LED Christmas lights have come a long way since they first hit the market. Now you can get just about any shape, size, and color to please the most die hard of holiday decorators. Most agree they are even more brilliant than the traditional incandescent Christmas lights, but perhaps the greatest benefit is that they are up to 90% more efficient. Making the switch will reduce your utility bill and your carbon footprint.
Though the price has come down over the years, they are still more costly than their incandescent counterparts. However, LED Christmas lights can be a better investment in the long run with many providing a long lifespan of up to 100,000 hours and the fact that they are encased in a durable plastic, which offers less chance of breakage than with glass bulbs. And say goodbye to the frustration of having the whole string of lights go out when one bulb dies. That doesn’t happen with LEDs. These Christmas lights are safer as well, especially if you have little kids running around, because they don’t get hot.
Don’t just throw your old lights away. If they’re still working, donate them to a local charity. Your broken ones can be recycled. Christmas Light Source is an online LED company that will take your old lights and recycle them for you, then donate the proceeds to buy books for Toys for Tots. So go ahead and be a Griswold instead of a Grinch this holiday season. Here’s our list of the best LED lights for your Christmas display.
GKI/Bethlehem Lighting 50-Light FlexChange LED Light Set
GKI/Bethlehem Lighting, a company who have long provided commercial light displays including lighting State Street in Chicago for Christmas, offers high quality LEDs to the consumer. Their patent-pending FlexChange are sealed with non-corrosive components for indoor or outdoor use. This 50 light set features 5 mm wide angle replaceable LED bulbs that are 6 inches apart. These sets can be connected and are Energy Star certified. Amazon reviewers give the FlexChange LED light set an average 4 star rating with most commenting on the high quality. Also available in single colors: blue, green, red, purple, and white.
Sells on Amazon for $25.86.
100 LED Energy Smart Mini Holiday Christmas Lights by GE
These miniature LED Christmas lights by GE measure 33 feet in length, but you can make them even longer by connecting up to 25 sets together for indoor or outdoor use. The lights are 4 inches apart. All the other lights will still work even if one LED is burned out or loose. They are replaceable, break resistant, and cool to the touch. Keep these glowing even after Christmas as accent lighting. It should be noted that some Amazon reviewers point out that since LED lights are so energy efficient, they are not strong enough to power the motion ornaments. This set uses 8 watts of power.
The Energy Smart GE Mini Christmas Lights are sold on Amazon for $23.00.
GKI/Bethlehem C9 LED 25 Multi-Color Christmas Light Set
Hard to believe these LED lights as they look like a throwback to the traditional lighting of Christmas past. Another selection from GKI/Bethlehem Lighting, who boast the brightest and truest color of LED Christmas lights, this set of multi-colored candle-shaped bulbs is Energy Star certified with 6 inch spacing between bulbs that are UV protected to prevent fading. The C-9 size is perfect for outdoor use, but would also bring some Christmas nostalgia inside. Comes with a 3 year warranty.
Sells for $39.99 on Amazon.
Good Tidings Holiday Christmas Light Set
If you’re looking for something a little smaller than the C-9s without skimping on brightness, this set from Good Tidings features 70 multi-colored flame shaped LED bulbs that are 4 inches apart. The green cord measures 23 feet long and can be connected with up to 20 other sets. If one bulb goes out, the others stay lit. Using less than 10 watts of power for the whole set, they are cool to the touch. Authorized for both indoor and outdoor use.
The Good Tidings Christmas Light Set is sold on Amazon for $17.99.
Gemmy LED Color Changing Icicle Light String
These LED multi-color icicle lights by Gemmy provide a multi-function light pattern to create your own holiday light show. The glass-like appearance delivers a cleaner look when the lights aren’t in use, compared to the traditional icicle lights. Each string is 24.5 feet long with 24 icicle bulbs that are 12 inches apart. They can be connected to other light show sets for display inside or outside.
The Gemmy LED Color Changing Icicle Light String can be purchased at Lowe’s for around $40.00. There is a smaller set available on Amazon.
Color Selectable Rope Lights
Orange Tree Trade, an American company, designs LED rope lights that render a low maintenance alternative to bulbs. This 10 foot version contains 60 blue LEDs and 60 white LEDs with 1 inch spacing between them. Using the controller, you can select blue only or white only or a mix of the 2 colors. The rope is 1/2 inch diameter and has an average life of 100,000 hours. Safe for indoor or outdoor use, LED rope lights do not heat up and this one uses about 6 watts of energy for this 10 foot rope. Comes with 10 mounting clips. You can connect with other rope lights up to 100 feet.
The 10 foot color selectable rope light sells on Amazon for $40.60.
Lawn Lights
These LED lights for your lawn have become so popular over the past couple years, the company has struggled to keep up with demand. If you’re not one for getting up on a ladder and stringing lights across your house, these lights will still give you a beautiful Christmas display without the hassle. According to their website, you can set them up in about 15 minutes. You can read more about Lawn Lights here. Each set covers 2500 to 3600 square feet. Amazon reviewers have given Lawn Lights an average 4 star rating. One reviewer said the lights still glowed through the extensive snow cover on her lawn which made for a cool effect.
You can get Lawn Lights on Amazon for $59.88.
Solar Powered Christmas Lights
Want to completely eliminate your energy cost for Christmas lighting? Try out these solar powered Christmas lights by GudCraft. The 100 LED lights are solar charged during the day to come on automatically at night for approximately 8 hours. Each string is 35 feet in length. What’s great about these is you can decorate anywhere without the use of extension cords or worrying about where you’re going to plug in. Comes in a choice of white or blue. The blue lights have a flash setting as well.
Sold on Amazon in white or blue for around $30.00.
GKI/Bethlehem Christmas Tree Topper with Morphing LED
-
GKI/Bethlehem Christmas Tree Topper with Morphing LED
Add some energy efficient lighting to the top of the Christmas tree with this color changing star by GKI/Bethlehem Lighting. The LED lighted star flows through a variety of holiday colors. It has a crystal-like appearance when not lit up and attaches to either a real or artificial tree with the 24 inch flexible mounting arm. Energy Star certified, the Bethlehem Star tree topper has received a 5 star rating by Amazon users.
Sells for $50.88 on Amazon.
Pingback: outdoor christmas lights amazonsavesamburu | savesamburu
Three year warranties on LED lighting is a joke. It’s really 90 days, figuring 30 days per year. And if they fail, you get to ship them somewhere that probably costs more than the lights did in the first place. They aren’t any where near the durability of old open socket lights.
With old strings, if one light fails, the rest of the light stay lit. If an LED goes bad, a section of the string goes out and good luck finding the bad one. Why can’t the LED wizards make their strings operate like the old open socket lights?
Excellent article. To anyone reading I would also suggest considering using retrofit C7/C9 bulbs along with empty socket line , which you can find easily online or at an orange-box retailer. This is what we use as professionals for outdoor installations as well as our peers in the industry. Thanks for sharing this resource.
Ian M.
http://www.SantasLittleHelpers.net
This was so helpful, thank you! I love the big old chunky Christmas lights, but LEDs feel a bit safer to but on a dried-out tree. The GKI/Bethlehem lights are the perfect combination.
These lights are great and save you lots of money