Outdoor Christmas Lighting – Festive and Affordable
Outdoor Christmas lighting brings the Christmas season to life, creating a different dimension, a unique feeling and spirit. These lights come in a variety of styles as well as pricing. If you don't make a clear plan of your outdoor decorations, you may end up spending much more than you can afford. There are some simple steps that will save yourself time and money on outdoor Christmas lighting.
Take a good look at the areas you want to decorate, Measure the areas exact length where the lights will be placed allowing yourself a few inches for the power outlets. Also measure the distance from the power outlet to where the lights will begin. If you are decorating trees or shrubs with lights, use a tape measure to get the circumference of the tree and shrubs. You will then determine the lights that are on a string, the length of the string of lights and compute how many you will need. If you need a hundred feet of lights to go around your tree, and each string is 10 feet long, you will need 10 strings of lights. Your outdoor Christmas lighting should be designed for safety. You don't want to have a fire.
If you are using the smaller lights, I would recommend you go with the shorter strands. With these lights, if one goes out, the entire strand stops working. By using the shorter ones, you are able to easily replace it. Also as you shop, know the differences in outdoor Christmas lighting. You will look at the plug styles, the bulb designs and the strand types. These lights come in different colors, shapes and sizes and will need to be coordinated with your decorating plans. You can have a lot of fun shopping for your outdoor Christmas lighting products, as long as you have a plan and know what you are looking for.
A package of lights will indicate how many bulbs are on the strand. The wattage will determine the amount of illumination and number of bulbs needed. There are many different lighting effects that can be created with the different types of bulbs. There are the blinking lights and some that provide a steady glow. These styles are all great, and depend totally on your taste. Outdoor Christmas lighting also comes with a series or parallel wiring. If a bulb breaks on the parallel string, then the rest of the lights will remain lit, however, on a series wiring, if one light goes out, the entire string goes out with it.
When you have your plans ready, you have purchased your outdoor Christmas lighting, have all your tools handy, time to focus on safety. Your electrical outlets should be GFCI approved and installed by a certified electrician. Make sure the lights you buy are approved for outdoor use and are UL approved. If you use an extension cord, please do not use one meant for indoors, there are specially designed extension cords that are safe for outdoor use. Electrical connections need to be clear of any snow or puddles, and make sure the light sockets are facing down, where moisture would not be allowed to get in. Your outdoor Christmas lighting fixtures may exceed your circuits so don't overload them.
If you need to replace any bulbs, always unplug the string first. Stay clear of power lines when decorating with outdoor Christmas lighting, you do not want to take any chance of them touching. Always inspect the wires, making sure there are no worn areas or frayed wires. And last, but not least, just use some good common sense as you install your outdoor Christmas lighting. You will now be able to enjoy the magical lights as well as all those around you.
Merry Christmas!
