This weekend I did a little Christmas shopping and decided to pick up some LED Christmas lights. LED lights offer several benefits over incandescent and even compact fluorescent bulbs.
- Long-lasting. My box of Philips blue icicle lights claims that these bulbs will last 25,000 hours.
- Durable. LEDs are solid and hold up well under conditions that might break other bulbs or jar their filaments.
- No Heat. Incandescent bulbs get hot; LEDs stay cool.
- No Mercury. One of the problems with compact fluorescent bulbs is that they contain mercury, a heavy metal that is poisonous. LEDs do not contain any heavy metals to harm people or the environment.
- Efficient. My string of LED lights is rated to 7.2 Watts. According to the box, I can connect up to 29 strings for one outlet.
That's all good stuff. I'm just wondering about the quality. In some initial searching on this product, I came across a few reviews saying that these lights last just one season, when used outdoors. The wires seems to rust and even some strings did not work right out of the box.
My strings did work and I'm using them indoors, so I'm hoping they'll last more than one year. And the effect with these particular lights is truly magical. The blue LEDs cast swirls and circles of light onto the walls. Even with the blinds closed, the light effect is even magical from the street.
Tags: Christmas Stuff, Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, Eco-Friendly Lighting, LEDs, Light Bulbs
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