Permanent Christmas Lighting and Eve Lighting Installation
If you have questions about your install, please read all the instructions below and visit the troubleshooting section at the bottom of this page
Roof Line Anatomy 101
System Basics
EverLights run off a three conductor cable. The two outside wires are stranded 18 AWG power wires, and the middle wire is a stranded 22 AWG data wire. The positive wire is consistently labeled with the text “EverLights”.
The lights are directional and must be installed with the correct polarity. You can identify the “in” and “out” of each light by looking at the backside of the circuit board of any light.
The lights can be cut at any point without causing damage to any light in the string as long as the power is off. You can add a Y-splice or an unlit section to the lights at any point.
Tools needed
- Drill – any brand or type of drill will do, but a cordless drill is best. Drill bits are included with the starter kit.
- Wire stripper/crimper/cutter – This can either be a multi tool, or three separate tools.
- Screwdriver – A small flat head is needed to secure the connections in the terminal blocks that attach to the control box
- Lighter or mini torch – most weatherproof connections (included) require heat shrinking
- Ladder – Unless you’re super tall or good at monkey-ing around
Control Box Setup
- The Wi-Fi network you choose must be a 2.4 GHz network.
- Pick a network that has a consistently strong signal wherever you are installing your control box.
- Make sure your mobile device is on the same network you assign to your control box anytime you want to control the lights.
- To hang the control box on the wall, place a piece of layout tape on the wall and drill two holes six inches apart with the included drill bits. Insert the drywall anchors and mount the control box.
Wiring basics
Terminal blocksThese are the black blocks that plug into the ports on the control box. Simply insert the stripped wire into the correct slot and secure the wire in place by tightening the screw.
Terminating a run of lights
Just cut off any excess lights wherever you want to end your run of lights. To prevent the lights from shorting due to contact with a gutter, or connection via water or ice, it is best to coat the end of the wires. We recommend liquid electrical tape, but silicone or standard electrical tape will also do the trick. Since the biggest risk of exposed wires is connecting the ground and positive wires, it's a good idea to snip one of the power wires an inch or so shorter so there's a larger gap to bridge should the coating wear off.
Heat shrink butt splices
The most weatherproof connection. Strip ¼” of insulation from the wire, twist the strands of wire to compact, and insert the stripped wire into one side of the connector. Use your crimp tool to squeeze the coupler tight around the wire. If your knuckles pop, you have squeezed hard enough. Use a lighter or mini torch to gently apply heat to the coupler, starting at the middle and moving outwards.
Y-splits
When making a Y-split use a multiple wire step down connector heat shrink. Installation is the same as a regular butt splice heat shrink, except strip 3/8” of insulation off the two output wires and twist them together before inserting into the butt splice. Melting the heat shrink is the same, but make sure the glue provides a good seal between the two wires on the output side.
Direction of Lights (In/Out)
Boosting power
We recommend boosting the power every 75 feet or so to keep the colors consistent. Many patterns or colors will be fine at longer distances, but if your lights are on all white at full brightness, you will start to notice the colors turning reddish around the 75 foot mark. You can boost your power at longer or shorter intervals, but 75 feet is a good rule of thumb.
There are ways to maximize the length you can go without boosting the power. You can read about these in our Tips and Tricks. However, in many cases there is no getting around boosting the power. In these situations, you have the following options to accomplish this:
1) Use a power booster
EverLights power boosters are waterproof power supplies that can be installed in outdoor locations. Ideally, you will have an eave outlet close to where you need to boost your power, but any outlet will do. This is the ideal method for boosting power.
2) Run parallel power from the control box
If there are no exterior outlets accessible, this is a good option. Connect a second cable to the terminal block of the control box (power wires only, the middle wire will not be used) and run it to the point you need the power. You can run this wire with the lights, or take another route.
3) Run parallel power off a booster
The same idea as option 2, but run the second set of parallel power wires from a power booster instead of the control box. This essentially provides two power boosting locations from one power booster.
Tips and Tricks
Safety
Troubleshooting
Basics – Double check these before proceeding further
1) Make sure direction is correct: first light from the control box should be connected on the “In” side of the light. Connect all subsequent lights “Out” to “In” every time.2) Double check connections: make sure the right wires are connected to one another at all connection points. A wrong connection on one end of the house can affect the lights on the other end of the house. Make sure like wires are always connected and never crossed.
3) Double check power booster inputs: the red wire is the positive wire and connects to the light wires labeled "EverLights". The black wire connects to the other outside wire, labeled "GND".
Control box worked previously, now unresponsive
Run through the setup wizard again. It's possible the IP address assigned to your controller has changed. If the power goes out or you have unplugged your router, there's a good chance a new IP address has been assigned to the control box.
Lights fade out and start blinking
This is caused by wiring a power booster in backwards. Double check that the positive wire from the power booster is connected to the positive wires of the lights.
Only half the lights work and they are unresponsive
Likely caused by positive and ground wires coming in contact. This could either be in a connection or at the terminated wire at the end of the run.
The lights previously worked but now a section is out
Likely a malfunction of the first light that is off. Try turning the lights off and back on. If problem persists, it’s best to replace the suspect light. However, in rare cases it could also be a data issue between the last light working and the first light off. To avoid making two splices, it is typically best to just replace the last light that works and first light that is off with two of your spare lights.
One light is the wrong color
One of the pixels inside the LED may be damaged. You can verify this by setting the lights to all red, then all green, and finally all blue. If the light in question did not light up with one of those colors, it means the corresponding pixel went out. Simply replace the affected light, no need to replace the light before it as well.
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