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you could still buy traditional and LED Christmas lights, but which is better?
LED vs.
Traditional Christmas Lights: What’s the Difference?
Traditional Christmas lights are tiny incandescent bulbs.
LED Christmas lights are a different story.
Let’s dig in and compare.
These lights are so smart you won’t just be changing the colors, you’ll be programming a veritable light show. The sky is the limit with lights this advanced.
Historically, the premium for LED lights was astronomical.
Worse, the consistency and quality of early LED light strands were lacking.
That put a lot of people off buying LED lights, and we can’t blame them.
These LED lights include an inline rectifier to deliver flicker-free LED performance in a package that looks like traditional incandescent mini-bulb Christmas lights.
Still, bulb-for-bulb traditional lights remain cheaper than LEDs.
Related:How Much Money Does Upgrading to LED Christmas Lights Save?
The savings are even more dramatic if you’re a fan of big flashy C9-style bulbs.
That means you could swap one old C9 incandescent strand for thirty-five LED strands for the same energy cost.
Related:Are Christmas Lights Really a Fire Hazard?
And LEDs are a clear run-away winner in that category.
And those are completely valid complaints.
Unlike LEDs, traditional Christmas lights have an extremely consistent color temperature.
The filament governs the temperature, and after more than a century, the process is completely dialed in.
It’s a different story with LED lights.
In this arena, LEDs are king.
Short of mice getting in the box and chewing up the actual strand, the lights are practically indestructible.
Instead of glass bulbs, big or small, they have plastic bulbs.
Some LED strands are all-in-one, and the individual LED lights are all wired together.
If one or more bulbs are damaged, there is no replacing them.
That’s as smart as it’s going to get.
The sky is the limit with lights this advanced.
Related:Why Are My Christmas Lights Flickering?
Some LED bulbs are just uncomfortable to look at because the string of light flickers.
Some people notice it and can’t unsee it and some people don’t see it.
If you’re one of the people who does see it, then it’s a deal breaker.
