Permanent Vs Seasonal Christmas Lights In Bourbonnais, Illinois

Here is the short answer. Seasonal Christmas lights cost less up front, look traditional, and come down in January. Permanent lighting costs more up front, stays on the house year round, and works for every holiday instead of one. If you plan to hire an installer every single December for the next five years, permanent lighting usually costs less over that stretch. If you want lights for one or two seasons or you might move soon, seasonal is the better buy.

We install both in Bourbonnais, Bradley and Kankakee, so we get asked to compare them almost every week from September on. Below is the honest breakdown, including where each one falls short.

Side By Side

Permanent Vs Seasonal Christmas Lights At A Glance

Option One

Seasonal Christmas Lights: Pros And Cons

Seasonal means we cut commercial grade C9 strands to fit your roofline, hang them in November or early December, service them all season, then take them down in January and store them for you. Our packages start at $749 and include the lights, the install, an automatic timer, season long maintenance and the takedown.

What people like about it:

• Lowest cost to get a professionally lit house this year.
• That classic warm C9 look that reads as Christmas from the street.
• You can change the design or the colors from one year to the next.
• Nothing is attached to your house the other ten months.
• Easy call for a rental, a house you plan to sell, or a first try at hiring out.

Where it falls short:

• You pay again every year, and after five or six seasons you have spent more than a permanent system would have cost.
• The calendar is tight. Good installers in Kankakee County book out by late October.
• It only works for one holiday.
• Weather can push the schedule. Ice on a roofline moves the whole route.
• If you hang them yourself, you are on a ladder in December in Illinois, which is how most holiday injuries happen.

Option Two

Permanent Lighting: Pros And Cons

Permanent lighting is a low profile track mounted under the eave or along the roofline with individually addressable LED diodes inside it. We install Omni RGB, which uses split RGB and 3000K warm white diodes, so the warm white setting actually looks like warm white instead of a yellowish fake. The track gets color matched to your trim and you run it from an app on your phone.

What people like about it:

• One install and you are done. No booking, no ladder, no January takedown.
• It works all year. Orange in October, red white and blue in July, school colors on a Friday night.
• Warm white on a timer doubles as everyday accent and security lighting.
• Nearly invisible in daylight once the track matches the trim.
• Certified components. UL, ETL and CUL listed with IP67 waterproof connectors, which matters in a climate that swings from ice to humidity.
• Dimmable and zoned, so you can light the peak differently than the porch.

Where it falls short:

• The up front number is the real hurdle. It is a home improvement purchase, not a seasonal service.
• It follows the roofline. It will not wrap a tree, line a walkway or light a bush, so a lot of homeowners still add seasonal accents.
• Some people want the bulb look. A track cannot fake the shape of a C9.
• Cheap systems exist and they age badly. Off brand track fades, connectors let water in, and the app support disappears.
• Install quality decides everything. Bad mounting means visible track, sagging runs and holes in the wrong places.

The Math

Which One Costs Less Over Time?

Work out how many years you plan to stay in the house. Multiply your seasonal install cost by that number and compare it to a permanent quote. Seasonal packages here start at $749 and go up with roofline length and design, so five seasons on a mid size Bourbonnais home already runs into real money with nothing left on the house at the end.

Permanent lighting is quoted by the linear foot of roofline plus the complexity of the peaks and dormers, so a quote takes a look at the house. We offer financing through Acorn Finance for the homeowners who want the permanent system this year and would rather spread the payment out. Checking your rate there does not affect your credit.

Local Notes

What Bourbonnais Homeowners Should Think About

A few things specific to this area. Ice and freeze thaw cycles are hard on clips and cheap connectors, so whatever you choose, the hardware quality matters more here than it would in a mild climate. Older neighborhoods around Bourbonnais have a lot of mature trees, which is an argument for keeping some seasonal wrapping in the plan no matter what goes on the roof. And newer subdivisions with tall two story facades are exactly where permanent track pays off, because those are the rooflines nobody wants to climb every December.

One more local note. Green Pro is a sponsor of A Light Walk at Perry Farm Park this year, and our crew is installing the lighting on the barn rooflines for the display. If you want to see commercial grade C9 work up close before you decide, that is a good place to look at it.

Next Step

How To Decide Without Overthinking It

• Staying in the house five or more years and tired of the yearly hassle: go permanent.
• Want a lit house this December for the smallest number: go seasonal.
• Love the traditional bulb look above all else: go seasonal.
• Want the house lit for Halloween, the Fourth and everything else: go permanent.
• Not sure: book seasonal this year and ask us for a permanent quote at the same time. You will see both numbers on your own house.

You can read more about our Christmas light installation packages, our Omni RGB permanent lighting, or how Omni compares to Govee if you have been looking at the store bought route. Businesses can see commercial Christmas lights instead.