Light Calculation for Outdoor Trees

Christmas Tree Lights

How do I calculate how many lights I need for my tree?

There is no perfected method in calculating how many lights are required to light your outdoor trees, and some people prefer to combines light strings with Starlight Spheres and Moravian Stars for a celestial appearance. If choosing to light your trees using primarily mini lights or C7 and C9 lights, then a good starting point is to plan for 100 lights per vertical foot of your tree. Slender trees will require the least amount of lights for desired affect and full trees may require up to 50% more lights. Another consideration in determining the number of lights needed for your tree is the type of bulb used. Lighting your tree with Mini Lights requires using more lights versus using the larger C7 or C9 bulbs. C7 bulbs are smaller than C9, making C9 lights ideal for large and overly dense or full trees.

Refer to the chart below for decorating your outside trees with lights. Depending on the time of year and whether or not there are leaves will determine if you need to use more or less lights on your tree. A bare tree will allow lights to show through from the opposite side giving the appearance of more lights on the tree, requiring fewer lights. Pine trees and shrubs that keep their leaves, fruits, and needles all winter will require more light strings.

This chart can also help with lighting up live trees indoors. Decide whether you want a tree that lights up a large room, or a small tree that is tucked in a corner and only lit for ambiance. Live trees can dry up and become fire hazards, especially if placed next to a heat source or fireplace, so consider lighting live trees being used indoors with LED Christmas Lights for a safe and cool burn.

The chart above is designed to accommodate the lighting needs for spruce, pines and other tree varieties that retain a good portion if not most of their leaves in the winter. For outdoor trees that lose their leaves in the winter, use about 75% of the recommended number above. Browsing through our website and viewing the bulb count per tree is another method to use in estimating light needs. Personal preference is the ultimate deciding factor, so please keep in mind that these are recommended counts, but you should be safe increasing or decreasing the bulb count to your own tastes.