LED Lights Guide

Choosing LED Lights

LED lights have become increasingly popular over the last few years. LED lights are being used in everything from flashlights to flood lamps to Christmas trees. LED Christmas lights are more popular with each season, and people are making the switch quickly. Many city and state governments have already transitioned into using only LED Christmas lights, saving taxpayers money. LED Christmas lights are available in so many more shapes than traditional incandescent bulbs, with sizes from C7 and C9 to tiny 5mm conical wide angle lamps. Almost any Christmas decoration from giant trees to pole mount bells offer the option for LED lights.

Technology Behind LED Christmas Lights - Education in a Single Paragraph

The technology behind LEDs can be broken down quite easily. LEDs stands for Light Emitting Diodes, and use a chip much like those used in computers to convert energy into light. LEDs do not need any filaments to generate light. Filaments are used in incandescent lights, and most of the energy used by incandescent lights is used to heat the filaments to produce enough light, which both wastes energy and causes the bulb to get very hot. LED bulbs always stay cool to the touch, and since there is no filament to burn, LEDs can also be encased in plastic, making the bulbs virtually unbreakable. LED lights use 80-90% less energy, and often promise as much as 20 years of use. LED Christmas lights are only used seasonally, extending the life of the light far beyond that of LED lights that are used daily. Hours of use vary from 50,000 hours to 100,000 hours, and the expectancy reaches its limit when the bulb begins to fade in color. LED lights don't burn out like incandescent bulbs, but instead begin to dim when they have reached their life expectancy.

LED Christmas Lights Size Comparison

Battery Operated LED Lights

An important note when discussing LED Christmas lights is to mention Battery Operated LED Lights.Any battery operated light will require frequent battery changes, many times as often as every 8 hours when dealing with incandescent bulbs. Battery operated LED lights:

Typically last over 36 hours before needing a battery change.
Use smaller and fewer batteries, so when the cost of battery changes and size and quantity of batteries that need to be changed is added together, it becomes clear that battery operated LED lights make up the difference in the initial price cost even before the first battery change.
A pack of batteries can cost anywhere from $6 - $12, and if the batteries need to be changed three times as often, a second pack of batteries will need to be purchased before the battery operated LED lights will ever need to be replaced. Choosing a $4 set of lights over a $12 set of lights is no longer so affordable once the cost of repeated battery changes is added in.

Variety in LED Christmas Lights - Color and Size

The colors in LED Christmas lights include everything from pink to green, with two options for white lights. Pure White is the color that tends to look more like wet ice, and in older LED lights casts a strong blue hue. The Pure White LED lights on ChristmasLightsEtc.com for 2009 barely have a hint of blue, which is a huge advancement in LED lighting, and the color is crisp and beautiful. Warm White LED lights have more of an antique or romantic glow and are great for use as wedding lights in addition to being used in Christmas decorating. Because LEDs consist of diodes, color change is possible if each diode is programmed for its own unique color. Color changing lights morph between colors, creating amazing visual effects.

Quick Recap of Benefits of LED Lights

Lasts years longer, especially when only used seasonally
Virtually unbreakable
Remains cool to the touch
Available in many colors, shapes, and sizes
Connects more lights together
Uses 80-90% less energy
Great for use in battery operated lights