LED Christmas Lights?

[lizbaby007]

Last year after Christmas we found that Sams Club had discounted their C9's to $5 a box, so we bought a bunch so we could make the switch this yr. The thought of saving on energy and the fact you can plug so many strands in really sold me on the switch. Well, BF got them up a few days ago and I HATE THEM!!!!

They are so garishly bright and unnatural looking. They hurt my eyes if I look at them too long and they simply do not light up the yard and give it that holiday glow like their energy sucking predecessors did! Unfortunately we already tossed the old sets or else BF would be crawling back along the roofline and swapping them out for some non-blinding holiday cheer!

I think I will add some old style mini lights to the bushes and tree trunks in the yard. Maybe that will soften up the overall look.

 

[michellejed]

I have not switched over and hope I dont have to for my tree at least!

I hate the "white" and only like the clear on my tree but it has been very hard to find the "regular" ones this year.

When I do find them I am going to stock up!!

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Thank you for all of the replies. I am even more confused now

I still have to take down my old stuff and see what is working and what is not. If I do decide to go LED, I think I will try the Costco for the quality and easy return factor.

I appreciate the input on the harshness of the lights. I will really have to look at them again.

 

[msmama]

I tossed all my old lights last year because most were at least half burned out - that said, I got them at Big Lots probably 10 years ago (3 moves ago and all the way across the country, too).

It certainly was sticker shock to see a string of 100 lights for over $15!! I set about my research and found VERY LITTLE positives about the LED lights. Most reviews are negative the biggest issue being that they're not lasting much (if at all) longer than traditional lights. At 5X's the cost, that was unacceptable to me so back to Big Lots I went, lol.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

I need some new lights this year. I know the LEDs have been out a while, and that they are supposed to be more energy efficient, but they are so much more $$$.

I don't mind making the investment IF they actually hold up. I have bought many cheap strands of lights, only to have them last for 1 or 2 seasons. So how do they hold up?

I saw LED lights at Costco, 100 lights were about $18. Is this a good price?

Thanks

Thanks for asking this question.... I've been trying to decide.

 

[GusGus77]

The LED lights are bright if you look at them, but the colors are darker in my opinion (i know that almost makes no sense!)!They aren't the glowing cheerful colors of the old lights and they don't light up things around them. Our house has colored lights, but I wouldn't consider it really bright and colorful, per say.

 

[disneymarie]

Also try and see them lit as the colors can be very intense and not what you are looking for. I have some "white" ones that are a bluish color that can almost hurt your eyes if you stare at them too long! I have read that there are now some white bulbs that are more like the yellowish white the non LED bulbs had. The other colors can also be different than you are used to. Mine still work after a few years of indoor use. Some houses near me that put up vast numbers of strings outdoors, covering the whole house and grounds, switched a few years back and have had success with them.

I did not catch on to the first year and had the blue tone hit lights. But, last year found the warm ones. I did splurge last year and getting the lager bulb .C9 size, they change hues and tones. Pastel will change to all red blue, etc. the icicle ones in multi color too. They look like they are dripping.
The sets were maybe 12 on a string for $21 at Lowes. In the windows and for travel to Disney I love the battery operated. They use so little energy in the battery. I love the saving ins on the entire house trims my bill really does not go up. After accounting for the heat.

I did get he blow up Mickey, Minnie and Santa Carousel along with Eeyore so that will make a difference,

I really like the elec savings and that they are not glass. They have some really twinkly ones too. My Halloween strands on battery lasted from our trip in late Sept through Oct.

I love hem.

 

[luv2mickey]

We are having this debate at our house, we still have white incandescent lights, but our prelit trees are half burnt out the last couple years when we set them up. You can't find replacement bulbs for the prelit trees so I told DH after this Christmas we are cutting all the lights out and restringing it with LED's but then you have to switch everything to LED.

Here is the dilemma:
You can't find the white incandescent lights when you need them all the stores around here were already sold out. They don't appear to be stocking much they are pushing the LED's.
If the LED's burn out after a short time then what's the point, that's a lot of money to invest.
Or do you throw away a perfectly good tree because the lights don't work and buy a new one. That seems like unnecessary waste in the landfils.


Can you tell I'm frustrated. The light situation has taken up way to much of my time this year. But with all that said the trees are up the bannister is decorated and currently all the lights are working. I just don't want to go through this each year.

 

[Swimalie]

Or do you throw away a perfectly good tree because the lights don't work and buy a new one. That seems like unnecessary waste in the landfils.

And artificial trees don't break down in landfills.

 

[maggiew]

Thank you for all of the replies. I am even more confused now

I still have to take down my old stuff and see what is working and what is not. If I do decide to go LED, I think I will try the Costco for the quality and easy return factor.

I appreciate the input on the harshness of the lights. I will really have to look at them again.

I know at Lowes they let you plug in the lights and look at them. Take a few different kinds and plug them all in and compare the color in the store.

Maggie

 

[Irin997]

We've stuck with the traditional incandescent lights which I found at Target. They have some in their brand and we'll see how long they last. We just bought our house about 5 months ago so this is our first time doing exterior decorating! We're excited to get them up!

 

[whatname]

We change to all LED for the tree last year or year before. I don't remember. After reading these replies, I wonder if the lights will work this year. Anyway,
my advice:

We bought ours at Sears. They are colored with a rounded shape, kind of like a rounded pencil eraser. I hate them. They shoot a beam of light that can hurt your eyes if it hits in the right place and shoot circles of color on the wall all around the tree. My kids asked the other day when we were going to get the disco lights out. I am considering changing to some sort of LED with something to diffuse the light with the shape of the bulb. I had seen some with a more traditional shape. However, they were so expensive, I hate to pay again But, I also hate these. Maybe I will just go back to traditional lights. Hope you find something you like.

 

[Debbie7452]

Our LED lights are GE "EnergySmart". They are still going strong after 3 years with no bad bulbs. This is unfortunate because I HATE them. If they would just break I could justify buying the old style lights again. They are an OK shade of white, but they are just dull and not bright enough to see from the street. You can barely tell we decorate our house from any distance....

I also did not notice any cost savings on our light bill. When we needed a new tree I definitely went with the old style. As far as the poster with half a tree that doesn't light up, I kept our old tree going an extra few years by stringing extra strands in the blank spots. I didn't even remove the burnt out lights because you couldn't really see them anyway.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Or do you throw away a perfectly good tree because the lights don't work and buy a new one. That seems like unnecessary waste in the landfils.

Our LED lights are GE "EnergySmart". They are still going strong after 3 years with no bad bulbs. This is unfortunate because I HATE them. If they would just break I could justify buying the old style lights again. They are an OK shade of white, but they are just dull and not bright enough to see from the street. You can barely tell we decorate our house from any distance....

I also did not notice any cost savings on our light bill. When we needed a new tree I definitely went with the old style. As far as the poster with half a tree that doesn't light up, I kept our old tree going an extra few years by stringing extra strands in the blank spots. I didn't even remove the burnt out lights because you couldn't really see them anyway.

Thanks for all the advice, I decided to stick with the cheap old lights. I bought a 400 more (4 strands of 100 each, 200 white and 200 color as I mix them up). Home Depot had them for $5-$6 per set.

Luv2Mickey, we had the same thing a few years back. We pulled down the 4 year old pre lit tree and more than half the lights were out. We pulled all the lights off, and put our own lights on. At the end of the season, we take off the lights and store it bare, then re-string them the following year. The tree still looks good, so I cannot justify tossing it yet.

 

[arthuruscg]

I bought GE C9 milticolor lights from Ace for $27 for 50 feet, with 6" light spacing and the came on a spool. they look like the normal C9 lights.
I think I am going to get 2 more rolls.

 

[Fire14]

My dad switched all his outdoor lights to LED. I believe this is 4th of 5th year for them. THey cut down on electric cost and he's been happy with them. I personallycouldn't tell you if inside ones got switched or not as I'm up there for maybe 48 hrs while lights are on display and I'm usually running everywhere else.

 

[justakrazymom]

You can replace the bad LEDs. They just snap out like the old bulb style or at least you can with the ones that i have seen.

ours too..we replaced all our lights with Phillips LEDS ( rest were ruined by Irene).. they def snap out..come with replacements and blinkers.