Halloween is one of the biggest decorating nights of the year, and October evenings in Tampa Bay are usually comfortable for trick-or-treating. With a JellyFish permanent system, your house can glow orange and purple for all of October without a single strand, clip or extension cord. The same lights then switch to permanent Christmas lights in late November and warm white the rest of the year. Keywest Lights & Electric (KWLE), a woman-owned Florida electrical contractor (EC13014717) at 6248 Seminole Blvd, installs JellyFish across Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco.
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Call (727) 476-7079 to plan your October.
Halloween scenes that work on a house
Effects that look good on a small screen don’t always work across a front yard. These are the ones that hold up from the sidewalk:
- Pumpkin glow
- Solid orange at medium brightness. Simple and recognizable from down the street.
- Witch’s brew
- Alternating purple and green with a slow fade. Spooky without being harsh.
- Candy corn
- Repeating orange, yellow and white in short blocks.
- Haunted flicker
- Dim orange with a random twinkle, like candlelight in a jack-o’-lantern.
- Blood moon
- Deep red with a slow pulse, best saved for the last hour before the doorbell stops.
Every scene is saved in the JellyFish app. Set them once, place them on the October calendar, and they return automatically every year.
A month-long October calendar
| Dates | Suggested scene |
|---|---|
| October 1–15 | Warm orange glow at sunset, off at 10 p.m. |
| October 16–30 | Purple and green fade, with orange on weekends |
| October 31 | Haunted flicker from dusk, then a brighter scene for trick-or-treat hours |
| November 1 | Back to everyday warm white, or straight to fall amber |
Because everything runs on a schedule, you don’t have to remember to switch scenes, even during a busy week.
Lighting the path for trick-or-treaters
Costumes, masks and dark sidewalks don’t mix well. On October 31, a lot of owners run a festive color on the front zone while making sure the walk, steps and porch are well lit. You can bump brightness up for the busy hours and then dim the house when the candy runs out. It’s a small courtesy that makes the evening safer for everyone coming to the door.
Beach homes: October 31 is the last night of turtle season
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says decorative lights visible from a nesting beach should stay off until after sea turtle nesting season ends on October 31. For Gulf-front homes, Halloween night falls inside the season. On those houses, we schedule the beach-facing lights off through October 31 and keep Halloween on the street side, which is where trick-or-treaters are anyway. A two-zone setup makes that easy. Check your city’s beach lighting ordinance too, because some are stricter.
How the lights are installed
JellyFish track mounts under the soffit along the eaves and up the gable rakes. We never place it on the roof, and nothing goes through your shingles. The track is color-matched to common soffit finishes, so in daylight there’s nothing that looks like a decoration. The controller mounts in the garage and plugs into an existing outlet after we test it. From there, a low-voltage cable runs up to the eave.
Why not just buy orange strands?
- No ladders: nothing goes up in late September or comes down in November.
- No storage: no tangled bins in the garage.
- No storm prep: October is still hurricane season, and permanent track doesn’t need to come down before a storm.
- Any color: one system covers orange, purple, green and every other holiday.
- Low energy: the lights are LEDs, which the U.S. Department of Energy says use up to 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 25 times longer.
Two zones for spooky and calm
On a single zone, the whole house runs one scene. As an extra KWLE option, we can wire two zones, so the front shows a full Halloween scene while the back stays a soft white for an adults’ party on the lanai. On beach homes, two zones are what let the street side celebrate while the beach side stays dark.
Neighborhood and HOA etiquette
Most associations allow seasonal colors, but some limit flashing effects, brightness or hours. If yours does, pick a steady orange or a slow fade, set an off time, and use JellyFish’s lower brightness settings. We can provide your HOA with a layout and track color for approval before installation.
After Halloween
On November 1, the same lights become an everyday warm white, a fall amber for Thanksgiving, and then permanent Christmas lights from late November through New Year’s. Every permanent holiday light scene you save, whether Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July or your team’s colors for a big game, works the same way.
Pairing lights with yard decorations
Permanent lights handle the house outline, so your inflatables, tombstones and fog machines can take over the yard. A few tips from homes we’ve lit:
- Use a deeper orange or purple on the house so bright yard pieces stand out against it.
- Keep the walkway clear and lit, especially if you use fog.
- Plug yard decorations into their own outdoor GFCI outlets, not the circuit that feeds the JellyFish controller.
- Put inflatables on timers that match your light schedule, so everything shuts off together.
If your yard needs another outdoor outlet, our electricians can add a weather-rated GFCI receptacle on the same visit.
Fall beyond Halloween
Many owners treat October and November as one long season. After Halloween, a warm amber or harvest gold works well for Thanksgiving week, then the calendar moves to Christmas. Because the lights can show nearly any color, you can match a fall wreath or porch display instead of being limited to whatever strands were on the shelf.
Getting it in before next October
If Halloween is your favorite night, plan the install for summer or early fall, after your HOA has signed off. We measure every eave and gable run, test the garage outlet, build a photo preview, and put the proposal in writing. On installation day, we program your October calendar with you.
Warranty
JellyFish’s 5-year parts warranty covers the lights, controller and power supplies. KWLE’s 2-year workmanship warranty covers our installation, five years on a Member Care Plan.
Halloween lighting FAQ
Can the lights do a flashing, storm-style effect? JellyFish has many animated patterns. Fast flashing can bother neighbors, though, and some HOAs restrict it, so slower effects usually work better.
Can I sync the lights to music? Ask about current app features at your estimate. We’ll show you what the controller supports.
Will orange look right on white trim? Yes. The lights face down from the soffit and wash the wall below, so the color shows on the trim and siding.
If one light fails mid-October? JellyFish’s redundant data line keeps the others lit until we replace it.
Can I change the October plan at the last minute? Yes. Any scheduled scene can be overridden from the app for one night, and the calendar picks up again the next evening.
Is KWLE woman-owned? Yes. KWLE is woman-owned, with no certification claimed.
Sources: Sea turtle nesting season end date and decorative-light guidance from the FWC (myfwc.com). LED energy use and lifespan from the U.S. Department of Energy consumer lighting guide (energy.gov).
Related: Fourth of July house lights, year-round color ideas and our free design preview. See every city we serve on the JellyFish lighting page, or call (727) 476-7079 for an estimate.