Permanent Roofline Lighting in Columbus

Light Up Columbus has been lighting Central Ohio for more than 20 years. Permanent roofline lighting has exploded in popularity, which means many of the companies offering it are brand new to lighting and still learning the details that make an installation last. Ask for the year any bidder started installing lighting, not the year they added it to a brochure.

The name says it all. Lighting is everything we do, every day, and all we have done for two decades. We don't clean windows, install irrigation, or power wash patios. Many companies added permanent lighting as a side offering to fill their slow season. There is nothing wrong with that, but a system that lives on your roofline deserves a crew that lives in this work.

We install Gemstone Lights, the proven leader in permanent lighting, and we are proud to be Central Ohio's verified Gemstone installer. One caution as you compare: some installers offer generic product imported directly from overseas marketplaces and describe it as equivalent to the name brands. It is not, and the differences show up in the app, the warranty, and year two on your roofline. DIY brands like the ones at the hardware store are real products too, and a fine way to experiment on a budget. They are simply not professional systems.

Gemstone provides a lifetime manufacturer's warranty on the lights themselves (rated 50,000+ hours) and a 10-year warranty on all other parts, backed by a company that has been growing for over a decade. That last part matters most: a warranty is only as strong as the company standing behind it. Generic imported systems typically carry no manufacturer's warranty at all; if the installer stops answering the phone, there is no one left to call. DIY brands usually offer around three years from purchase. Get every warranty in writing, including who performs the labor.

UL (Underwriters Laboratories) is the independent organization that tests electrical products against nationally recognized safety standards. Because permanent lighting is wired to your home year round, this is not fine print. The complete Gemstone system, not just individual parts, has been independently tested and certified. Many generic systems skip certification entirely, whatever their marketing claims, and even well-known DIY products are often only component-listed rather than certified as a full installed system. Ask every bidder this question and ask for documentation.

Every policy and every claim is different, so ask your insurer. What we can tell you: after an electrical loss, inspectors and insurance investigators look at whether the system was independently safety-certified and professionally installed to the manufacturer's standards. A UL Listed system installed by a professional gives you documentation and accountability. An uncertified system installed by a handyman gives you neither. In 20 years, we have never had an insurance claim on our work.

As of July 2026, Gemstone offers more than 1,350 preprogrammed patterns, animations, and color combinations, with new ones added weekly by full-time developers, and you can customize every individual pixel to build your own show. Most competing systems offer roughly a hundred presets. Ask for the number, then ask to see the app.

The app is the part of the system you will actually touch every day, so this question matters more than most people expect. The Gemstone Lights app is proprietary, built and continuously improved by Gemstone's own software team, and holds a 4.9-star rating with more than 3,800 reviews on the Apple App Store. Generic systems rely on white-labeled, third-party apps that the local installer has no ability to fix or improve. Before you sign anything, look up the app rating of the system you are being sold. It is the most honest review of daily life with the product.

You shouldn't. Gemstone offers more than 30 track profiles to fit different rooflines and over 150 soffit and fascia colors, which is why our installations are virtually invisible in daylight. Systems with a handful of track options get mounted and color-matched approximately. DIY systems often skip track entirely and rely on adhesive, which fails over time and leaves wires exposed either way.

Ours is the cleanest, most technical installation in the Midwest, and we are happy to prove it with daytime photos of our three most recent installs. Wherever possible we run wiring through the attic so the system disappears completely. Ask every bidder how they route wire, how they handle gaps and transitions, and whether their track actually matches your home. Shortcuts here are exactly where discount installations announce themselves.