Best Commercial Grade Christmas Lights – Buyer’s Guide 2022
String lights, also known as Christmas lights, are a quintessential holiday staple that brings a glimmering warmth to your holiday season. From the age-old incandescent bulbs that once graced the houses indoors and outdoors, string lights have advanced to a wide range of bulbs, colors, sizes, shapes, and even twinkling patterns, allowing you to customize your collection as you or your little ones wish.
Know Your Lights
From traditional white string lights, oversized retro-style lights, or color-changing LEDs, options are seemingly endless when designing your Christmas lights display, which can sometimes be overwhelming. Hence, it’s essential to take the time to familiarize yourself with the most common types of lights and their use.
5 mm Wide Angle Conical Lights: The stubby bulbs on the 5-mm wide-angle lights are much brighter than regular mini lights, and their unique shape adds depth and helps the strand refract the light and design a cool appearance. These lights are 25% brighter than the average incandescent mini light and are well suited for wrapping around trees and shrubs, and displays. These lights are generally spaced 4 to 6 inches apart on the strings and are mostly available as part of 50-bulb/25-foot strings and 100-bulb/50-foot strings.
Icicle Lights: These lights have become increasingly popular over the years. These lights can twinkle or remain steady and produce an authentic Christmas holiday look.
Fairy Lights: Fairy lights resemble tiny little droplets. These delicate and beautiful lights are ideal for highlighting small areas.
Teardrop and globe lights: These lights are available in multiple sizes, including mini lights, which work well on the tree and decorate small accents on the interior and exterior of your home. These lights are typically 5/8-inch long.
C6 bulbs: Shaped like little strawberries, these bulbs are 1-1/8-inch long and can be used as accents for an indoor tree or smaller decorations such as wreaths.
C7 Bulbs: These lights are a little rounder and longer than C6 bulbs, work well on larger trees and be wrapped around stairway banisters or outdoors. These bulbs are 1-1/2-inch long and can be used as an inexpensive way to decorate outdoors.
C9 Bulbs: These lights have been a staple for over 90 years. Measuring 2-1/2-inches, the C9 bulbs come in the traditional teardrop shape. Often spaced one foot apart, C9 bulbs span between 25 and 50 feet long and are ideal for outdoor displays and look lovely highlighting areas such as porches, archways, and windows.
G12 Bulbs: These lights often come in globe-shaped bulbs and often feature an etched design that resembles a raspberry. These light bulbs generally measure 1-1/2-inch in diameter and can be used indoors and outside.
Things to Consider When Shopping For Christmas Lights
Indoor vs. Outdoor: String lights are available for use indoor, indoor/outdoor, and outdoor. While you can use outdoor lights inside the house, it is unsafe to use indoor-only lights outside, where moisture and weather exposure could shorten them out, creating a fire hazard.
LED vs. Incandescent: The earliest Christmas lights were incandescent—that is, they got their glow from a heated filament inside the glass bulb. However, since the early 2000s, LED Christmas lights have become increasingly popular.
LED lights tend to be expensive than their incandescent counterparts but use only approximately 10% of the electricity consumed by an equal-size incandescent bulb and, on average last ten times longer than their incandescent counterparts since they don’t use metallic filaments that burn out or break easily. LEDs also burn cool, unlike incandescent bulbs, which can heat up enough to burn your fingers. LEDs are made out of plastic shells that are less likely to shatter or flake off coloring. The colored layer of translucent paint on incandescent bulbs is also prone to fading and flaking when exposed to the weather.
Commercial Grade Christmas Lights
If you have a large area where you tend to keep the lights apart from the holiday season or are in the decorating business, then commercial grade lights would be ideal. These lights are made with a durable and heavier gauge wire that can efficiently carry more power over longer distances than regular cables.
Commercial-grade lights employ a one-piece design. This means that the LED and lens are in a single sealed socket are made as a sealed unit. This removes the possibility of dust and moisture entering the bulb, a significant cause of light failure. It also eliminates the possibility of a bulb coming loose. These lights tend to work without being impacted if a bulb goes out.
The high-quality electrical components inside commercial grade lights allow them to produce a much more brilliant and color-saturated effect. While the initial investment is often higher for commercial grade lighting, they are worth the money in the long run.
Christmas Lights Review
1. Brightown Hanging Window Curtain Lights 9.8 Feet Dimmable and Connectable with 300 Led, Remote, 8 Lighting Modes
When nightfall, the Brightown twinkle fairy lights will light up your room and heart. The curtain string light is an ideal eye-catching addition to your home, Christmas, party decor. The warm white string lights can be hanged anywhere you want to decorate, be it a wedding wall, backdrop, college birthday decoration, home stairs, Christmas, etc.
The Brightown curtain light consists of 300 energy-saving LEDs lights that are cool to touch. These led lights are dimmable and come with four brightness options for creating a cozy ambiance. It also includes 6 hours on and 18 hours set timer to automatically turn on/off the curtain lights. You can adjust the distance between lights with taps or zip ties for a small space cover.
The Brightown curtain lights are neatly packed, making it easy to unpack them without creating a big tangle. Please do not unwrap the individual strings for easier installation until you have set up the main string of lights.
These led lights can select eight light modes, in waves, sequential, slogs, chasing, slow fade, twinkle, and steady via the remote controller, making it easy to turn on or off the hanging lights from a distance. Lighting modes are also adjustable from the controller in case you lose the remote. The controller is not waterproof; please seal it for outdoor use.
The Brightown curtain lights are IP44 Waterproof for outdoor use and come with UL listed plug. The 12.42 feet long power cord is soft so that the curtain string lights are easy to hang and store with a remote.
Pros
- Durable
- Remote Controller
- Easy to hang
- 8 Different Modes
Cons
- Short cord
- Black Controller Box
2. Brightech Ambience Pro – Waterproof Outdoor String Lights
The Brightech patio drop lights create a classic café ambiance. You can use these vintage Edison string lights with old-fashioned filaments to give off a warm, old-time glow to your pergola, porch, or other outside space to create a great atmosphere to relax and/or entertain guests.
Made out of Brightech’s industrial-grade WeatherTite Technology, these string lights are durable and waterproof and can withstand harsh weather conditions. Brightech’s yard lights are UL listed, and the extra thick light cord is flexible.
Each 48-foot strand includes 15 retro filament Edison incandescent bulbs. The heated coils give off a warm orange toned glow and shine brightly, but not too harshly, at 11 watts per bulb. Spaced 3 feet apart and can be connected with up to five strands end to end. These lights are also compatible with Alexa to turn on/off, which requires hub sold separately.
Strands can be plugged in together, male to female end-to-end, but should not exceed more than 1200 watts when strung together. The strands have two-prong plugs and only work with 110v outlets. They are dimmable and can be connected to all standard incandescent dimmers that can handle all connected strands’ total wattage. The bulbs are spaced three feet apart, and there is an additional three feet space between the plug and the first bulb on either end.
You can wire the rope to a dimmer switch for mood lighting on the balcony or in the bedroom. The manufacturer offers a three-month warranty on the incandescent bulbs, and the strand is covered for a full three years.
Set up is very easy; you can hang the lights as desired, in canopy formations or straight across space. NOTE: The loops at the top of each socket are meant to provide additional support points for installation and should not be used as the sole means for hanging the strand.
Pros
- Commercial Grade Lights
- Heavy Duty Cable
- Dimmable Lights
Cons
- Fragile Bulbs
3. Twinkle Star 360 LED Icicle Christmas Lights Outdoor Dripping Icicle Lights
The Twinkle star 360 LED white Christmas lights come with 60 drops, 29.5ft long, and 16.5ft extension cord.
These lights come with an IP44 certification, perfect for indoor and outdoor decorations, Christmas, party, Valentine’s Day, wedding, home, window, bathroom, festival, Holiday, shows, restaurant, hotel, commercial building, shopping center, etc. These outdoor icicle lights have 29V low output by a plug-in transformer and are certificated for safe use of UL588 whole lights.
The Twinkle star icicle lights are easy to use, you can hang them on the eaves, top of hall, handrail, or anywhere. Each set comes with an end-to-end plug, connects up to 3 sets together, is extendable to customize your need for larger range lighting and festival decorations, and allows you to decorate your lighting area with the desired length. The lights use a US standard outlet, voltage 110V, and can be directly plugged in and unplug for power on and off.
The Twinkle star Christmas lights offer eight modes settings: Combination, in waves, sequential, slogs, chasing/flash, slow fade, twinkle/flash, and steady on. These lights come with a memory function, when you turn it on again, it’s still in the mode you set before.
Pros
- Extremely bright
- Sturdy
- Long Length
Cons
- It takes time to go thru and reposition icicles and remove the bundles between the icicles
4. NOMA C6 LED Christmas Lights | 70 Green Bulbs
Brighton your home for the Christmas holidays with the NOMA C6 LED diamond cut faceted string lights. The 70 LED bulbs are highly durable and weather resistant, making the string lights well suited to both indoors & outdoors. These lights are ideal for your Christmas tree, mantel, railings, windows/doors, fence, and patio and are guaranteed to bring a warm, inviting glow to any space.
The NOMA high-efficiency LED bulbs are environmentally friendly; they remain cool to the touch and reduce power usage. The C6 bulbs are 0.75” inch in diameter and 1.125” inches tall and evenly spaced 4” inches apart on a green wire. Each 23.8-foot strand has plug-ins at both ends, provides end to end connectivity, and allows you to connect up to 45 strands together for a total of 3150 lights.
The NOMA C6 string lights are made to last and are covered by a 3-year limited warranty for guaranteed satisfaction. A spare fuse and two extra bulbs are included with each set. These string lights are UL Certified and Energy Star rated. The lights are made out of durable acrylic resin bulbs that are weatherproof and virtually unbreakable. The package comes with two spare bulbs and one fuse.
Pros
- Easy to attach multiple strings
- Long warranty
Cons
- Small for outdoor use
5. NUÜR 16.5ft Color Changing Star Fairy String Lights with 50 RGB LEDs, 16 Stunning Colors & 4 Lighting Modes
NUÜR star fairy string lights feature high-quality RGB LEDs in 16 stunning colors with four modes so you can add sparkling magic to any occasion, venue or season. These fairy lights help you create a sophisticated aesthetic and an eye-catching atmosphere in any indoor and outdoor space, including backyards, porches, balconies, decks, gazebos, cafes, bars, restaurants, etc.
NUÜR’s 16.5ft color changing string lights come with a wireless remote control within 3-5 meters or via the button on the USB interface so you can conveniently select your favorite options from warm white for daily use to more vibrant colors for special occasions. You can also adjust the mode (fade, jump, auto, flash) and control the color change speed and brightness. The lights come with a 10cm width between each LED bulb for maximum effect.
NUÜR’s string star-shaped fairy lights are low voltage, so they won’t irritate your eyes or give you a headache. Their LED composition is also safe to touch as it won’t overheat. Additionally, their IP65 waterproof design with all-weather waterproof coating combined with a generous 16.4ft string length plus an additional 6.56ft power cord allows you to drape the star-shaped lights anywhere outdoors for a stunning sparkling effect.
NUÜR’s string fairy lights come in a user-friendly design and do not require any additional installation tools. Simply plug in the USB connector, either with your remote control within 3-5m or via the USB interface button to change the colors/lighting modes. The lights also feature a timer function that allows you to program your lights on and off every 6 hours. The package comes with a bonus 2m power cord for extra string extension where necessary.
Pros
- Bright Lightening
- Handy Remote
- Easy Installation
- Multiple color and flicker options
Cons
- Short string length
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