Christmas lights: LED vs. Regular

acishere

acishere

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So I got all new LED icicle lights for the outside of my house this year and I thought they looked pretty nice. However both my parents, 2 of my neighbors, the worker at Home Depot when I bought them, and my girlfriend all flat out hate the white LED lights. When there is nothing else being sold you would think they would be a little more popular. Does anyone else get the hate because I really don't see it? :shrug:
 
dr_teeth90210

dr_teeth90210

Active Member
White LED lights SUCK! They lack the charisma, twinkle,and warmth of incandescent lights. Plus they tend to have a blue'ish tinge. I got a good deal on LED's this year and I'm definitely having buyer's remorse.
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
The color of white LED lights is incredibly polarizing. You either love them or hate them. (I am in the love camp) You can however get LED lights that do not have that pure white/blue color. They are often referred to as warm white and have a color temperature around 3000K. (White/blue LED lights come in around 6000k)
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
The warm whites are much closer to regular christmas lights. I have had issues with LEDs rusting however, and only lasting a season. Other than that, I love them. Can't beat the current saving, especially if you are running a lot.
 
Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
Last year, I replaced some of my white outdoor lights with LEDs--didn't realize they were going to be bluish, not sure if warm white LEDs were available and I overlooked them--and I don't like the way they look mixed in with the incandescent white bulbs, I just said to DH over the weekend that we'd have to replace them for next year. I got warm whites to put on the all-white tree inside, and they look fine.

I do like the cool white LEDs when they are either used on their own or with colored bulbs. On my drive home from work, I pass a property where three very large spruce trees are all decorated with just cool white bulbs, and it looks beautiful.
 
righttrack

righttrack

Well-Known Member
Color LEDs are a major improvement because they actually look like the color they represent. White ones, on the other hand, yeah, tend to look too white. They should make them with a little lens that yellows them just a little bit, warms them up.
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Tiggerish said:
Last year, I replaced some of my white outdoor lights with LEDs--didn't realize they were going to be bluish, not sure if warm white LEDs were available and I overlooked them--and I don't like the way they look mixed in with the incandescent white bulbs, I just said to DH over the weekend that we'd have to replace them for next year. I got warm whites to put on the all-white tree inside, and they look fine.

I do like the cool white LEDs when they are either used on their own or with colored bulbs. On my drive home from work, I pass a property where three very large spruce trees are all decorated with just cool white bulbs, and it looks beautiful.
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It is kind of hit or miss. Some manufacturers will list them as cool white (blue) or warm white (more like incandescent). General rule of thumb is if they say nothing they will be the cool ones. It is always a good thing to plug them in at the store and check.
 
acishere

acishere

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tiggerish said:
Last year, I replaced some of my white outdoor lights with LEDs--didn't realize they were going to be bluish, not sure if warm white LEDs were available and I overlooked them--and I don't like the way they look mixed in with the incandescent white bulbs, I just said to DH over the weekend that we'd have to replace them for next year. I got warm whites to put on the all-white tree inside, and they look fine.

I do like the cool white LEDs when they are either used on their own or with colored bulbs. On my drive home from work, I pass a property where three very large spruce trees are all decorated with just cool white bulbs, and it looks beautiful.
Click to expand...

My cousin had the same issue and wound up just replacing the incandescent for more LED. He didn't like the LED either, but he couldn't find any incandescent ones so he went with all LED anyway.

My bushes have the colored LEDs. I was going to use regular colored incandescent, but the white LED seems to be too bright in comparison and they are right above one another.
 
Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
acishere said:
My cousin had the same issue and wound up just replacing the incandescent for more LED. He didn't like the LED either, but he couldn't find any incandescent ones so he went with all LED anyway.
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I have to say, the "warm white" LED lights are a very good match for regular incandescent white bulbs, I have both styles on the tree and it's hard to tell which are which (except that the LED bulbs are a bit brighter).

Outdoors, I have candy canes that are lit with incandescent white bulbs, which I'm not going to replace, it's easier to replace the 4 strings of cool white LEDs with warm whites so everything looks all the same shade of peppermint. :lol:

The cool white LEDs won't go to waste, though--I think they'll be perfect to light the space-themed tree!! That's the one where I make my hubby hang all of his Star Wars/Star Trek/comic book ornaments, since I have deemed them not Christmassy enough to be on the regular tree, or the "fancy" tree (inspiried by those in the lobby of the Boardwalk Resort), and they don't suit the Barbie tree, or the Disney tree (you knew there'd be a Disney tree, right?) :lol:
 
The Mom

The Mom

Moderator
Premium Member
I have a problem with some LED lights making me dizzy. Not all, just some.

I have a battery powered wreath on my door, so had to add LEDs to the garlands. I found that using a mixture of red and white incandescent works OK. I use incandescent white in the nearby bushes, and used a combination of warm white LEDs plus colored incandescent in more distant bushes.

I think it will have to be a gradual process before I can replace all of my old lights with LEDs. I think my mother had the same issues when mini-lights were introduced - she was used to the older, bigger bulbs, so mixed the two for years, just gradually replacing them.
 

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