Utahns create 'invisible,' year-round holiday lights controlled by app

(EverLights)


5 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PLEASANT GROVE — Tired of having to rehang Christmas lights each year, two Pleasant Grove men created a set of lights that can be left up year-round and blend in until they are turned on.

Ross Harke and Darren Taylor began creating EverLights in November 2014 as a way to maintain a festive house during the holidays and other events without having to hang up lights and then take them down, year after year. The permanent home lights were created to be weatherproof so they can be installed once and remain hung up year-round. And to avoid having a tacky-looking home, the small LED lights fit right against the eaves or gutter of the home and can't be seen unless they are turned on.

"EverLights was created because each of us hates going up into the attic to retrieve boxes of Christmas lights, untangling them, and getting out the ladder on a cold day to put them up, and later have our neighbors make us feel inadequate for having left them up too long," Taylor said.

A kit is included to help with the one-time installation of the lights. The lights are designed to fit inside a gutter or eave of a home where the wire stays hidden from view and small holes are drilled for the lights to peek through.

Photo courtesy of EverLights
Photo courtesy of EverLights

Each individual light bulb in the strand can change to more than 16 million color schemes and patterns and has a life expectancy of 50,000 hours, Harke said. The patent-pending technology can be customized to any color pattern and can be controlled from a smartphone or tablet using the EverLights mobile app. On and off timers can be also be set from the app, but because the app is connected to an EverLight Wi-Fi box, it can only be used within 300 feet of the home.

"We all love the look of a well decorated house during the holiday season, but putting up your lights every year can be time consuming, frustrating and even dangerous." Harke said. "What if you could turn your lights on and off with custom colors for every occasion throughout the year? Well, now you can."

A Kickstarter campaign was launched Tuesday and raised more than $23,000 within 12 hours. A 100-foot string of lights ranges from $445- $525 on the early Kickstarter deals. Expected retail for a 100-foot string of lights is $690 and includes the installation kit and control box.

"We were happy that we reached our goal before the 12-hour mark," Harke said. "We have big plans."

Photos

Related links

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Faith Heaton Jolley

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast