DIY Permanent Outdoor Christmas Lights

Learn how to easily install your own permanent outdoor Christmas lights. Put these lights up once and leave them up all year! This is a beginner-friendly project with step-by-step instructions.

I have wanted permanent Christmas lights for years now, but have you ever looked into it? I was at a home show recently and got a quote from a professional permanent light company and I about had a heart attack. They wanted thousands of dollars (between $5,000 and $8,000) to put up lights on our very modest sized home! HOLY COW! Way too expensive for me.

So I did what I always do, I started looking for a DIY alternative.

There was a lot of information to wade through and I am no electrician, so some options were just too complicated or vague for me to feel comfortable buying. But I finally settled on a reasonably priced product from Lowe’s and decided to be the guinea pig for all of you to see how it went.

And I’m pleased to report that this is a project you can totally do! It was straightforward to figure out and simple to install AND the finished lights look absolutely amazing. I am thrilled.

Let me walk you through all the information you will need to decide if these lights are right for you. I’ll be the friend I wish I had when I was trying to figure this all out.

DIY Permanent Christmas Light Installation – Factors to Consider

1. Safety. Can you safely reach the eaves of your home? Falling from ladders is one of the most common injuries for men over 40. If you have been successfully putting up regular Christmas lights for years, you can probably do this too. If you aren’t sure you can accomplish this project safely, it might be worth hiring the pros or renting scaffolding.
2. Eave Material. These lights attach to the underside of your home’s eaves and shine down onto the siding. They do not attach to the outside edges and shine out like traditional lights. Most eaves nowadays are made out of metal, but if you have a different material, you’ll need to consider whether the sticky-back adhesive and little screws will work for you.
3. Home Shape. Our home only has three simple roof sections, so the lights were easy to install. If you have a lot of different gables, dormers or a complicated roof line, installation will be trickier. I still think it’s doable, but that is something to keep in mind.
4. Weather. The lights need to be installed when the temperature outside is above 50 degrees F to ensure the sticker adhesive actually sticks. This is a project for summer or fall, not the dead of winter… unless you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that’s warm all year.

Materials Needed

• Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights 100 Feet (I purchased two)
• Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights 50 Feet (I purchased one)
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Cleaning Cloth
• Spacing Block (we used a 2×4 scrap of wood)
• Ladders, Step Stools, Scaffolding
• Cordless Drill

The light kits come with everything you need to make the lights work. Here’s what’s in the box:

Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Elite

• Power Adapter
• Control Box
• Permanent Lights (the 100 foot kit comes with six 16.67″ sections and the 50 foot kit has three)
• Extension Cables (to jump from one section to another if needed)
• Light Clips
• Light Clip Screws
• Extra Adhesive Stickers
• Mounting Hardware
• Quick Start Guide

Instructions

You should definitely read all of the information from the manufacturer before beginning installation. My instructions are meant to be an overview to help you decide if this is a project you can tackle. I will also share helpful tips we learned during the process to help you if you do decide to install these lights.

Step 1: Measure your eaves and decide where you want the lights to go, then buy the correct kits for the size of your home. We bought two 100ft kits at one 50ft kit and had a few lights left over.

Step 2: Begin where you have an outlet. We have a small balcony off our master bedroom and it has an exterior outlet, so we just plugged right in there and began our lights on that corner of our home. It worked out so nicely. Plug in the power adapter, then attach the control box, then the first string of lights.

Step 3: For each light head, follow this process: (also shown in the video below)

1. Clean the spot where you want to attach the light. We used rubbing alcohol and a cleaning cloth to remove dirt and debris. This ensures the adhesive will stick properly.
2. Peel the red paper backing off of the back of the light.
3. Use a spacing block to find the placement of the light. You want each light to be 5-10 centimeters from the wall of your home, so we used a 2×4 piece of wood as an easy spacer. Just press the spacer against the wall, then place the light in front of it. Keep the tension of the cord between lights to ensure proper spacing and a neat overall appearance. You don’t want unevenly spaced lights or floppy cords between lights. You also need to make sure the cord between lights lays flat and is not twisted.
4. Slide a mounting clip around the light and push the cords into the side slots. Screw into place.

Step 4: Once all the lights are installed, it’s time to get to the fun part! Download the app (there’s a QR code on the back of the box) or just type “Govee Home” into the app store.

Then you can start playing with all of the cool lighting effects, color combinations and patterns.

There’s even a setting that makes the lights to go along with music! I am really impressed with how intuitive the app is to use. There are so many cool options that I am sure I will be finding new features for weeks.

The app also allows you to set your lights on a custom timer, so that’s super convenient.

Good To Know Information

Extension Cables

Each lighting kit comes with extension cables that allow you to “skip” lighting a certain area while still running a continuous line. The 100 foot kit came with one 12′ extension cable and two 4′ extension cables. The 50 foot kit came with

Cut To Size

The light strands can be cut to size. If you get to the end of the area where you want lights and there are still lights left over, you can cut off the excess. Just cover the end of the wires with electrical heat shrink tubing to seal them off properly. If you haven’t done basic electrical work before, do your research and follow safe practices. Note: Cutting your lights will void your warranty on the Elite model lights, but we did it anyway. It would just look so dumb to have extra lights hanging there in a big bunch, you know? If you want to retain your warranty, I would recommend buying the Pro version of the lights instead.

Lighting Models

There are a few different light model variations. We can only comment on the ones we purchased… the “Elite” model, but we are very pleased with them. The Pro model costs significantly more for a few bells and whistles that we didn’t really care about and we were willing to risk the warranty to cut them (rather than pay a lot more for the pro version) since we have some experience with electrical work and felt confident. You’ll have to decide what’s right for you.

Connecting Multiple Sets

Carefully read the instructions about how many light sets you can run through the same power adapters. You cannot just connect endless sections of lights. I believe that the manufacturer recommends no more than 9 strands connected together, which would roughly give you 150 feet of lights.

Cord Color

These permanent lights come with two cord color options: black and white. Choose whichever color is closest to your eave color so they blend in to your home’s design. Both color options are available on the same product page.

Watch this video to see the installation process and our fun new lights in action:

DIY Permanent Outdoor Christmas Lights Video

I hope you found this article helpful as you try to find a way to install permanent Christmas lights yourself instead of paying thousands to hire a professional. Overall I would say this is a very doable project if you’re generally handy and can safely reach the eaves of your home. I would classify this as a one weekend project.

I absolutely love how the finished lights look. They are very subtle during the day (you really have to look closely to even notice them) and they are so vibrant and fun at night. I am also excited that we put them up once and won’t have to think about them again for years. And I can’t wait to program them for holidays and birthdays and big sporting events. It’s going to be so fun!

Have a question? Drop it in the comments.