How to Compare Permanent Lighting Quotes in Arizona
Permanent lighting is sold under a lot of names — Trimlight, Jellyfish Lighting, Gemstone Lights, EverLights, and a long list of regional installers and private-label systems. Homeowners ask us which one is better. That is the wrong question, and no honest installer can answer it for your house from a marketing page.
The right question is whether two quotes describe the same system, installed the same way, with the same accountability afterward. This page is the checklist. It names no winner, publishes no competitor's pricing or specifications, and works no matter whose truck is in the driveway.
Six lines that make quotes comparable
Ask every bidder to state these in writing. Where two quotes differ by thousands, the difference is almost always hiding in one of them.
- Channel — material, finish, color-match method, and how it fastens to your specific fascia, soffit, or parapet
- Modules — who manufactures them, the spacing, and where the replacement parts come from in five years
- Power — where the transformer lands, whether a new circuit is in scope, and who pulls any permit required
- Controls — what the app does, whether the system works if the vendor's cloud service changes, and who owns your programming
- Coverage — exact linear footage per elevation, and what is excluded
- Service — the response path for an outage, whether the labor is in-house or subcontracted, and the hourly rate after the warranty period
Warranty language is where quotes really differ
Two systems can carry very similar headline warranty language and behave very differently when something fails. Read for who performs the work, not only for how many years appear on the page.
- Is the product warranty from the manufacturer and the labor warranty from the installer? They are usually separate.
- Who pays for the labor to diagnose, access, and replace a failed module after year one
- What voids coverage — roof work, paint, solar installation, monsoon damage, or another trade touching the run
- Whether the warranty transfers if you sell the home, and what that requires
- What happens to your coverage if the installing company stops operating
Verify the contractor, not just the brand
The brand on the box does not install your house. The crew does. In Arizona, that means checking the license and the insurance before the deposit, every time.
- Confirm an active Arizona ROC license for the scope being performed, on the ROC's own site
- Any project over $1,000 in total lifetime value requires a licensed contractor in Arizona
- Ask for a certificate of insurance naming general liability and workers' compensation
- Ask whether the installing crew is in-house or subcontracted, and who is on your roof
- Ask to see completed local work — not a national brand's stock photography
Where AE LEDs sits
AE Outdoor Living installs its own permanent lighting systems with in-house crews out of Peoria, publishes installed price ranges rather than "call for pricing," and field-measures every roofline before fabrication. We are not the cheapest quote you will get. AE LEDs does not publish another manufacturer's pricing, specifications, or warranty terms. Confirm those directly with that manufacturer or its dealer, in writing, before you sign anything.
Which permanent lighting brand is best?+
There is no honest universal answer, and we will not publish one. Compare the channel, modules, power plan, controls, warranty split, and the installing contractor's Arizona license and insurance. AE LEDs does not publish another manufacturer's pricing, specifications, or warranty terms. Confirm those directly with that manufacturer or its dealer, in writing, before you sign anything.
Why do two quotes for the same house differ by thousands?+
Usually linear footage, elevations included, electrical scope, whether the channel is color-matched and fabricated to the roofline, and whether service labor is in-house. Put both quotes on the six-line checklist above and the gap normally explains itself.
Is a cheaper quote always a worse system?+
Not automatically. It may be a smaller scope. Compare linear footage and elevations first — a front-only run and a full wrap-around are different projects, not different prices for the same project.
What should I never accept in a permanent lighting quote?+
A single lump sum with no linear footage, no elevation list, no electrical scope, and no named warranty terms. If a bidder will not itemize, you cannot compare the bid, and you have nothing to enforce later.