Are permanent Christmas lights worth it?

Usually yes, if you already pay a seasonal installer or lose two weekends a year on a ladder. Seasonal hanging around Baltimore and Annapolis commonly runs $300 to $1,500 every year, so a permanent system tends to break even in roughly three to six seasons. You also get every other holiday and year-round accent lighting from one install.

Can you see permanent lights during the day?

Barely. The aluminum track is color-matched to your fascia or trim and sits tight along the roof edge, with the lights recessed in the channel, so from the street it reads as part of the roofline in daylight. Choosing the track color to match your trim is part of the free measurement visit.

Do permanent lights damage the roof or gutters?

Installed correctly, no. The track fastens into the trim board with sealed fasteners, not through shingles or the roof deck, and nothing clips to the gutters. Damage comes from rushed installs and fasteners driven into rotted fascia, which is why we inspect the trim and repair soft wood before mounting anything.

How long do permanent Christmas lights last?

Quality LED lights are rated around 50,000 hours, which works out to roughly 20 to 30 years of typical holiday and evening use, or about 7 to 8 years if run 12 or more hours every night. Manufacturer warranties range from 5 years on parts to lifetime product coverage, depending on the brand.

Do I need HOA approval for permanent lights in Columbia?

Yes. Columbia Town Center's architectural guidelines say new permanent exterior lighting and wiring requires an application, while temporary holiday lights do not. Each Columbia village has its own architectural committee, and many Anne Arundel HOAs have similar rules. We provide the specs, fixture photo, and layout photo for your application and install after approval.

Do permanent lights need an electrician or a new outlet?

Usually not. The lights run on low voltage, and the controller plugs into an ordinary outlet, typically in the garage. If there is no usable outlet where the controller needs to go, Anne Arundel and Howard County require a licensed master electrician and an electrical permit for the new outlet or circuit. We coordinate both.

How long does installation take?

Most single-family homes in Anne Arundel and Howard County are installed in one day, including controller and app setup. Very large homes, steep three-story gables, or jobs that need fascia repair first can run into a second day. You get the schedule in writing with your quote, and HOA review time comes before that.

How much electricity do permanent lights use?

Very little. Each LED draws under 1 watt at full white. A 150-light roofline run six hours every night of the year uses about 300 kWh, which is roughly $60 a year at current BGE residential rates. Running them only for the holidays costs a few dollars a season.

Which areas do you serve for permanent lighting?

All of Anne Arundel County and Howard County, Maryland, including Gambrills, Crofton, Odenton, Annapolis, Severna Park, Arnold, Millersville, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, Columbia, Ellicott City, Clarksville, and Fulton. See our service areas page for the full list.

Permanent Christmas Lights & Roofline Lighting in Anne Arundel & Howard County, MD

Updated September 25, 2026

PRG Home Improvement LLC installs permanent Christmas lights, app-controlled LED track mounted once along your roofline and left up year-round, across Anne Arundel County and Howard County, Maryland. Installed pricing runs $20–$35 per linear foot, a street-facing roofline typically costs $3,000–$7,000, and most homes are finished in one day.

Call 443-856-5379 or book a free roofline measurement.

Owner-operated • MHIC #113057 • Licensed & insured • Fascia and trim repaired before mounting • Based in Gambrills, MD

Holiday install dates fill from October on. Book your free roofline measurement now to be lit before Thanksgiving.

What Are Permanent Christmas Lights?

Permanent Christmas lights, also sold as permanent holiday lights, permanent roofline lighting, or permanent outdoor lighting, are individually addressable RGB LED lights set in a low-profile aluminum channel. The channel mounts along the fascia or just under the roof edge and is color-matched to your trim, so in daylight it reads as part of the house. At night the lights do whatever you set in the phone app.

Every light can be a different color, and each run of roofline can be its own zone. That means red and green for Christmas, orange and purple for Halloween, red, white and blue for the Fourth of July, purple for Ravens game days, blue and gold for Navy, or plain warm white accent and security lighting on an ordinary Tuesday. Schedules turn the lights on at dusk and off at a set time, so nobody climbs a ladder or sets a plug-in timer again.

Mounted once, stays up all year, and is barely noticeable in daylight
Phone app control with schedules, scenes, and per-zone colors; most systems also work with Alexa or Google
Nothing goes through your shingles and nothing clips to your gutters
Each light draws under 1 watt at full white
Works for every holiday, event, and year-round curb appeal, not just December

Why Have a Remodeling Contractor Install Your Roofline Lights

Permanent lighting is only as straight and as secure as the board it is fastened to. On many Anne Arundel and Howard County homes built from the 1970s through the 2000s, the wood fascia behind the aluminum wrap has soft spots, the wrap has worked loose, or the gutters are pulling away. A lighting-only installer fastens into whatever is there. We are a licensed remodeling and carpentry contractor, so we inspect the fascia, soffit, and trim first and repair what is rotten before a single light goes up.

That matters more here than in most markets. Freeze-thaw cycles, ice at the roof edge, humid summers, and salt air near the Severn, Magothy, and South rivers all find weak trim. Track fastened into sound wood stays level for decades. Track fastened into punky fascia sags within a few winters, and the lights go with it.

Fascia, soffit, and gutter-line inspection on every measurement visit
Rotted fascia board and loose aluminum trim wrap repaired or replaced before install, priced in your written quote
Fasteners into sound trim board only, sealed, and never through the roof deck or shingles
Low-voltage wire routed cleanly through the soffit to the controller, with no cords draped across the siding
One licensed contractor responsible for both the lights and the trim they hang on

Bigger trim or exterior project? See our custom carpentry and exterior trim work, or pair accent lighting with a new deck or porch.

Permanent vs. Seasonal Christmas Lights

A seasonal service clips light strings to your gutters in November and takes them down in January, every year. A permanent system costs more once and nothing to hang after that. Against a paid seasonal installer, most homeowners break even in roughly three to six seasons, sooner if you would otherwise pay for a large display or want lights for more holidays than Christmas.

	Permanent LED track	Seasonal hanging service
Typical cost	$3,000–$7,000 once for a street-facing roofline	$300–$1,500 every year for a typical home
Ladder work	Once, at install	Twice a year, install and takedown
Colors	Millions of colors, per zone, changed from your phone	Whatever bulbs were hung
Holidays covered	Every holiday plus year-round accent lighting	Christmas season only
Daytime look	Low-profile track color-matched to trim	Clips and cords visible for two months
Gutter and roof wear	No gutter clips, no shingle clips	Clips on gutters and shingles every year
Rated LED life	50,000 hours, about 20–30 years of typical holiday and evening use	Strings replaced every few seasons

Market ranges, not PRG quotes. Permanent pricing from Trimlight, BlueHopper and JellyFish; LED life from Trimlight's published specs; seasonal pricing from Angi's Baltimore data and published Annapolis-area installer rates.

How Much Do Permanent Christmas Lights Cost in Maryland?

Permanent roofline lighting is priced by the linear foot of roofline you light. Published installed pricing from the major systems runs $20 to $35 per foot, covering the track, the LED lights, and installation, and some systems add a controller at $650 to $850. We measure your roofline, show you the footage for each zone, and give you one written price before any work starts.

Linear footage × $20–$35 per foot, the published installed range. Some systems add a $650–$850 controller.
What gets lit	Typical roofline	Typical installed range
Townhouse front	40–80 ft	$800–$2,800
Rancher or split-level front	80–120 ft	$1,600–$4,200
Colonial, street-facing sides	150–200 ft	$3,000–$7,000
Whole house, all sides	250–350 ft	$5,000–$12,000+

Total footage and the number of separate zones you want
Roof height and pitch: three-story gables and steep pitches need more setup
Number of gables, dormers, and corners the track has to turn
Whether a new outlet is needed near the controller
Any fascia, soffit, or trim repair found at the measurement visit

Running cost is small. About 150 lights at under 1 watt each, run six hours every night of the year, uses roughly 300 kWh, or about $60 a year at BGE's current residential rates (about 21¢ per kWh before taxes). Holiday-only use costs a few dollars.

How Permanent Lighting Installation Works

Most single-family homes are installed in one day. Here is exactly what happens from the first call to the first time you turn them on.

1. Free measurement and fascia check. We measure every run of roofline, find the best spot for the controller and its outlet, and inspect the fascia, soffit, and trim you want lit. You see the footage for each zone.
2. Written quote and zone plan. You get one written price covering track, lights, controller, and any trim repair, plus a simple plan showing which rooflines are lit and how they are zoned.
3. HOA or architectural approval, if you need it. We give you the product specs, track color, a fixture photo, and a marked-up photo of your house for the HOA or Columbia village application, then schedule once you are approved.
4. Trim repair, then track install. Rotted fascia or loose wrap is fixed first. Then the color-matched track is fastened level along the roofline, the lights are set in, and the low-voltage wire is routed through the soffit.
5. Controller, app setup, and walkthrough. We connect the controller, put the app on your phone, and set up your first scenes and schedules with you before we leave.

HOA and Columbia Association Approval

Temporary holiday lights are almost always allowed. Permanent fixtures on the outside of the house are a different category, and many covenants treat them as an exterior change that needs written approval first. Installing without it can get you an order to take the lights down.

In Columbia, the rules are explicit. The Columbia Town Center Architectural Guidelines state that "new permanent exterior lighting and wiring requires an application," while temporary holiday lighting does not. The application needs a site plan, a picture of the fixture, and a statement of the effect on neighboring homes, and the light must not shine onto adjacent property. Each village runs its own Resident Architectural Committee, so start with your village architectural committee contacts. Allow several weeks for review, which is another reason to start in early fall.

Many Anne Arundel neighborhoods, including a lot of Crofton, Odenton, Severna Park, Arnold, and Annapolis subdivisions, have their own architectural review rules. We put together the specs, track color, fixture photo, and layout photo you need for any application, and we do not install until your approval is in hand.

Licensing and Electrical Permits

Maryland defines home improvement as the alteration, improvement, or repair of a residence, and requires a Maryland Home Improvement Commission license for that work. PRG Home Improvement LLC holds MHIC #113057, which you can verify with the state.

Permanent lighting systems run on low voltage and their controllers plug into an ordinary outlet, usually in the garage. If your home needs a new outlet or circuit for the controller, both Anne Arundel County and Howard County require that work to be done by a licensed master electrician under an electrical permit. We coordinate that electrician and permit as part of your job, so you deal with one contractor.

Seasonal Christmas Light Installation

Not ready for a permanent system this year? We also hang traditional Christmas lights on rooflines, gutters, porches, railings, and front shrubs, then come back after the holidays to take them down. Typical Baltimore and Annapolis-area seasonal installs run about $300 to $1,500 depending on footage and how much of the yard is lit. Seasonal slots are limited, so call early.

Roofline, gutter, porch, railing, and shrub lighting
Installed from early November, removed in January
Commercial-grade LED strings and clips sized to your gutters and trim
In Columbia Town Center, temporary holiday lights may go up 28 days before the holiday and come down within 28 days after

Permanent Christmas Lights FAQ

How much do permanent Christmas lights cost in Maryland?: Published installed pricing runs $20 to $35 per linear foot, and some systems add a $650 to $850 controller. A street-facing roofline on a colonial, about 150 to 200 feet, typically costs $3,000 to $7,000. Footage, roof height, zones, and fascia repair set the final number. We give one written price after a free measurement.
Are permanent Christmas lights worth it?: Usually yes, if you already pay a seasonal installer or lose two weekends a year on a ladder. Seasonal hanging around Baltimore and Annapolis commonly runs $300 to $1,500 every year, so a permanent system tends to break even in roughly three to six seasons. You also get every other holiday and year-round accent lighting from one install.
Can you see permanent lights during the day?: Barely. The aluminum track is color-matched to your fascia or trim and sits tight along the roof edge, with the lights recessed in the channel, so from the street it reads as part of the roofline in daylight. Choosing the track color to match your trim is part of the free measurement visit.
Do permanent lights damage the roof or gutters?: Installed correctly, no. The track fastens into the trim board with sealed fasteners, not through shingles or the roof deck, and nothing clips to the gutters. Damage comes from rushed installs and fasteners driven into rotted fascia, which is why we inspect the trim and repair soft wood before mounting anything.
How long do permanent Christmas lights last?: Quality LED lights are rated around 50,000 hours, which works out to roughly 20 to 30 years of typical holiday and evening use, or about 7 to 8 years if run 12 or more hours every night. Manufacturer warranties range from 5 years on parts to lifetime product coverage, depending on the brand.
Do I need HOA approval for permanent lights in Columbia?: Yes. Columbia Town Center's architectural guidelines say new permanent exterior lighting and wiring requires an application, while temporary holiday lights do not. Each Columbia village has its own architectural committee, and many Anne Arundel HOAs have similar rules. We provide the specs, fixture photo, and layout photo for your application and install after approval.
Do permanent lights need an electrician or a new outlet?: Usually not. The lights run on low voltage, and the controller plugs into an ordinary outlet, typically in the garage. If there is no usable outlet where the controller needs to go, Anne Arundel and Howard County require a licensed master electrician and an electrical permit for the new outlet or circuit. We coordinate both.
How long does installation take?: Most single-family homes in Anne Arundel and Howard County are installed in one day, including controller and app setup. Very large homes, steep three-story gables, or jobs that need fascia repair first can run into a second day. You get the schedule in writing with your quote, and HOA review time comes before that.
How much electricity do permanent lights use?: Very little. Each LED draws under 1 watt at full white. A 150-light roofline run six hours every night of the year uses about 300 kWh, which is roughly $60 a year at current BGE residential rates. Running them only for the holidays costs a few dollars a season.
Which areas do you serve for permanent lighting?: All of Anne Arundel County and Howard County, Maryland, including Gambrills, Crofton, Odenton, Annapolis, Severna Park, Arnold, Millersville, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, Columbia, Ellicott City, Clarksville, and Fulton. See our service areas page for the full list.