Soffit lighting usually means small recessed lights set into the underside of your roof overhang, pointing down to wash light over your walls, entry and landscaping. Permanent roofline lighting is different. It is a track of color-changing LED lights mounted along the roof edge to outline the shape of your home. Both sit under the eave, but they do very different jobs.
Homeowners often mix up the two, and it is easy to see why. In this article we explain what each one is, how it looks on your home at night, how the two work together, and which one handles the holidays. To be clear from the start, we install permanent roofline lighting. We do not install recessed soffit fixtures.
What Is Soffit Lighting?
The soffit is the flat underside of your roof overhang, the part you see when you stand under the eave and look up. Soffit lighting is any light fixture installed there. Most often, that means recessed can lights or small round downlights set flush into the soffit panel.
These fixtures point down, and their job is to cast light onto what is below them, such as the walls of the house, the front door, columns, garage doors and garden beds. They usually give off a warm or neutral white light, and many homes have them on a switch or timer.
Soffit lighting can be part of a new build or added to an existing home. Because recessed fixtures are wired into the home’s electrical system, they are typically installed by an electrician or a lighting contractor who handles that kind of work.
What Is Permanent Roofline Lighting?
Permanent roofline lighting outlines your home instead of lighting what is below it. A slim track runs along the roof edge, just under the eave, and holds a row of LED lights. The result is a clean line of light that traces the shape of your roof.
The system we install is the Minleon RGB track. The track is color-matched to your trim, so it is nearly invisible during the day. At night, the lights can show 16 million colors, and you control them from a phone app with schedules. Most homeowners run warm white on ordinary nights, red and green for Christmas, and team colors on game day.
Because it sits in a similar spot under the eave, a roofline system is sometimes called soffit lighting or eave lighting in conversation. That is usually where the confusion starts.
Soffit Lighting vs Roofline Lighting: What Each One Does
The easiest way to think about it is that one lights your house and the other outlines it.
- Soffit lighting shines down. Recessed fixtures create pools of light on your walls and entry. They make stucco, stone and columns glow, and they light the path to your door.
- Roofline lighting traces the edge. A permanent track draws the outline of your roof against the night sky. It is what people see from the street, especially from a distance.
- Soffit lighting is usually white. Most recessed fixtures give a steady white light.
- Roofline lighting changes color. A permanent RGB system can be warm white one night and full color the next.
When you pull into your driveway after dark, soffit lighting is the soft glow on the front walls that makes the entry feel welcoming. Roofline lighting is the crisp line along the top of the house that makes it look finished from the end of the street.
Up close vs from the street
Distance changes what you notice. Standing at your front door, the downlights are what you feel. They brighten the entry, show the texture of the walls and help you find your keys. If you walk out to the curb and turn around, the outline of the roof is what defines the house against the dark sky.
That is why the two feel so different even though they are mounted only inches apart. One shapes the experience of arriving home, and the other shapes how the home looks to everyone passing by.
Which One Is for the Holidays?
If the holidays are what you have in mind, permanent roofline lighting is the one built for it. Outlining the roofline is exactly what traditional Christmas lights do, and a permanent system does it every year without ladders, clips or storage bins.
In the app, you can save looks for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July, Halloween and every birthday in between, and then put them on a schedule. When December arrives, you choose your Christmas colors and the lights take care of the rest.
Soffit lighting, on the other hand, is mostly about everyday curb appeal and lighting the entry. Because most recessed fixtures give a steady white light, they are not designed to put on a holiday display, and they will not outline your roof the way Christmas lights do.
Can You Have Both Soffit Lighting and Permanent Roofline Lighting?
Yes, and the two work well together. Because they do different jobs, they do not compete with each other.
A home with both gets a soft wash of light on the walls from the recessed fixtures and a clean outline along the roof from the permanent track. On everyday nights, many homeowners run both in warm white for a calm, finished look. On holidays, the roofline switches to color while the soffit lights keep the entry lit.
If you already have recessed soffit lights, a roofline track simply adds the outline. If you do not, you can start with either one. We plan the roofline system around the shape of your roof, and your electrician can plan recessed fixtures around your walls and entry.
If you are building or remodeling, it helps to think about both at once. Your electrician can place recessed fixtures while the walls and soffits are open, and we can plan a roofline track around the finished roof whenever you are ready. Neither one has to wait on the other.
How to Decide Which One You Need
Start with the result you want to see at night.
- Do you want the walls and entry of the house to glow? That is soffit lighting, and an electrician or lighting contractor can help you with recessed fixtures.
- Do you want the roofline outlined, with color for holidays and events? That is a permanent roofline system, and that is what we install.
- Do you want both? They pair naturally, and you can start with one and add the other later.
If you mainly want Christmas lights without the yearly hassle, a permanent roofline system is the direct answer. If you would rather keep things seasonal, our hanging service installs Christmas lights each year using our own commercial-grade LED lights, with maintenance all season and removal and storage after New Year’s.
What a Permanent Roofline System Costs and How It Is Installed
Our permanent outdoor lighting starts at $2,500 installed, and most homes land between $3,000 and $6,000. The cost is based mainly on how much roofline we light, along with the number of stories, the peaks and angles, and the coverage you choose. You get your exact number in your free written quote.
For your free quote, we go over the coverage you want, such as the full roofline, the peaks or the garage, lay out the runs and send your exact price in writing. If you want to see the lights and the app on your own home first, we offer a free in-home demo. When you are ready, a 50% deposit reserves your install date, and the balance is due once the lights are on. Most homes are installed in one day.
Every system carries a 5-year product warranty and a 1-year workmanship warranty, and we cover both ourselves. From there, it is your roofline and your colors, every night of the year.
Considering roofline lighting? See what permanent lighting costs, permanent lighting ideas for every month, or how our permanent outdoor lighting service works.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is soffit lighting the same as permanent Christmas lights?
Not usually. Soffit lighting most often means recessed white downlights set into the underside of the roof overhang, lighting the walls below. Permanent Christmas lights are a track of color-changing LED lights along the roof edge that outline the home. Both sit under the eave, which is why the names get mixed up.
Do you install recessed soffit lights?
No. We install permanent roofline lighting, the Minleon RGB track system that outlines your roof and changes color from a phone app. Recessed downlights are wired fixtures that are typically installed by an electrician or lighting contractor. The two work well together if you would like both on your home.
Can recessed soffit lights be used for Christmas?
Most recessed soffit lights give a steady white light and point down at your walls, so they are not designed to outline the house the way Christmas lights do. For a holiday look along the roofline, permanent roofline lighting or seasonal Christmas light installation is the better fit.
Can I add permanent roofline lighting if I already have soffit lights?
Yes. The two do different jobs, so they pair well. Your recessed fixtures keep lighting the walls and entry, while the permanent track outlines the roof and handles holiday colors. A free in-home demo lets you see the lights and the app on your own home and decide which parts of the roofline to light.
Can you see a permanent roofline track during the day?
The Minleon track we install is color-matched to your trim and mounted under the eave, so it is nearly invisible during the day. Most people will not notice it until the lights turn on at night, when it outlines the roof in whatever color you choose.
