Blog · Newmarket

Permanent or seasonal lights in Newmarket? How each one holds up through a below-freezing December

In a town where the average December day stays below freezing, permanent lighting's main advantage is that it is installed once in a mild month and never needs another November or January ladder visit, while seasonal lights remain the right choice for heritage facades, renters and anyone who only wants lights for a few weeks.

Last updated October 28, 2026 · Reviewed by the Newmarket Christmas Lights team

Is permanent lighting better than seasonal lights in Newmarket's winter?

For many Newmarket houses it is the more practical choice, mainly because of the weather window. Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals for the King Smoke Tree station, a few kilometres southwest of town, put the average December high at -0.4 °C. On about 17 days of an average December the temperature never rises above freezing, and in January that climbs to about 22 days. Seasonal lights have to go up before that and come down after it. Permanent lighting goes up once, in whatever month the roof is clear, and stays.

That does not make seasonal lights the wrong answer. It depends on the house, how long you plan to stay, and what you want the lights to do outside December.

How do the two compare over five seasons?

	Seasonal lights	Permanent lighting
Ladder visits over five years	Ten: an install every November and a takedown every January	One installation, plus any service call
When the work happens	Late October to early December, then January thaws	Any month the roof is clear
Weather risk	Frosty shingles, frozen clips, ice in the eavestrough	Placement planned once, out of the path of sliding snow
What it does the rest of the year	Nothing; it is in storage	Warm-white facade lighting and colours for any occasion
Looks in daylight	Visible strings and clips for the season	A channel colour-matched to the trim
Fixings in the house	None; clips only	A channel fastened under the eave

The cost comparison follows the same pattern. Seasonal work is paid every year; permanent lighting is paid once and then runs for years. Where the two cross over depends on the length of eave and the number of gables, and the Newmarket cost guide sets out the planning ranges for both.

How does each one handle snow and ice?

Seasonal lights sit in the weather; permanent lighting is placed to avoid the worst of it. The King Smoke Tree normals show about 122 cm of snow a year, with 13.6 cm in November, 27 cm in December and 31 cm in January. Seasonal strings clipped to the gutter lip are frozen into place by mid-winter on many houses, which is why January takedown waits for a thaw. Snow sliding off the shingles can drag a run loose, and the occasional dark section in December is usually a connection that took on water.

A permanent channel tucked under the soffit edge is out of the path of snow sliding off the roof, and the LED points are sealed for outdoor exposure. The question to ask is where the channel sits relative to the ice that forms at the cold edge of the roof and in the gutter. On the mature-tree streets west of Yonge, where gutters fill with leaves, the eavestroughs should be clear and sound before anything is fastened near them.

Which Newmarket houses suit permanent lighting?

• Newer two-storeys. The houses built from the 1990s onward in Stonehaven, Summerhill and off Davis and Mulock Drives have continuous aluminum soffits and eavestroughs that a channel follows cleanly. They also have upper gables well above six metres, which is exactly the ladder work owners want to stop repeating.
• Established streets west of Yonge. In Glenway and nearby, aluminum soffits suit a channel once the gutters are in good shape, and the mature trees can still be lit seasonally.
• Households that mark many occasions. One installation covers Christmas, Lunar New Year, Diwali, Eid, Hanukkah, Canada Day and a playoff night from the same app.

Which houses are better with seasonal lights?

• Heritage facades. Inside the Lower Main Street South Heritage Conservation District, the District Plan exempts electrical equipment from heritage review only when it is away from public view. Seasonal clip-on lights leave nothing behind; a permanent channel on the street face is a question for the Town's heritage staff first. See Main Street South.
• Condominium townhouses without approval. Eaves and walls are usually common elements, and a permanent fixture needs the corporation's written approval.
• Short stays and rentals. If you are moving in a year or two, or renting, a seasonal display is the simpler choice.
• Tree-led displays. Rural lots in East Gwillimbury and the old-tree streets are often more landscape than roofline, and trees are lit seasonally regardless.

Which costs more to run?

Neither costs much. Most Newmarket homes are on Newmarket-Tay Power, and Regulated Price Plan prices are set by the Ontario Energy Board. From 1 November 2026 the winter time-of-use plan charges 18.9 ¢/kWh on weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m. and 9.1 ¢/kWh from 7 p.m. and all weekend; on the Ultra-Low Overnight plan the weekday on-peak price is 37.7 ¢/kWh from 4 to 9 p.m. As an illustration, a 60-watt LED system on from 5 to 11 p.m. uses 0.36 kWh: about 4.5 ¢ on a time-of-use weekday, about 3.3 ¢ on a weekend, and about 11 ¢ on a ULO weekday, before delivery and regulatory charges. The difference is that permanent lighting may run all year as porch and facade lighting, so its schedule is worth setting carefully.

What about power and outlets?

Both need a GFCI-protected outdoor outlet; permanent lighting usually prefers one in the soffit. The Electrical Safety Authority says only a Licensed Electrical Contractor may add an outlet in your home for pay, with a notification filed before the work begins. If your house needs one, it appears on the quote as its own line.

How do I decide?

Read the permanent lighting and seasonal installation pages, then send a photo of the front through the quote form and ask for both options. Seasonal installs are booked in October for November; permanent systems can be booked for any clear month.

Sources

• Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010, King Smoke Tree - Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Regulated Price Plan prices and rules - Ontario Energy Board
• Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution Ltd. service area - Ontario Energy Board
• Lower Main Street South Heritage Conservation District Plan (PDF) - Town of Newmarket
• Hiring a contractor - Electrical Safety Authority