Lighting buyer's guides
Lights Local is a directory. We do not install lights and we do not sell any brand, so these guides can say what a manufacturer or a dealer cannot: when the cheaper option is the right one, and what actually matters when you compare quotes.
Permanent lighting
Permanent Christmas lights: what they are, how they work, and who installs them
The straight explanation: what's actually on your roofline, how the two categories differ, what drives the price, and how to hire without being steered to one brand.
Govee permanent outdoor lights: should you install them yourself or hire a pro?
The most-searched permanent lighting product in America is a DIY kit. Here's when it's the right call, when your roofline defeats it, and what a pro install actually changes.
Best permanent outdoor lights: how the brands actually compare
Two categories, ten brands, and one honest answer: the installer matters more than the logo. A neutral comparison from a directory that sells none of them.
Jellyfish Lighting: cost, reviews, and how to find an installer
The most-searched professional brand. What it is, the manufacturer's own published pricing, what to check in reviews, and how to compare it against the alternatives without being steered.
Trimlight: cost, warranty, reviews, and how to compare a quote
Dealer-only, lifetime product warranty, and a published price range. What that means for your quote, and how it stacks up against Jellyfish, Gemstone and the rest.
Gemstone Lights: cost, reviews, and how to compare a quote
Track lighting with a Hub controller, a free AI preview of your house, and a large review base. What the manufacturer publishes, what it doesn't, and how to compare against the rest.
EverLights: DIY or professional, cost, and what the warranty covers
The brand that sells its system both ways. What changes between the DIY and professional routes, the published parts-and-labour warranty, and how it compares on white light.
Oelo Lights: cost, warranty, reviews, and how to compare a quote
Low-profile matching track, a published seven-year dealer warranty with a separate five-year DIY tier, and residential plus commercial positioning. What that means for your quote.
Haven Lighting: roofline plus landscape, DIY or professional, and what it costs
The whole-property option. Roofline, landscape and hardscape lines on one low-voltage system and one app, sold both DIY and through contractors. When that's the right choice.
Celebright: warranty, cost, reviews, and how to compare a quote
Dealer-only across North America, a published ten-year warranty, a 24-volt system and a colour-accuracy claim most rivals don't make. What that buys you, and how to compare it.
Permanent Christmas lights cost: what you will pay, and why
The one-time price of a professionally installed permanent lighting system, the seven things that move it, and how to read a quote before you sign it.
How permanent Christmas lights are installed, and where DIY goes wrong
The site walk, the power, the mounting, the corners: what a pro does on install day, what a kit asks of you, and the failure points that decide whether the lights are still up in three years.
Roofline lighting: eave, soffit and fascia lights, explained
Roofline, eave, soffit, fascia, trim: five words for roughly one product. What is actually mounted where, how corners and peaks work, and the questions that sort a good install from a visible one.
eufy permanent outdoor lights: should you install them yourself or hire a pro?
eufy's kit is the camera company's answer to Govee: triple-LED nodes, a higher published white figure than Govee's Lights 2, and the same tape-and-screw mounting. When it is the right call, and when it is not.
Lumary permanent outdoor lights: should you install them yourself or hire a pro?
The third name in the DIY tier after Govee and eufy: five-in-one LEDs, a detachable base, and the same tape-and-screw mounting. When it works and when it does not.
Govee vs eufy permanent outdoor lights: which DIY kit, and when neither is the answer
The two DIY kits people actually compare, on the specifications the manufacturers publish. Plus the question both skip: whether your roofline should have a kit on it at all.
Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro vs 2: which one for which house
The Pro can be cut and spliced to 200 feet; the 2 cannot be cut and tops out at 150. That one difference decides most rooflines. The rest, from the product pages, is here.
Jellyfish Lighting vs Trimlight: what actually differs, and how to choose
Nearly every comparison of these two is written by a dealer of one of them. This one isn't. Where the hardware differs, where it doesn't, and what to compare in two quotes.
Trimlight vs Gemstone Lights: what actually differs, and how to choose
One publishes a lifetime warranty and a price range; the other publishes neither but offers an AI preview and a large review base. What that means for your quote, from a directory that installs both.
Christmas lighting
LED vs incandescent Christmas lights, and C9 vs C7: what to have installed
The bulb decisions that shape a professional holiday display: LED or incandescent, C9 or C7, spacing and finish, and why installers supply their own.
Christmas light rental: what installers actually sell, and when you should own the lights instead
A season package is a rental, not a purchase, and not every full-service quote is one. What the package includes, who fixes a dead section in December, and when buying your own lights is the better deal.
Commercial Christmas light installation: what the job involves and what to ask before you sign
Storefronts, office parks, HOA entrances, municipal trees. How commercial holiday lighting is planned, powered, installed and maintained, and the questions that separate a good quote from a vague one.
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