Outdoor LED String Lights
OUTDOOR LED STRING LIGHTS
Permanent outdoor string lights are what people look for once they are tired of climbing the ladder every fall and taking everything down again in spring. LEDCO offers the smart permanent outdoor string light RGBTW: a string light mounted for good under the soffit or the eaves, that gives you colour and white in the same product, and that you control from your phone.
Permanent outdoor string lights: installed once, lit all year long
A seasonal string light with big bulbs is stretched in festoons between two posts, swings in the wind and ends up tangled in a box at the first snowfall. A permanent string light is mounted flat under the roof edge, out of reach of branches and snow shovels, and never comes down again. By day, it stays discreet under the soffit; by night, the whole facade takes shape.
The word "permanent" also says something about intent: you treat it as a light fixture, not as a decoration. It gets planned, mounted straight and wired properly, just like our LED soffit lights. For the mood of a single dinner, festoon lights will do; for a facade that lives all year, you want the permanent one.
RGBTW: red, green, blue, warm white and cool white in one string light
The acronym reads simply. RGB is red, green and blue: mixed together, they give you the colours, from pink to purple through orange and turquoise. TW is tunable white: a warm white, golden, for summer evenings, and a cool white, crisper, for an entrance that reads clearly. Here the white has its own diodes: not an approximate white made of the three colours lit at once.
In practice, one string light covers the whole calendar: red and green for Christmas, orange and purple for Halloween, blue and white for a party, and a quiet warm white the rest of the year. That is why it stays lit instead of sleeping in the garage eleven months out of twelve. And to carry the colour indoors, our indoor LED strips come in RGBW and in RGB pixel, where each segment is controlled separately.
Smart: colours, effects and scenes from your phone
"Smart" means there is no little control box to go looking for outside. You pick the colour, the effect or the scene from the app on your phone, and the facade changes on the spot. You set up your scenes for each occasion and find them again year after year. A colour LED string light that made you step out onto the balcony to change the shade would never get changed; this one changes with a fingertip.
Where to mount a permanent string light around the house
The right spot is a continuous, sheltered edge from which the light falls onto the facade without glaring at the street. The placements that work well:
- Under the front soffit: the classic install, which outlines the roof and brings out the siding.
- Along the eaves of the garage or shed: the same line, carried over to the outbuildings so the whole property reads as one.
- Around a covered deck or a pergola: the string light becomes the evening ambient light; our LED deck lights and LED lights for pergola pages cover the rest.
- Around a commercial entrance: a café or a restaurant patio that changes colour with the event, with no ladder to bring out.
In every case, the line follows the building from end to end: a string light that stops halfway along a roof section is noticed right away.
Rope light or light cord: when flex neon does the job better
Some customers write to us about a "rope light" or an "outdoor light cord" when what they picture is a continuous line of light, with no visible dots, tracing an outline. That is no longer a string light: it is LED flex neon. The RGBW flex neon gives colour as one solid stroke and bends to follow a curve. For white light under a handrail or along a step, outdoor LED strip mounted in an aluminum profile remains the cleanest solution.
Power and wiring: plan before you drill
A permanent string light needs a power source that stays in place all year, not an extension cord running across the balcony. Before mounting, decide where the power will come from: an outdoor outlet near the soffit, or a connection your electrician prepares in the right place. For a bigger project — a commercial facade, a multi-unit building, several buildings — write to us with your measurements and we will go over the plan with you before you order. Our custom design tool, for its part, is for LED strips and profiles cut to your lengths, not for the string light.
Technical tips for permanent outdoor string lights
Walk the full perimeter before you order. Measure every facade the string light will run along, returns included, and note where the nearest outlet is.
Install it when the soffit is dry. Spring and a mild fall are the right times; once it is up, it never has to come down again.
Keep a warm white for everyday use. Colour is for occasions; the rest of the time, a quiet warm white flatters the house without turning it into a sign.
Leave the connections within reach. A connection hidden behind the siding is the first thing you hunt for the day you need to service it; keep it sheltered, but accessible.
Permanent outdoor string lights FAQ
What is the difference between permanent outdoor string lights and seasonal ones?
Seasonal lights go up and come down every year; permanent ones are mounted once under the soffit or the eaves and stay there. Instead of swapping string lights to change the mood, you change the colour in the app.
Can I get a pink LED string light, or a single fixed colour?
Yes. The RGB part mixes red, green and blue, which gives you pink, purple, orange, turquoise and the shades in between. You can leave one fixed colour on for as long as you like, or set up a scene that cycles through several.
Can the string light stay outside through a Quebec winter?
That is the whole point of a permanent string light: it is made to stay outdoors all year, summer and winter. You install it once, and when winter comes you simply switch scenes. For the product details, see the permanent string light RGBTW product page.
Does it suit a deck or a pergola?
Yes, as soon as there is a continuous edge to mount it on: the perimeter of a covered deck roof, the top beam of a pergola, the outline of a gazebo. For steps and the handrail, the strips and puck lights on our deck and pergola pages take over instead.
Which colour of outdoor LED string lights should I use day to day?
Warm white, in the vast majority of cases: it flatters the house without drawing attention. Cool white is for when you want a crisper facade, a commercial entrance for example. Colour is kept for holidays and events.
