Do Christmas Light Installers Provide the Lights?

It's one of the first questions people ask when they call an installer: "Do I need to buy the lights, or do you bring them?" The answer depends on the company. There are three common ways professional Christmas light installation works, and each one changes the price, who owns the lights and what happens after New Year.

1. All-inclusive: the installer provides the lights

This is the most common model with full-service companies. The installer supplies commercial-grade lights, clips, cords and a timer; installs them; services them through the season; and takes them down in January. The price is per season, and the lights stay the installer's property. For returning clients, many companies store the lights between seasons, labeled for your house.

• Good for: people who want the lit house and nothing else — no buying, no storing, no ladder.
• Watch for: whether service calls and takedown are really included, and whether the lights are commercial grade or big-box strands.

This is how we work. Our seasonal price includes our commercial LED, the install, service calls and the January takedown, and storage for returning clients.

2. Purchase: you buy the lights from the installer

Some companies sell you the lights in the first year and charge less for installation in later years. You own the lights, and they may store them for you or hand them back after takedown.

• Good for: people sure they'll light the same house for many years.
• Watch for: who replaces failed bulbs, who stores the lights, and what happens if you move.

3. Install your own lights

Some installers will hang lights you already own. It looks cheaper, but consumer strands come in fixed lengths, so they double back or fall short on a roofline, and mixing old and new strands gives you uneven color. When a strand fails mid-season, it's your strand to replace. If you have lights you'd like to use, call and ask — we'll tell you honestly whether they're worth hanging on your house.

Why professionals use their own lights

The difference you see from the street comes from the materials:

• Cut-to-length wire. Commercial C9 wire is cut to the exact length of each run, so the line starts and ends at the corners instead of bunching.
• Even spacing. Sockets at a fixed spacing along the wire give a perfectly even line of bulbs.
• Commercial LED bulbs. Brighter, more consistent color and longer life than most big-box strands, and they run cool.
• The right clips. Clips for gutters, shingles, tile and metal, so nothing is nailed or stapled.

What it means for the price

With the all-inclusive model, the lights are built into the per-foot price. In Jacksonville our seasonal lighting runs $5 to $8 per foot of roofline, with homes from $799 and most between $900 and $2,500. Palms are $75 to $250 per tree and an entry wreath with garland starts at $150. Nothing extra for the lights themselves. Try your numbers in the cost calculator.

What about permanent lighting?

Permanent lighting is different: you buy the system — the track, the LEDs and the controller — and it stays on your house. It's a one-time purchase at about $25 to $45 per foot, not a seasonal rental. See permanent light costs.

Why owning big-box lights rarely saves money

It's tempting to think that owning your own lights makes professional installation cheaper. In practice, the lights are the smaller part of the cost. The bigger parts are the ladder time, the clips, the timer, the service calls and the takedown — and those are the same whether the strands are yours or ours. Retail strands also fail more often in Florida's humidity and dew, and when a strand fails mid-season, the whole run has to be found, replaced and re-hung. With installer-provided lights, that's the installer's problem, not yours.

What happens in year two

With the all-inclusive model, the second season is where it pays off. Your lights come out of storage already cut to the length of each run and labeled by section of your house — front gutter, left gable, garage, palm by the drive — so they go back up faster than the first time. Before they're re-hung, every strand is tested and dead bulbs replaced, so the house looks the same as it did the year before.

Questions to ask any installer

1. Are the lights included, or do I buy them?
2. Commercial grade or retail strands?
3. Are service calls included if a section goes dark?
4. Is takedown included, and when?
5. Do you store the lights between seasons?

Our answers: included, commercial grade, yes, yes (January 2 to 15), and yes for returning clients. See Christmas light installation or whether to tip the crew.