Author Topic: LED Christmas lights (Read 2224 times)

LeeAnne151 · « **on:** January 05, 2008, 05:14:31 PM »

LED Christmas lights for trees and for outdoor use showed up here this year. They are supposed to save tons of electricity, they don't get hot so are safer for live trees and they have great colors. There are also a lot of interesting shapes to the bulbs which aren't really bulbs and don't break.

I went to the Zoolights at our zoo and they used LEDs and the white of the whites and the glowing reds, greens and blues were wonderful. One thing that I thought was really cool was that they used the icicle lights usually used on the eves of a house to wrap around large fir trees. A really neat effect. The white LEDs glow almost blue they are so white. Love them.

They sold out of almost all at the stores, before Christmas so I didn't get any. Thought I'd wait for the sales....oops.

Does anyone have them? Did you see them? Aren't they cool?

Bonnie · « **Reply #1 on:** January 05, 2008, 06:09:17 PM »

Don't think our Zoo (Cincy Festival of Lights) had them when we went last year and we didn't go this year.

I didn't go into the Christmas lighting section this year because we still had brand new sets that I bought after Christmas last year but those sound cool!

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #2 on:** January 05, 2008, 07:16:50 PM »

I like the LED lights. They are small and compact but bright. I've been using the white LED's outdoors since 2006 Christmas and they do not break while I set them up. The old lights broke often because I am not careful enough laying the string of lights on the driveway.

Shawn · « **Reply #3 on:** January 05, 2008, 10:48:29 PM »

I guess I got real lucky... Went to our local CVS before they put them on sale, wife and I are regulars, and got about 12 boxes for next year. Sales lady told us she'd keep them for 3 days before they went on sale and then call us to come down and buy them... Got all of them for 75% off... Went to Walmart and got 10 boxes or so for 50% off and 2 Rite-Aids and got another couple of boxes for 75% off.... In the end, spent about $200 on misc Christmas stuff for various parts of the house next year, no new items needed now.. Even got some candy that could be reused for Valentine's Day for the ladies at work...

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 06, 2008, 11:37:51 AM »

All I could find even before the holiday were not what I wanted. I want C9 sized multi colors and white icicles for the house and mini multi colors for the tree.

I could find solid colored strands or white for the tree and multi colored icicles. To me, icicles need to be white although I've seen some pretty blue ones.

CoolShades · « **Reply #5 on:** January 06, 2008, 12:52:26 PM »

All you have to do is look up the tree in Rockefellar Center NYC all were LED lights this year that were powered by Colar Cells on top of NBC. They actually were positive in the energy creation this year!!

Gary

Mikey · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2008, 08:26:06 PM »

I bought both white and colored LED outdoor lights for the house last year because they use electricity. The white lights are bright and have a bluish tint to the light. I was disappointed that the colored lights were not as bright as I would like. This year I went back to Target, where I bought the LEDs, and purchased another colored string for the house. This string was visibly brighter than those I bought the previous year. I went back to get more but they were all out.

karen J · « **Reply #7 on:** January 06, 2008, 09:21:07 PM »

I have a couple of test strands running now that I got on clearance. I really love them so far. I can't find my issue of Consumer Reports that did a "once over" on them, but there was something they didn't like about them. Either they lost much brightness over time, or some other reason that made them equal (in total cost) to conventional lights in the long run.

I think they're fab. We put a meter on one string and it read some minuscule amount of electricity. I have a string in a wine bottle, and the bottle does not get hot (it used to with the old lights). I also put some C7 size around my baker's rack, where they're lit all day long and never get hot. The faceted aspect of them is really pretty.

I want to go completely LED for my tree next year, but I think Costco is the way to go. In Oct-Nov they had strings of hundreds for only ten bucks! I put that on my list for next year...

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 06, 2008, 11:37:19 PM »

I meant to go to Costco before the holidays but never made it. Target, Home Depot, and others were all out of what I wanted by the time I noticed them and started looking.

I too like the faceted look of the bulbs.

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #9 on:** January 07, 2008, 09:12:07 AM »

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I have a string in a wine bottle, and the bottle does not get hot (it used to with the old lights)

Great idea Karen!! I have a few 3 litre wine bottles that I have been saving for that great idea. I like the idea of throwing a string of lights in them and it will be just the right ambient lighting for the outside patio....when it gets warm enough to sit outside

Krista · « **Reply #10 on:** January 07, 2008, 10:13:53 AM »

We have started switching this year... our trailer had 2 sets for when we are set up with electricity and I took those out and put them plus 2 more in our front tree.. and just before we left for Disneyland, Shane got 4 more c9 sets for the house.... hopefully it's enough. We'll change those out this summer since I have to climb on the roof to get at them. Half my neighborhood has the new and half the old...

Desertponder · « **Reply #11 on:** January 07, 2008, 01:54:30 PM »

I don't really like them.

I think the light they give off is kind of strange and looking at them bothers my eyes. There was a house down the road from us that had the funny blue ones along the eves and I hated driving by there at night because it bothered my eyes.
I noticed that Target had quite a few of the LEDs this year but they didn't appear to be selling very well. There was still quite a few of them left on the after Christmas sale.
I will be one of the last people to change to them and I will do it kicking and screaming. LOL!

I just changed over to the fluorescent light bulbs in the house a couple of months ago. I'm not very impressed with those either.
People had said they noticed a $40-$50 drop in their electricity bill after changing to them. There was no noticeable difference
in my electric bill, it was actually just a tad higher and we couldn't think of anything that might have contributed to it going up.
Three of them have already burned out. So much for lasting longer than a regular light bulb.

Mikey · « **Reply #12 on:** January 08, 2008, 09:12:02 AM »

I wonder why they bother your eyes. Do the multi-colored LEDs bother you too? I have to admit that my "white" LEDs look strange with that bluish light to them. It's somewhat similar to the headlights on high-end vehicles.

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I just changed over to the fluorescent light bulbs in the house a couple of months ago. I'm not very impressed with those either.

That's my impression too. Mine are not that bright and slow to warm up and get bright. We also have noticed several that burned out quickly. Apparently these "environmental" bulbs have a small amount of mercury inside them and thus they should be disposed of properly as a hazardous material. Most people are unaware of that and just toss them in the trash... It seems like another case of "one step forward and two steps back..."

Desertponder · « **Reply #13 on:** January 08, 2008, 10:18:39 AM »

I'm not really sure why they bother my eyes but they actually hurt my eyes to look at them. Mainly the strings of all white or blue ones. The multi-colors are not so bad.

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 08, 2008, 10:22:05 AM »

We have had florescent bulbs in the pot lights in the kitchen ceiling for years and really like them as they don't heat up like halides or incandescents do. we just recently changed every incandescent in the house to florescent. I just bought some as Costco that have a yellower glow to them. Bob bought some at Home Depot that are very blue and a lot more expensive.

I love the blue cast to the white LEDs, that is why I wanted to replace my icicle lights with them.

all the moving gifs bother my eyes and don't seem to bother everyone else so isn't hard to believe that the LEDs bother you, Shanna.

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #15 on:** January 08, 2008, 10:37:05 AM »

I don't stare into the light!

Sorry had to say the first thing that popped into mind

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I just changed over to the fluorescent light bulbs in the house a couple of months ago. I'm not very impressed with those either.
People had said they noticed a $40-$50 drop in their electricity bill after changing to them. There was no noticeable difference
in my electric bill, it was actually just a tad higher and we couldn't think of anything that might have contributed to it going up.
Three of them have already burned out. So much for lasting longer than a regular light bulb.

Did the changeover a few years ago with the lifetime supply from Costco. They're not bright enough for reading; need time to warm up before full light potential; do not last long, probably a few months; don't work with timers!!!; and I have not seen any change in the electric bill (but then the price of electricity seems to be going up everyday).

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they should be disposed of properly as a hazardous material.

OOOPPPS!! Didn't know! Will have to see where I can drive to and dispose of the collection of bulbs I will have since they burn out quickly. Tell me where are we saving $$?

Shawn · « **Reply #16 on:** January 08, 2008, 02:02:36 PM »

I guess for me, I'll change to flourescent kicking and screaming... I love the light produced by the "day lamps" ... more of a natural light... flourescent just remind me of work... :'(

Jonna · « **Reply #17 on:** January 08, 2008, 04:27:18 PM »

The LED light strings don't hurt my eyes but those

bright blue-white headlights on some cars sure do. They completely blind me. I can't believe they are legal in the US. Of course, even if they weren't it wouldn't matter down here. I don't see as many of them here but they do exist. I have to look away from the road or put my hand in front of my eyes when a car with those comes towards me. What a stupid, unsafe idea those were.

Desertponder · « **Reply #18 on:** January 09, 2008, 09:45:18 AM »

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The LED light strings don't hurt my eyes but those ticked off bright blue-white headlights on some cars sure do.

Yep, those hurt my eyes too. Sometimes I have to actually pull over and let the car pass me because I can't see a thing. I hate those headlights!

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 09, 2008, 09:58:28 AM »

We remodeled our kitchen in 1999 and some of the first florescent spot lights we bought are still working.

We did have some burn out early though. They do not give off a blue office like glow. They do take a few seconds to come up to full glow. We are used to it though and it doesn't bother us.

I bought 60 watt equivalents for my desk lamp and for the reading lamps in the living room and they are more than adequate for reading.

It is too soon to tell about the electric bill.

karen J · « **Reply #20 on:** January 09, 2008, 11:24:51 AM »

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I like the idea of throwing a string of lights in them and it will be just the right ambient lighting for the outside patio....when it gets warm enough to sit outside

Annette, that's a great idea too!

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just changed over to the fluorescent light bulbs in the house a couple of months ago. I'm not very impressed with those either.
People had said they noticed a $40-$50 drop in their electricity bill after changing to them. There was no noticeable difference
in my electric bill, it was actually just a tad higher and we couldn't think of anything that might have contributed to it going up.
Three of them have already burned out. So much for lasting longer than a regular light bulb.

I'm not really impressed with florescent lights either. We've been using them since '92, and I've not liked them since '92. My 'engineer' husband won't change though, so I guess I'm stuck with them! They make me feel like I'm living in a darkened, yellowed cave.
We have had some success experimenting with the different 'color' options- like "bright white", "cool white", and "daylight". So far, "daylight" wins because it's less yellow.