It’s easy to put off setting up Christmas lights. Maybe you’ve been spending time buying presents or dreaded the thought of untangling your old set of lights. Well put your mind to rest: Here are some ideas for decorating, and reasons to think LEDs for this holiday season.
Energy Conservation: Give Yourself the Gift of a Lower Utility Bill
LED lights are generally more expensive than an ordinary string of lights. But what you pay in your initial purchase you make up in your reduced electricity bill. LED lights not only use less energy but also can end up lasting almost 40 times longer than your regular incandescent bulbs. If you factor in that LED bulbs uses 1/6 the amount of energy, the decision to switch is a no-brainer.
Color Combinations for Christmas
Consider your color patterns. LEDs commonly have a softer light that gives off cool tones. Incandescent bulbs have a warm color that generally doesn’t mix well softer lights. When placing lights, try grouping similar bulb types together – cool lights with other cool lights, warm lights with other warm lights. Easy color patterns include the Santa Clause-styled white and red alternating colors, blue and white for an icicle effect, and the classic Christmas cliché of red, white, and green.
Or if you are truly a dyed-in-the-wool Christmas fan, why not have your very own Christmas LED neon sign with your favorite Christmas quote?
Rope LEDs: A Simple Christmas Light Solution
Rope LEDs allow for some fantastic, and simple, Christmas light designs. For a while, you couldn’t drive down a street without seeing strings of rope LEDs designed to look like dangling icicles. While those still exist, the trend has shifted towards more classic tracks designs. The beauty of rope LEDs is not only their versatility but also their ease of use. As the lights are already on a track, they are guaranteed to be a visually appealing distance from one another and designed to have complementary colors. Because of their low temperature, rope LED lights are ideal for placement both inside and outside the house. Since it is the bulb that generates the color, LED lights are not prone to weathering. Incandescent bulbs, which have a colored filter around the bulb, can lose their brilliance when exposed to multiple seasons.
Whether it’s Indoors or Outdoors, LEDs Can Go Anywhere
LEDs work brilliantly outside your house. They can be strung easily underneath alcoves and along gutters. They can be placed around windows to use the natural outlines of your home. But one easily overlooked option is coiling or hanging LEDs outside in your bushes or trees. When thinking about the inside of your house, LEDs work perfectly on the windowsill due to their low heat emission. Let’s not forget the most quintessential Christmas decoration of all: the Christmas tree. Some LEDs can be set to sparkle different colors and can last you decades, and there’s no need to worry about leaving them on all night since they don’t get hot. With LEDs, decorating the outside of your house is a snap. Think about placing lights outside by wrapping your LED lights around railings, branches or outlining the contours of your home. If you’re decorating inside, use your windowsills and put LEDs around your tree for an eco-friendly and new look.
LED and rope Christmas lights are eco-friendly, give off little heat, and look great. They’re also very easy to set up. If you’ve had a hard time figuring out what to do this Christmas to show off your spirit, think about lighting up your life with LED rope lights.
Have you seen the LED lights when they are put on a tree or put outside? The lighting is so beautiful and the colors seem more vibrant. I like LED lighting, and I am going to try to get some more after the Holiday because that is when they mark them down. Plus like you say they do save on electricity!
I have Karen! They sure do look much prettier! I was just telling David, who commented above you, that when the Christmas decorations all go on sale after the holidays – I'm going to be buying out the store lol! We are down to one strand of working lights for our tree, so I'm getting all new LED lights for next year and new decorations as well. I want to get rid of the glass balls that drop and shatter and get some silk wrapped balls and ornaments to decorate the tree. I've got a Martha Stewart decorated tree in mind that I want to have for next year. Cannot wait to go shopping and see what I can find!
I love LED Christmas lights. I just like the colors much better than incandescent lights and I like that they use a lot less electricity to use. In our house, all of our lights are using CFL or LED bulbs with the LED bulbs in the most used locations. As the CFLs burn out, I am replacing them with LED bulbs. Unfortunately all the lights on our tree are still incandescent this year since they are still working, but if they fail by next year, I'll replace them with LEDs too. Thanks for the info.
You are most welcome David! I'm planning a Christmas decorations shopping trip after the holidays when all of the stores put their festive decorations on sale and stocking up on some of the LED lights for next year! We're down to one strand on our tree of lights (the others have burned out) so it is time to do some restocking!