Permanent Lighting · Buyer's guide

Roofline lighting: eave, soffit and fascia lights, explained

Updated September 13, 2026

Roofline lighting is a line of small LED lights fixed along the edge of your roof, in a track or on bases under the eave or on the fascia, controlled from an app so they can be any colour on any night and near-invisible by day. Eave lights, fascia lights, trim lights and permanent soffit lighting are, in practice, the same product described by where it mounts. The one exception is the phrase "soffit lights" on its own, which usually means recessed downlights set into the underside of the soffit; that is a different product covered in the next section. This guide explains what a roofline system is, where it goes on the house, how installers deal with corners, peaks and dormers, the choices that change how it looks, and what to ask before you sign.

First, which product do you mean?

The words overlap because the roof edge has several parts. The eave is the section of roof that overhangs the wall. The soffit is the flat underside of that overhang. The fascia is the vertical board at the outer edge, where the gutter usually hangs. Trim is the painted or wrapped edge around all of it. Lights can live on any of these surfaces, and installers and manufacturers name the product after whichever one they favour.

• Roofline lighting, eave lights, fascia lights, trim lights, permanent Christmas lights. A continuous run of individually addressable colour LEDs along the roof edge, left up all year, programmed from an app. Professional versions sit in a colour-matched aluminium channel; DIY kits mount on clip-on bases. This page is about this product.
• Soffit lights, recessed soffit lighting, soffit downlights. Individual fixtures set into the soffit, pointing straight down, to wash the wall and light the ground below. Usually a single warm white, often on a photocell or switch, not colour-changing. This is architectural lighting, installed by an electrician or a landscape lighting contractor. If that is what you want, the closest page here is the permanent lighting landing, where some listed installers do both; otherwise search for landscape lighting or an electrician.
• Permanent soffit lighting. Almost always the first product, mounted so the lights face outward or downward from under the soffit. Occasionally used for the second. Ask.

A quick test: if you want the house to be red and green in December and off in April, you want roofline lighting. If you want the front of the house softly lit every night, you may want soffit downlights, or roofline lighting set to warm white, and it is worth asking an installer to show you both.

What a roofline system is made of

Four parts, and understanding them is most of what you need to read a quote or a product listing. The permanent Christmas lights guide covers the category more broadly; here the focus is on the roofline itself.

• The lights. Small LED modules, each one individually addressable, spaced a set distance apart along a cable. Because each can be set separately, the app can draw patterns along the eave: alternating colours, chasing sequences, a single accent at each peak. Most systems mix colour from red, green and blue; some add a dedicated warm-white LED, which matters if plain white is your everyday use.
• The track or channel. On professional systems, an aluminium extrusion colour-matched to your trim that the lights sit inside, with the wiring hidden in it. It is cut on site to your roofline. This is the part that makes a professional system disappear by day, and the part DIY kits replace with individual bases stuck or screwed to the fascia.
• The controller. A box that drives the run and connects to your Wi-Fi. Professional installs usually place it in a garage, attic or utility space and wire it to a dedicated supply; DIY kits plug a control box and adapter into a nearby outlet, outdoors or indoors depending on what the kit rates its adapter for.
• The app. Where you choose colours, save scenes and set schedules. It is the part you live with, so try it before you commit to a brand.

Where it mounts, and why it matters

The same lights look and behave differently depending on which surface they are fixed to and which way they face. The choice is partly about the house and partly about the effect you want.

• Under the eave, on the soffit, facing outward. The most common professional placement. The track sits just inside the outer edge of the soffit, the lights face out toward the street, and by day the track is in shadow and hard to see. Works on houses with a real overhang.
• Under the eave, facing down. The lights point at the wall and ground, washing the facade and lighting walkways. Reads as architectural lighting in white and as a colour wash in colour. Some systems let each light be turned to face out or down; ask.
• On the fascia. Where there is little or no overhang, the track mounts on the vertical board behind the gutter, lights facing out. More visible by day, which is why colour-matching the track to the fascia matters most here.
• Behind the gutter lip or trim. On some homes the track can tuck behind an existing edge so nothing shows. Depends entirely on the house; a good installer will tell you on the site walk.

The by-day question is the one to ask about first. Every manufacturer says its system disappears. Whether yours does depends on the overhang, the track colour against your trim, and where the installer decides to mount it. Ask to see a finished install in daylight on a house with a similar roof edge, not just photos of it lit at night.

Corners, peaks, dormers and the rest

A straight run along a single-storey eave is the easy case. Real rooflines have corners, gable peaks, dormers, changes in height, and sections where the overhang comes and goes. This is where the install is won or lost, and where a DIY kit and a professional system diverge most.

• Outside corners. The track is cut and joined so the light spacing stays even around the corner. Done badly, two lights bunch up or a gap opens, and it is the first thing you notice from the driveway.
• Gable peaks. The run climbs one side of the gable and descends the other, with the track mitred at the apex. On a DIY kit that cannot be cut, the run has to loop or double back; on a cuttable system the installer trims to the exact length.
• Dormers. Each dormer is a small roofline of its own, either lit as a separate feature or skipped. Lighting them adds lights and labour; skipping them can leave dark boxes in the pattern. Decide with the installer during the walk.
• Height changes. Where a one-storey section meets a two-storey wall, the run has to jump. Installers hide the connecting wire inside the track, through the soffit, or along a trim line; a visible loop of cable is the mark of a rushed job.
• Where the run starts. Every system needs power and a controller. Where the cable enters the house, and how it gets from the controller to the first light without showing, is a design decision, not an afterthought.

Spacing, colour and the choices that change the look

A few decisions are yours to make, and they change the result more than the brand does.

• Light spacing. Tighter spacing reads as a continuous line and costs more per foot; wider spacing reads as distinct points and costs less. Some manufacturers offer a choice of spacing on the same system. Look at both on a real house from the street before choosing.
• Track colour. Professional channels come in a range of colours to match common trim shades. The match is what makes the system invisible by day. Ask for samples held against your actual fascia in daylight.
• White handling. If you plan to run warm white most nights, ask whether the system has a dedicated white LED or mixes white from colour. Both work; they can look slightly different, and only one of them was designed for it.
• Facing. Outward for a display seen from the street; downward for wall wash and ground light; some systems allow each light to be turned. Decide per section, not per house.

What drives the price of all this is the same as for any permanent system: length of run, number of corners and peaks, height and access, where the power comes from, and the spacing you choose. The cost guide explains each factor with ranges.

DIY kit or professional system on the roofline

Retail kits from Govee, eufy and Lumary put the same idea, addressable LEDs along the roof edge, within reach of a weekend. The difference on the roofline specifically is the mounting and the fit. A kit mounts each light on its own base, stuck with adhesive and ideally screwed, in a fixed length that may or may not be cuttable, and the run has to start within reach of an outlet (some kits, Govee's Pro among them, mark the adapter indoor-only). A professional system is cut to your roof, sits in a colour-matched track, and is wired to a controller placed where it makes sense. On a simple single-storey eave the kit can look very good. On a roofline with several peaks, height changes and a long run to power, the professional system is what makes the result look designed rather than attached.

The best permanent outdoor lights comparison puts both tiers in one table, and the installation guide walks through what actually happens on install day for each.

What to ask an installer about the roofline

Bring the installer to the house. Roofline lighting cannot be quoted well from a satellite photo. During the walk, ask:

1. Where will the track mount on each section, and which way will the lights face?
2. How will you handle the corners, the gable peaks and the dormers? Show me a house where you did.
3. Where does the controller go, and how does the cable get from there to the first light without showing?
4. Which track colour, held against my trim in daylight?
5. What spacing are you quoting, and can I see both options on a real house?
6. Does the system have a dedicated white LED?
7. What is the warranty on the product and on your labour, in writing?
8. What is in the quote and what is extra?

Installers are listed by state and city under permanent lighting. Get more than one quote; the difference between two installers on the same house is usually in how they answered the corner-and-peak question.