, or you only want lights every few years, strands make sense. Permanent lighting makes sense when you know you will do this every year, and when you want the roofline lit on ordinary nights too. Either way, an installer worth hiring will tell you which one fits your house.
Weighing the spend
Nobody can quote permanent Christmas lights sight unseen, and a number given over the phone is a guess. The better question is what you will spend on lighting over the next several years, rather than only the first invoice. Add up the strands, the replacements and the weekends. Then ask what it is worth to also have light on the house every other night of the year, because that is the part the comparison usually misses.Price is only half the decision. The cheap quote usually skips the design step, which is where the difference shows up at night.
Getting a real answer for your house
Every roofline is different, so a real number takes a look at the house. EverCrest Lighting does permanent LED lighting for homeowners and businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, working out of Greenville. Consultations are free, the design is drawn for your house, and the install is done by their own crew. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected] to start the conversation.