Christmas lights
Two hundred and fifty-two light sets, almost all rated for indoor and outdoor use, from Premier Decorations, Festive, Noma and Three Kings. Every set states five things: how many LEDs, what colour, how long the lit section is, how much plain cable comes before it, and what powers it. Between them they decide whether a set will do the job.
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Tree lights79
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Cluster lights46
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Battery lights37
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Curtain and net lights31
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Icicle lights22
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Path and stake lights16
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Lighting accessories11
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Fairy and micro lights10
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Premier
480 White and Warm White Mix Multi Action LED Cluster Lights with Timer
480 white and warm white LEDs
£19.99
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Premier
400 White and Warm White Mix Multi Action Battery Powered LED Lights with Timer
400 white and warm white LEDs
£19.99
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Premier
1.2m x 1.3m Curtain Snowflake Window Light with 390 White LEDs
Curtain and net lights
£36.99
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Premier
1.2m x 1.3m Curtain Snowflake Window Light with 390 Rainbow LEDs
Curtain and net lights
£34.99
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Premier
600 White and Warm White Mix Multi Action Battery Powered LED Lights with Timer
600 white and warm white LEDs
£24.99
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Premier
960 White and Warm White Multi Action Cluster Lights on Clear Cable
960 white and warm white LEDs
£34.99
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Festive
Set of 4 Large 1m Twig Pathfinder Lights with 384 Warm White LEDs
Path and stake lights
£39.00
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Three Kings
1.2m x 1.2m Multi Coloured Star Hanging Curtain Light with 339 LEDs
339 multi coloured LEDs
£17.99
Reading a light set
Bulb count is how many LEDs are on the string. Lit length is the section of cable with LEDs on it. Lead length is the unlit run between the plug (or battery box) and the first LED, and it is the number people forget: a set with a 5m lead reaches a tree from a socket across the room, a set with a 1m lead does not. Bulb colour is warm white (candle gold), white or ice white (daylight), multi coloured, or a single colour such as vintage gold, pink or blue. Power is mains via a low-voltage transformer, or battery, USB or solar. All five are on every card or product page.
The sections
Tree lights are long strings of 200 to 2,000 LEDs on green or clear cable for wrapping a tree. Cluster lights put the LEDs on short branches off a main cable, so 480 bulbs cover 6m densely. Icicle lights hang in drops from a gutter or a beam. Curtain and net lights cover a window or a hedge in a grid. Fairy and micro lights are the retro lantern and bell sets from Noma. Battery lights solve the no-socket problem. Path and stake lights push into a lawn or a border. Accessories are the transformers, connectors and weatherproof boxes.
Which colour
Warm white is the biggest group and the safe choice for a green tree and a brick house. White and ice white suit a modern room, a white or grey tree, and snow. Multi coloured is the family tree and the one children ask for. Vintage gold is a darker amber that suits a period room. Most sets have several modes: static, twinkle, fade and chase, and many have a timer that gives six or eight hours on then repeats a day later.
Indoor and outdoor
Two hundred and thirty-six of the 252 sets are rated for indoor and outdoor use, which means sealed LEDs and a transformer that can live in a sheltered spot. The IP rating on the product page says how sheltered: IP44 for a porch or under an eave, IP65 for a set fixed to a fence in the open. The five indoor-only sets are the delicate retro and mantelpiece strings. Keep every transformer and plug under cover or in a weatherproof box.
How many lights
A hundred LEDs per foot of tree is the usual guide: 600 for a 6ft tree, 700 for 7ft. Cluster sets need fewer because the bulbs sit so close together. For a window, a curtain light sized to the frame; for a gutter run, an icicle set 1m longer than the run so the drops start at the corner.
Common questions
Lit length and lead length: what do they mean?
Lit length is the section carrying LEDs; lead length is the unlit cable between the plug and the first LED. Add them together to know whether a set reaches from the socket to the tree.
Are the lights safe outside?
Sets marked indoor and outdoor have sealed LEDs and a transformer rated for a sheltered position. Check the IP rating: IP44 for under cover, IP65 for exposed. Keep the plug and transformer dry.
How much do LED lights cost to run?
Very little. A 1,000-LED set draws about 6W, which is under a penny an hour at the current electricity price cap, or about 40p for six hours a night through December.
Can I connect sets together?
Only the connectable ranges, which say so on the product page and share a plug type. Ordinary sets each need their own socket; use a surge-protected extension rather than daisy-chaining.
Do the sets have a timer?
Most of the mains sets and nearly all the battery sets do: six or eight hours on, then off, repeating every 24 hours. The product page lists the modes and the timer.