LED Christmas lights

[rowerwet]

I know it is a little late, but who used them this past year, and what did you think?
I bought them because I was sick of dealing with inoperative strings (every third bulb) on the light sets I have had since I was married. My daughter wanted colored lights so we got them, I found them to be very bright, brighter than incandescent, but more distance between bulbs seems to even out the light output, they were more expensive to buy (almost double) but I found it only took 3 strings to do the tree instead of 5.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

When Wally world discounted their Christmas stuff 50-75% I picked up a string of them. I think I have them still sitting in the back seat of my truck. I should clean the truck.

I'll report back on them when I plug them in next Christmas. If I ever find them in the back seat....

Matt

 

[semipro]

We went to quite a bit of trouble to find the LED lights we wanted for the holidays. We found one color, blue I think, difficult to tolerate as it was too bright. We found too late also that we can't dim them something that's useful depending upon ambient light.

 

[begreen]

I've held off for a few years buying LED string lights because I don't like the icy blue color. For a while, that was all you could get. This year it was easy to get warm white LED strings and the price dropped. They look good. We'll see how they stand up over time. It's a nice drop in power consumption and they should last much longer. Our friends liked them so much that they put them up as interior lights in their yurt.

 

[rowerwet]

I used my lights with a touch dimmer I have had for years, it has a wire that runs to a gold plated ornament, and gives three levels, the lights didn't seem to be damaged by running on lower levels ocasionaly. I am not sure about the power savings, the box claimed a good bit less consumption than incandescent strings. I did run them off the generator for a few days after the ice storm, I couldn't stand a dark tree that close to christmas. If what the package says is correct I would have put a huge load on the generator with incandescent bulbs, but no changes were noticed turning on the tree with LED. It makes me want to try one of those edison base LED bulbs but I hear the light is very directional and 40W seems weak. (the most I could find.)

 

[karri0n]

I've seen them, and I like the color they put out vs. the incandescents. Power savings is also a huge plus.

 

[Flatbedford]

We bought some a couple years ago. Tried the blue. It was too bright. Exchanged for red, didn't like them either. I think LED lights will be the future once the brightness and color temps are perfected. I like them for trailer lights.

 

[karri0n]

I haven't seen them on an interior tree, but for exterior I like the brightness and the color intensity that I see on the decorated shrubs/trees in my neighborhood around that time of year. I can see how it easily might be too bright in the family room.

 

[Flatbedford]

The LEDs made us feel like we were being attacked with laser beams. Just too harsh. I'm a stagehand, I spend most of my time sneaking around in the dark, so I might be over sensitive.

 

[Highbeam]

We used them outdoors on a long fence this last year. Activated by a light sensing timer than turned them on for like 6 hours after it became dark. We bought the soft white instead of the bright white (blue) and found the color very similar to incandescent white lights. We had one set fail. They fail just like incandescents where half of the string dies. We returned that set for a replacement.

They were not too expensive and I really liked the lower power use. One more problem is that they don't melt the snow off as quickly so the string would be buried longer than if they were the energy hog style.

 

[jebatty]

To bring an old discussion to life again! Just put up a string of 300 multi-color C6-LED bulbs, and 3 strings - 75 bulbs of incandescent. The Kill-O-Watt showed the 75 bulb incandescent set took 280 watts, the 300 LED string took 13 watts.

 

[btuser]

+1 on the snowmelt thing. We light the stairs with them during Xmas and the old ones would stay on top of the snow. The leds get burried. Still worth it.

 

[rowerwet]

I like the new strings that can change color and aren't any bigger than the old style bulbs, I prefer color changing to blinking.
Home depot was offering a few dollars off a new LED string for an old string of lights traded in, somehow I always manage to miss these trade ins.

 

[begreen]

We used them outdoors on a long fence this last year. Activated by a light sensing timer than turned them on for like 6 hours after it became dark. We bought the soft white instead of the bright white (blue) and found the color very similar to incandescent white lights. We had one set fail. They fail just like incandescents where half of the string dies. We returned that set for a replacement.

They were not too expensive and I really liked the lower power use. One more problem is that they don't melt the snow off as quickly so the string would be buried longer than if they were the energy hog style.

I like the warmer white LED bulbs better too. However, we also have a strand that went half-out after just one year. Couldn't return them and can't fix the problem or replace a bad bulb. This defeats the economy of these lamps.

 

[billb3]

I have several strings of mixed colors that are 4 or 5 years old, certainly not brighter than incandescents and several strings of all white that are about as bright. The latest white ones have replaceable bulbs and I ran over one end of a string with the lawn mower and the darned things still work. ( mark the edges of the walk in front of the house and it was lawn mowing time before I got the little stakes out of the frozen ground)

 

[pyper]

I was in a liquidation store and picked up a set of multi-colored LED lights for a couple bucks. I plan on using them for my camper...

No LED lights for the house yet. Probably go there as the old strands go bad.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I like them. The large bulbs remind me of the old style ones that my father used to put up outside. When I finish working on the attic I plan to put a string in both sides for storage room light. Low wattage and low heat just in case somebody (me) forgets to turn them off.

Matt

 

[semipro]

We've been trying to convert to LED holiday lights but are having some issues. We've yet to find LEDs for inside tree that are not too bright or dimmable to a viewable level. The light seems harsh even for the colored LEDs or those with plastic outer lenses.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Been replacing regular bulb sets 1 by 1 . Biggest issue is plugging into one outlet. LEDS allow you to plug dozens of sets into a single outlet.
Not to mention the big jump in the power bill for december with regular bulbs.

 

[eclecticcottage]

We put them on a little tree, and took them back off. I get migraines and am very sensitive to lights-LEDS are like Florecents, they flicker. Drives me crazy. We're using incandecents inside, and when we get the electric finished so we have outdoor outlets, we're doing warm white LEDS outside. Nice to be able to decorate without jumping up the electric bill like crazy.

 

[JoeyD]

I put led lights on my tree this year for the first time but hate how the white looked so blue. After looking around on the internet I found these and ordered them for next year. Next to the ones I have they look totally natural.

http://www.christmaslightsetc.com/p...re-Wide-Angle-Lens-LED-Lights--20275--864.htm

They are a little pricey but I like them.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Id say we have about 25 sets in all . Almost completely converted from the old style.