Disclosure before anything else: I own the local TruLight dealership. I sell one of the two systems in this comparison and I profit if you pick mine, so assume bias and verify everything here against the source documents. Every Trimlight fact below is attributed to a Trimlight page, and I have linked those pages so you can read them without me in the middle. If you want the structured version, start with our TruLight vs Trimlight comparison page.

If you are comparing these two on the install-day price, you are comparing the smallest part of the purchase. Install day is one afternoon. The part that determines whether you are happy is what happens in year three, when a node on the second-story elevation goes dark and somebody has to decide who climbs the ladder and who pays for it. The differences worth studying show up in that scenario rather than in a brochure.

How many LEDs sit inside one point of light

Per the Trimlight FAQ, Trimlight offers one-LED and three-LED bulb options, and describes a 12V 0.9W 3L bulb. The Trimlight residential page also describes the 12V 0.9W 3L light. Those are Trimlight's published descriptions and the local dealer can confirm what configuration is being quoted on your house.

TruLight uses six LEDs per RGBW node: three RGB plus three dedicated warm white. The system runs at 48V and is professionally installed in color-matched aluminum track. Our published light rating is 100,000 hours.

Two details describe a point of light. One is how many emitters are inside it. Emitter count describes node construction, but it does not establish total output or light quality by itself, since individual emitter output, drive current, optics, spacing and thermal design all feed into what you see. The other is whether white comes from a dedicated white emitter or from mixing colored emitters. A dedicated warm white channel produces white from emitters built for white rather than from a color mix. That is what you will be looking at most of the year, when the system is running plain warm light over your entry and gables. That matters if everyday warm-white use is a priority for you.

Do not take my word for that. Ask both dealers to show you their warm white, at night, on a finished house, and then ask to see the same house running a soft color scene. Compare both systems' warm-white appearance on finished homes after dark and decide which look you prefer.

The published numbers, side by side

Specification	TruLight, published	Trimlight, per Trimlight's own pages
Voltage	48V low voltage	12V 0.9W 3L bulb described on the Trimlight FAQ and residential page
LEDs per point of light	Six per RGBW node: three RGB plus three dedicated warm white	One-LED and three-LED bulb options, per the Trimlight FAQ
Published light rating	100,000 hours	Up to 50,000 hours of use, per the Trimlight FAQ and residential page
Mounting	Professionally installed color-matched aluminum track	Ask the local dealer to specify the channel material and finish in the written quote
Product warranty	Current terms at /warranty	Trimlight labels its coverage a lifetime product warranty and defines that term on its own warranty page around the estimated lifespan of core components, with Wi-Fi related exclusions and possible labor or service fees
Minimum labor coverage	Current terms at /warranty	Trimlight states local dealers provide at least one year of labor coverage

These figures are pulled from Trimlight's public pages and are accurate to those pages as written. Manufacturers revise specifications. Get the current written spec sheet and the current written warranty from the local Trimlight dealer, in a document you can keep, and require the same from us.

What Trimlight means by lifetime, and where labor coverage starts

Trimlight's lifetime product warranty page defines lifetime coverage around the estimated lifespan of core components. It states that local dealers provide at least one year of labor coverage. It notes that labor or service fees may apply. It includes Wi-Fi related exclusions.

I am not going to characterize that as a trick, because it is not one. Bounding a lifetime promise by component lifespan is a normal legal construction, and separating product coverage from dealer labor coverage is standard across the trades, including in warranties I write. What I want you to notice is that a homeowner reading the word lifetime on a marketing page and a homeowner reading the warranty document are holding two different pictures of the same product.

The practical version, back at the year-three failure on your second-story elevation:

Is the part covered, and is the labor covered? Those are two separate answers, and a document can cover the part without covering the visit. Trimlight publishes a one year minimum for dealer labor coverage, so ask the local dealer what they provide beyond that minimum and get it in the contract.
What does the service visit cost? Trimlight's page notes labor or service fees may apply. Ask for the trip charge, the hourly rate, and whether a lift or second-story access changes either.
What voids or excludes coverage? Trimlight's warranty page includes Wi-Fi related exclusions. Every connected product has a boundary where the manufacturer stops being responsible for your home network. Read where that line sits.
Who performs the work if the dealer sells or closes? Dealer networks change hands. Ask what happens to your coverage if yours does.
How fast is a service call in December? Ask for the current response window in writing, not a number recalled from memory.

Our terms are published at /warranty and you should interrogate them exactly as hard.

What South Central Texas does to an exterior system

Tile, stucco, direct sun, and multi-level rooflines all affect mounting and service access. If your house has limestone elevations, clay or concrete tile, rooflines meeting at odd angles, or west facing walls that stay hot into the fall, that combination drives the three decisions below.

Mounting substrate and roofline complexity

A quote priced per linear foot assumes a simple run. Multiple gables, changes in fascia height, returns and dormers, tile edges, and stone or stucco surfaces where the fastening approach differs from wood fascia all break that assumption. Before you accept any bid, require the installer to walk each elevation and state in writing how the track attaches on every surface type present on your house, and what the transition looks like where two rooflines meet.

Heat, UV and how it reads in daylight

This hardware sits in direct sun year round. Ask each manufacturer, in writing, what the channel and lens are made of and what they publish about UV and heat performance. Ours is color-matched aluminum track, installed professionally, and color matching is doing real work on light limestone and stucco where a mismatched channel line is obvious from the street at noon. Look at completed houses in daylight from every bidder. The evening photo is easy. The daytime line is what you and your neighbors live with.

Architectural review

Some San Antonio area associations run exterior modifications through architectural review, so check whether yours does before you schedule anything. If yours does, the reviewable parts are the daytime appearance of the channel, the color match, and where transformers and power supplies land. Ask your installer for daytime photos and the material specification in a form you can submit, and confirm your association's requirements in writing before scheduling rather than after.

Run design is a drawing, not a voltage number

You will hear voltage used as a shorthand in sales conversations. Do not accept it. Higher system voltage does not automatically mean fewer power injection points. Actual run design depends on wire gauge, total load on the run, distance from the power source, the controller, and the manufacturer's own published limits. Ask every bidder, including my crew, to show you the design:

Marked elevations with proposed run lengths.
Locations for every power supply and injection point, and how each is concealed.
Wire gauge per run against the manufacturer's stated maximum at that gauge and load.
The plan for the longest continuous run on the house.

Require that drawing from every bidder before you sign. A voltage number is not an answer to it.

Sources

Trimlight FAQ: industry journey began in 2010, up to 50,000 hours of use, minimum one-year labor warranty, 12V 0.9W 3L bulb, one-LED and three-LED bulb options.
Trimlight lifetime product warranty: lifetime coverage defined around estimated lifespan of core components, local dealers provide at least one year of labor coverage, labor or service fees may apply, Wi-Fi related exclusions.
Trimlight residential: 12V 0.9W 3L light, up to 50,000 hours.
TruLight: permanent lighting and current warranty terms at /warranty.

All Trimlight details above reflect Trimlight's published pages as of publication. Confirm current written specifications and warranty terms with your local Trimlight dealer before you buy.

Request an estimate

If you want a designed layout for your elevations, written warranty terms up front, and a straight answer about what a year-three service call costs, request an estimate. Take the same set of questions to every other bidder. Compare the documents rather than the sales conversations, and you will end up with the right system, mine or someone else's.

TruLight vs Trimlight: a San Antonio buyer's comparison