LED lighting and the Great Outdoors

With the Christmas season nearly upon us, die-hard lighting enthusiasts will once again be rummaging around in the attic, looking for last year’s outdoor lights, cursing the fact they didn’t spend time putting them away properly.

And so, the LED rope lights make their appearance once again in their festive outings across the UK and beyond. Are you thinking you would like to do the same? Take a look and this quick pros and cons guide to LED rope lights, as well as some hints and tips as what to look out for…

The Pros

Simplicity itself – having a string of outdoor ready LED light, encased in weather proof plastic and ready to bend and shape into writing or coils, as well as many other patterns and applications must surely be the first fabulous advantage. Simple design with amazing flexibility.

Professional looking luminations – using the right mounting clips and tacks will mean that you get a really professional looking display, without too much hassle or panic (and neither will you need a degree in art and design).

Longevity – on one, buying rope LED lights are an investment as they are still a little more expensive that ‘ordinary’ rope lights BUT they will outlive and outlast their traditional counters parts by some years.

One bulb goes out… the others stay on. The days of spending hours, fiddling with the bulbs finding which one has ‘gone’ is an activity from the 1980s – and that’s where it will stay. Most LED rope lights have a fuse bulb, so you won’t have the whole string in the dark if one does fail (in all honesty, the likelihood of this happening is fairly low)

Versatile – LED rope lights can be used in so many places from commercial settings likes bars and nightclubs, through to providing brilliant lighting interest in the kitchen (hide your LED rope lights along the top of your kitchen cupboards and marvel at the effect). One favourite is to wrap the LED rope light around a tree trunk, adding a tropical look to any garden.

With so many applications and uses, it seems difficult to believe that there are some cons to rope lights BUT there are! There are cheaper rope lights out there, all purporting to give the same effect but beware…

i.                 The first is that many people fail to invest in LED rope lights as they find the cost prohibitive, therefore opt for cheaper alternatives. The main issue here is not only the amount of heat wasted but also the fact they use far more electricity than LED rope lights. Lighting up the outside of your home for Christmas, shouldn’t mean burning a hole in your bank account.

ii.                The quality of the product can also be slightly suspect by purchasing cheaper, traditional rope lights. Cheaper versions tend to be clear bulbs in coloured tubes and whilst his may give a ‘good enough’ effect, it will not be as good, brilliant luminous as LED rope lights.

iii.               They may contain fewer bulbs too. Some LED rope lights will boast 36 LED bulbs per metre of ‘rope’, whilst cheaper versions will have as little as 24 per metre. Considering that LED bulbs give off a far better luminosity, again you may be slightly disappointed with the overall effect of the cheaper versions of rope lights.

Are you looking to create a brilliant lamination this Christmas? Ditch the fairy lights and take a look at versatile LED rope lights!