Install Christmas Lights at Your Home

Before you even buy your first light, make a plan. I know, it seems far more fun to just buy some and hang them, but you will save yourself plenty of time and money if you take a little bit of time to plan. Grab a notepad, a pencil, and a tape measure. Sketch out the areas of your home where you want to add lights and decorations. Add some symbols for what type of lights you want where. Now measure those areas, yes, all of them. Also measure the distance to the nearest electrical outlet for your extension cord(s). 

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Calculate Power Wattage for Christmas Lights

If you are planning on going big, and I mean National Lampoon big, you will need to make sure your outlets can handle to wattage your lights will be using. If you pull too many watts, your breaker will flip and it won't be very bright. If you have this problem, there are some choices. LED lights use a whole lot less power, but they cost more. You could have an electrician add another outlet with its own fuse. You could also run a long extension cord to a different outdoor outlet if it is on a different fuse.

General rule for maximum number of strands to connect:
LED can connect up to 25.
Incandescent can connect between 3 to 6.

Math to Calculate Wattage
Wattage of the bulb x Number of sockets / 115 = Total Amps

Types of Christmas Lights

LED Lights
Emit almost no heat.
Use very little power.
Last over 20,000 hours of use.
cons: more costly than traditional lights.

Solar Lights
Solar charged
Perfect for lighting areas without access to electricity

C7 Lights
They use about 5 watts per light.
Parallel circuits so if one bulb goes out, they won't all go out.
C7 lights are cool burning so they will not get hot on a tree. 
They last around 10 years. 
Molded clips so they stay put on your tree. 

C9 Lights
They are bright! You can easily see them outside.
They use about 7 watts per light.
Parallel circuits so if one bulb goes out, they won't all go out.
They last around 5 years. 
Molded clips so they stay put on your bushes.

Icicle Lights
Give the appearance of hanging Icicles

Net Lighting
Great for quickly decorating small trees and bushes.
Professional looking since they are evenly spaced.

Specialty Lights
Unique lights can add a lot to differentiate your home
Fewer large specialty lights can cover a large area
Cons: increased cost

Holiday Decor

Holiday decor is just as important in decorating as Christmas lights. Here are some items to take into account when planning your decorations this year.
Garlands
Ribbons
Indoor Wreaths
Outdoor Wreaths
Holiday Flowers
Holiday Potted Plants

Tools to Hang Christmas Light

Most designs should require the following items:
Extension cords
Light timers
A-frame Ladder
Light clips
Plastic storage bins with tops
Ties to bundle wire
Light stakes if going along a driveway

GreenSeasons Professional Christmas Lights

Let GreenSeasons take care of your Christmas lights this year. GreenSeasons is the professional Christmas decorating company in south Louisiana. We service the greater Baton Rouge, greater New Orleans, Slidell, Prairieville, Walker, Denham Springs, Gonzales, Baker, Zachary, Hammond and Covington areas. If you want to have the best Christmas lights ever this year, just click here for a free quote  and we will give you a call or call us at (888) 353-1971. Here is some of GreenSeasons Christmas Light Plan and Pricing.

If you would simply like some advice on installing Christmas lights, please contact us and we will help.