Permanent Lighting · Buyer's guide

eufy permanent outdoor lights: should you install them yourself or hire a pro?

Updated September 13, 2026

eufy permanent outdoor lights are a do-it-yourself kit: a string of LED domes on a cable that you stick and screw along your roofline, plug into an outdoor outlet, and control from the eufy Life app. They are made by the same company as eufy's security cameras and doorbells, and they are sold in boxes, not installed by contractors. A professionally installed permanent lighting system is a different product: fitted track, hidden wiring, a dedicated power supply, and an installer who comes back. If your home is single-story with a mostly straight roofline and an outlet within reach, the eufy kit is a sensible choice. If it is two stories, steep, or full of corners, or you want someone else on the ladder, a professional system is the one to look at. This page covers what the eufy kit is, how its two main models differ, and how to decide.

What eufy permanent outdoor lights actually are

eufy is Anker's smart-home brand, best known for cameras, doorbells and robot vacuums. Its permanent outdoor lights are a consumer product designed to be put up by a homeowner over a weekend. The current mainstream model is the E22; the earlier E120 is still widely listed; and a newer S4 with radar-activated lighting exists for people who want the lights to respond to movement. This guide covers the E22 and E120, which are the ones most people are comparing against Govee.

In the box is a string of light domes on a cable, a power adapter, a control unit, and mounting hardware. The lights sit in bases that come with adhesive tape pre-applied and, in the manufacturer's words, "also come with a screw hole." The E120 FAQ is more direct: "for permanent installation, it is highly recommended to use the included clips and screws." That sentence is the most important one on eufy's support site, and it is the same lesson Govee owners learned. The tape gets it up; the screws keep it up.

E22 versus E120: what the manufacturer says

Read the table with two things in mind. First, the E22's brightness and colour-temperature figures are the manufacturer's maximums for the white channel; RGB colours on any of these kits are dimmer than the white, as the E120's 8-13 lumen RGB figure shows. Second, the weather ratings are not the same across the two models, and the manufacturer's own pages are the source for each. Whichever you buy, the power adapter and control unit need to live somewhere dry.

The genuinely useful difference is the white light. The E120 has a dedicated warm-white LED fixed at 3000K, which is a pleasant everyday colour and nothing else. The E22 adds a cool-white LED and lets you dial the white anywhere from candlelight to daylight. If you plan to run these as ordinary house lighting most nights, that range is the reason to choose the E22.

Where the kit works, and where it stops working

The kit's appeal is the same as Govee's. It is a fraction of the price of a professional system, you can have it up the day you buy it, and if you already own eufy cameras the lights show up in the same app and can react to them. For a single-story house with a straight fascia and an outdoor outlet at one end, it is a good product.

Where it stops working is where every adhesive-mounted kit stops working: on the mounting. A dome that is only taped will eventually let go, sooner on rough or dusty fascia, in hot sun, or in a climate that freezes and thaws. eufy's recommendation to screw every base is the manufacturer telling you this. Screwing sixty bases along a second-story roofline is a long day on a ladder, and that day is the real cost of the kit.

• Corners and peaks. The string cannot be cut, so every corner is a bend in the cable and every gable is a run up one side and down the other with whatever slack that leaves. On a simple roofline that is fine. On a roofline with dormers and returns it looks like what it is.
• Power placement. The run has to start within reach of an outlet, and on the E120 the control unit and adapter are not weatherproof at all, so they need cover. Plan where that is before you buy.
• Wi-Fi reach. The control unit needs a usable signal at the roofline. Detached garages and far corners are where owners report dropouts.
• You are the support department. When a section stops responding, you are the one on the ladder.

What a professionally installed system changes

Ask a permanent lighting contractor for a quote and they will not offer eufy. They will offer the brand they install: Jellyfish, Trimlight, Gemstone, EverLights, Oelo, Haven, Celebright or another. Those systems are designed to be fitted, not stuck on. The LEDs sit inside an aluminium track or channel that is cut to your roofline, colour-matched to your trim, and screwed to the fascia along its whole length. The wiring runs inside the track. Power comes from a dedicated supply, often via an attic or soffit run, and the controller is mounted somewhere dry by the installer.

• Fit. The installer measures your roofline and cuts and routes the run to it, including corners, gables and dormers. There is no slack cable and no bend at a corner.
• Mounting. A continuous track screwed along its length, rather than sixty individual bases each relying on its own tape or screw.
• Power. A dedicated supply placed by the installer, rather than an extension to the nearest outlet.
• Accountability. The kit has a manufacturer warranty. The professional system has that plus a business that put it on your house and has a reason to come back. What that covers, for how long, and whether labour is included is the first thing to ask, and the answer varies by brand and installer.

The price gap is large and it is not the brand's margin. It is fitted hardware, a crew, a power arrangement and a warranty on the labour. Our guide to what installation costs explains what moves a professional quote, and the brand comparison puts the professional systems side by side.

eufy or Govee?

They are the same class of product, sold the same way, mounted the same way, and the differences are in the details. On the manufacturers' own pages, eufy's E22 publishes a higher white figure than Govee's Lights 2 (Govee's Pro page does not state lumens, so it cannot be ranked) and a wider white colour-temperature range, and integrates with eufy cameras. Govee's Pro line can be cut to length and offers longer maximum runs, which matters on a complicated roofline. Neither changes the mounting question. The Govee guide covers Govee's range in the same way this page covers eufy's, and the two together are the whole DIY tier most people are choosing between, with Lumary as the third name.

A simple way to decide

Run through this in order and stop at the first "no":

1. Can I safely reach every part of the roofline I want lit? No: hire a pro.
2. Is the roofline mostly straight, with only a few corners? No: hire a pro.
3. Is there an outdoor outlet within reach, and somewhere dry for the control unit and adapter? No: hire a pro.
4. Will I screw down every base rather than rely on the tape? No: hire a pro.
5. Am I comfortable being my own support when something stops working? No: hire a pro.
6. All yes? The eufy kit is a sensible choice, and the E22 is the one to buy if you want adjustable white.

If the answer is a pro, installers are listed by state and city under permanent lighting, or search by ZIP below.