So you're thinking of mounting RGB lights on your house permanently? (Updated for 2026)

Updated September 2026. This post was rewritten around the permanent mounting and control options available today.

Once people get into pixels, a common next step is mounting them on the house permanently instead of putting them up and taking them down every season. It makes sense: pixels are small enough to hide under a soffit, and because they can be any color, the same lights work for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, the Fourth of July, game days, Halloween and Christmas, with warm white architectural lighting in between.

PixaTrack (right) is built for permanent installs and comes in off-white and brown.

Start with the right mounting

A seasonal install can get away with clips and exposed wire for a month. A permanent install lives through summer sun, winter storms and every squirrel in the neighborhood, year after year. That's what PixaTrack was designed for:

• It fully encloses the wiring, protecting it from UV damage and keeping animals away from it.
• It blends with the house. PixaTrack comes in off-white or brown, and with the wiring hidden, the install is hard to spot during the day. That also helps with HOAs.
• It holds your spacing and aim. Aluminum track, 6.66 feet long, drilled every 1 inch for standard 12mm nodes, so every pixel lines up.
• Front-facing or side/down-facing. Choose front holes for a visible outline, or side/down holes to light the wall and hide the pixels.
• Samples are available, so you can hold a piece up against your house and check the color before you buy.

PixaTrack installed on a white soffit.

Things to consider before you go permanent

Reliability of the lights.
Much of the pixel hardware on the market is built with price as the main driver, and that usually shows up in long-term reliability. Over the years we've seen plastics and potting compounds that yellow or crack from heat and UV, LEDs that don't tolerate voltage swings, and wire insulation that breaks down after a few seasons outdoors. Something that survives a month in December may not survive year-round. Enclosing the pixels' wiring in track helps a lot, but start with quality pixels.

Power supplies and controllers.
Pixels run on low-voltage DC, so you'll need power supplies, and both they and the controller need a spot that stays dry but still gets airflow. Don't run a power supply at or near its rated maximum; leave 10 to 20% headroom so it isn't working at its limit every night of the year. Also keep the controller reasonably close to where the runs start, or use long-range receivers so the outputs can sit near the roofline.

Running the lights when there's no show.
Between holidays, you'll want the lights to come on by themselves: warm white every evening, team colors on game day, red, white and blue for the Fourth. The easiest way is FPP (Falcon Player), free show-player software that runs on a small computer like a Raspberry Pi. You build your looks and sequences in xLights, and FPP runs them on a schedule all year without a PC.

Codes and wiring.
A permanent install often means permanent AC power to the power supplies. Extension cords that are fine for a month-long seasonal display are not meant to live outdoors year-round. Check with your local building code office about the requirements for permanent low-voltage lighting and the AC circuits that feed it, and use an electrician where required.

Temperature range.
If you live somewhere with extreme heat, cold or sun, check the rated operating range of the pixels, power supplies and controller against your climate.

Questions to ask any vendor

• Warranty. Does it exclude year-round installation? Will the vendor still be around if you need to make a claim?
• Testing. Has the product actually been tested for long-term outdoor use?
• Certifications. A listing from a recognized testing lab shows a vendor invested in the product. Be skeptical of certification marks on products bought directly from overseas marketplaces until they're verified.
• System design. Do the connectors, mounting and power fit together as a system? It's usually obvious when a vendor has thought the whole install through.

Let us design it with you

Fill out our project design form and we'll put together a recommendation and a complete quote with the PixaTrack, pixels, controller, power and accessories you'll need.

For the full design process, see our house outline primer and detailed design guide.

HolidayCoro.com