how to choose christmas lights?
It never truly feels like Christmas until the Christmas lights go up, does it? That’s when the magic starts, the LED Christmas lights children start dreaming and the countdown begins. As the days get colder and the snow falls in many parts of North America, all the family grows more excited.
Your choices with outdoor lights used to be quite limited. Whichever set of exterior Christmas lights you chose, it would involve someone climbing a ladder and manually hanging string lights.
Then along came LED technology and everything changed!
Fortunately, you now have an array of different options from traditional can lights to smart LED Christmas lights.
SAVE YOURSELF A LOT OF TIME, EFFORT, AND RISK
In this Christmas lights buying guide, we cover seven tips for buying the right set of lights for your home.
If you’re like most homeowners, you have to scale a ladder and manually hang string lights each year – and then take them down in the icy cold of January.
The time and effort involved – not to mention the risks involved in accessing the roof area in icy conditions – can be put to one side with smart LED lights.
Instead of braving the cold and the heights, permanent LED Christmas lights allow you to sit back on your sofa, access a cloud-based controller app, and program the colors and patterns you want from the comfort of your living room.
LED lights can do things you never believed – with no effort, no danger, and no more hanging lights ever again!
When next Christmas comes around, your LED lights are already fixed in place and you repeat the process. All you need to do is to activate your chosen Christmas pattern, which can be changed as often as you like.
If, after all this, you still decide to stick with string lights make sure that you:
- Use a high-quality fiberglass ladder to hang your lights.
- Follow the manufacturer’s specifications when stringing your lights together.
- Check that your lights can be used outside (many lights are only suitable for indoor usage and cannot withstand the elements)
- Use extension cords intended for outdoor use and with the correct amperages, and place them carefully to avoid tripping.
Remember, by choosing a smart LED lighting system through Gemstone Lights, you do not need to worry about any of these concerns!
PICK FLEXIBLE CHRISTMAS LIGHT COLORS TO CAPTURE THE FESTIVE MOOD
Christmas is all about color and sparkle… reds, greens, whites, golds, silvers, and more.
So, let’s say you go for a classic soft white Christmas light look. It suits the wintry feel and you like it at first. Your lights could be up for two months or more and, eventually, the white look becomes a little boring – and you wish you’d added some reds and greens to the display.
With can lights, it’s too late.
However, a smart Christmas lighting system allows you to change the colors up as often as you like. They’re flexible.
Just use the controller app to program different colors – using either one of the hundreds of preset patterns or create your own.
You can even change the hue of the white color from a warmer white to an icier bluey white or vice versa.
The colorful and warm LED Christmas light options will change the look and feel of your home exterior instantly, bringing drama, fun, and festivity to it.
Christmas is about children so why not get yours to choose the colors themselves? They’ll love having a play with the amazing array of colors available with smart LED systems.
MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS LIGHT DANCE
With the array of preset animated Christmas patterns available on LED systems, chasing pattern options are plentiful and you can really make your exterior lights appear to dance.
Again, the controller app allows you to change it up with almost limitless customization options – from timeless static patterns to wild, flashing, rotating, mesmerizing light displays.
- Maybe you want a candy cane look, with red and white striping?
- Or flashing reds and greens?
There’s no easier way to catch the attention of passersby at Christmas time than having the best light show on the street.
CHOOSE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS THAT SAVE THE MOST ENERGY – AND MONEY
With any set of Christmas lights, there are two main cost considerations: installation costs and ongoing running costs.
When you research LED lighting systems you will find that the initial investment in setting the system up is higher than with can lights.
Sometimes, that puts homeowners off. They go outside, find the ladder, and start hanging lights.
However, there are a few features of high-quality LED systems that pay you back over and over again, year after year:
- The smart controller app allows remote programming, multiple preset timers, and automatic turn off so that you can conserve electricity.
- LED is an ultra-energy-efficient lighting system that runs on low voltage and wastes less energy on producing heat than can lights (our LED lights convert your 110v house power to 12v power).
- LED bulbs can last upwards of 50,000 hours – that’s an awful lot of Christmases! Compare that with halogen bulbs which generally last around 2,000 hours.
- You set them up once – and they are there for you permanently throughout all the following seasons.
Traditional Christmas lighting systems cannot offer these energy-saving and cost-saving features.
So, while they may be cheaper to install, they’re more expensive to run and usually result in higher monthly electricity bills – especially for larger properties.
You will also need to replace can light bulbs far more often. They end up costing you time and effort, as well as money, over the years.
How Many Strands of Lights Will It Take to Cover the Area?
Although personal preference is the ultimate deciding factor, here are a few basic considerations:
- Bulb Spacing: Strands of Christmas lights with more space between bulbs are ideal for wrapping slender posts and tree branches. Strands with less space between bulbs are typically best for draping loosely around indoor trees or for lining roofs or overhangs.
- String Length: Two strands with the same number of lights will have different string lengths if their bulb spacing isn't identical.
Outdoor Trees
General Rule: For heavy lighting, plan for around 200 mini Christmas tree lights per vertical foot-and-a-half of tree. If you prefer medium lighting, 100 mini lights per foot should be enough.
Other Tips
- Slender trees will require the fewest number of lights.
- Dense evergreen trees, like pines, firs and spruces, may require more lights. Consider using larger-size bulbs for these.
- By wrapping bushes and shrubs with net or icicle lights, you’ll cover a greater area with fewer strands and less work.
- When covering tree branches, use lights with 6 to 8 inches of spacing between bulbs so that you can wrap wires tightly.
Indoor Christmas Trees
General Rule: Plan for approximately 100 mini Christmas tree lights per vertical foot-and-a-half of tree.
Other Tips
- Strands with a 4-inch bulb spacing will light more area at a lower cost.
- Strands with a 6- to 8-inch bulb spacing are best for tightly wrapping branches.
- Consider buying extra Christmas lights in case you need more than you thought or to use as replacements.
Choosing the Right Color
Some people have a strong preference for either colored or white Christmas lights, and here are a few considerations:
- White Christmas lights lend a timeless look, while colored lights are fun and festive. Plus you can coordinate them to create complex designs.
- Not all white LED lights are the same hue. Some give off a warm yellow glow, while others have a bluer tint.
- You can color block large areas with single-colored strands for a dramatic effect.
- Get children involved by allowing them to cover an assigned area with a color scheme of their choice.
Conserve Energy
Consider the following tricks to save on your energy bill during the holidays:
- Use automatic timers to turn your lighting displays off and on.
- Choose LED Christmas lights over incandescent lights, especially when covering large areas.
- Use extension cords in hidden areas to lengthen strands. See Power Cord Safety Tips.
- Christmas lights and extension cords come in different amperages. Always pair products of equal amp capacities.
Christmas Light Installation
What’s the best way to hang Christmas lights? Some Christmas lights, such as net lights, make it easy. Our How to Decorate a Christmas Tree guide will give you tips on adding both lights and ornaments to your tree. Take a look at our video How to Hang Outdoor Christmas Lights to learn how to create your own outdoor Christmas lights display.
Look for Christmas light clips and hangers that can simplify decorating with lights indoors and out. You can find clips that let you easily hang lights on mirrors, banisters and more. For outdoors, you’ll see clips that let you install exterior Christmas house lights on gutters, soffits, deck railings, windows, doors, brickwork and even your roof. You can also find lawn stakes that will suspend your lights along walkways, sidewalks and driveways.
