Every fall, more houses around St. George glow along the roofline year-round instead of just in December. That's permanent lighting. Here's how it works, what it costs, and how to tell whether it's worth it for your home, from the electricians who install it.
What permanent lighting is
Permanent lighting is a run of LED lights mounted in a thin aluminum track along your roofline, usually on the fascia or under the eave. The track is painted to match your trim, so during the day it mostly disappears. At night, you control it from a phone app: warm white for everyday accent lighting, colors for holidays, bright white on a schedule for security.
It stays up all year. That's the point. No ladders in December, no tangled strands, no paying a crew to hang and take down seasonal lights every year.
How it's installed
A typical install looks like this:
- Measure and plan. The installer measures every section of roofline you want lit and finds where the power will come from.
- Mount the track. The track is fastened along the fascia or soffit, around corners and peaks.
- Lights and wiring. The LEDs go into the track, runs are connected, and connections are sealed against rain and dust.
- Power and controller. A power supply and controller plug into an outdoor outlet, usually near the garage or an eave.
- App setup. The controller connects to your Wi-Fi, and you set schedules and scenes.
Step 4 is the one people don't think about. These lights run every night for years on a power supply attached to your house. The outlet needs to be in a sensible spot, on a circuit with room for the load, and protected the way the electrical code requires outdoors. If the only outlet is on a circuit that already trips, that's a problem worth fixing before anything goes on the roof.
What it costs in Utah
Permanent lighting is priced mostly by the foot of roofline, installed, plus the controller and power supply.
Utah installers that publish their prices list roughly $22 to $30 per linear foot installed, as of November 2026 (sources below). Some charge separately for the app controller or a second power supply on longer runs, typically a few hundred dollars each. Budget installers using consumer-grade products advertise lower per-foot prices, and brand-name systems with long warranties tend to sit at the top of the range.
To put that in perspective, here's simple math, not a quote:
- A front roofline of about 100 feet at $22 to $30 a foot comes to roughly $2,200 to $3,000, before any controller or power fees.
- A whole-house run of about 200 feet comes to roughly $4,400 to $6,000, before fees.
Your number depends on your house. We measure first and put the price in writing before any work starts.
What drives the price up or down
- Length. The biggest factor by far.
- Layout. Every break in the roofline, second story or separate section can mean another run, another jump or another controller.
- Power. If there's a good outdoor outlet near the start of the run, great. If not, a new outdoor-rated outlet adds cost.
- Height and access. Two-story homes and steep sections take more time and equipment.
- Product and warranty. Lights rated for desert heat, with a long written warranty, cost more up front.
Is it worth it?
It depends on how you'll use it. Permanent lighting makes the most sense if:
- You already hang holiday lights every year, or pay someone to.
- You'd use warm white as everyday accent or security lighting, not just in December.
- You plan to stay in the home for a while.
It makes less sense if you only want lights for a few weeks a year and don't mind hanging them, or if you're moving soon. A seasonal setup or a smaller front-only run might be the better buy, and we'll tell you that.
Questions to ask any installer
- What are the lights and track rated for in heat, and how long is the warranty on the product and on the labor? Get both in writing.
- Who do I call if a section stops working in two years, and is that company local?
- Where will the power supply go, and is the outlet on a circuit that can handle it?
- How is the track fastened, and will anything be drilled into my roof tile?
- Will the track color match my trim? Can I get photos or specs for my HOA?
Southern Utah specifics
Our summers are hard on anything mounted outside. Roof edges get much hotter than the air temperature, and monsoon storms bring wind, rain and dust. Ask what the product is rated for, and make sure the connections are sealed. Many homes here also have tile roofs and stucco, so the track should mount to the fascia or soffit, not the tile.
If you live in an HOA, check the rules first. Many allow permanent lighting because the track is low-profile and you can limit it to warm white.
Getting a quote
We're licensed electricians in St. George, and we install permanent lighting across Washington County and Cedar City. If you'd like a measured quote with the warranty in writing, tell us about your home.
Sources
- Permanent Christmas lights cost, Sparkled (Davis and Weber counties). Lists $25 to $30+ per linear foot installed. Checked November 2026.
- Permanent house lighting pricing, Firefly (Springville). Lists $22 to $30 per foot plus a control box fee. Checked November 2026.
- Permanent lighting, Kilowash (Salt Lake and Utah counties). Lists a per-foot price plus app-control and power-supply fees. Checked November 2026.