Commercial Grade Christmas Lights Better than Big Box Store Lights
This is what you probably want to know,
THE BEST COMMERCIAL-GRADE LIGHTS
C9 Lights on Windows and Roofline. G12 Strands on shrubs.
BULBS: LED C9 Minleon or HBL
Socket CORD: Minleon 12” Spacing for my Roof and 15” Spacing for the Ground
CLIPS: Halo, Minleon, or Tuff Clips
This is how I reached the above conclusion
Welcome to the last thing you need to read regarding what Christmas lights you should buy. I’ve tested several brands of lights and light accessories over the last 5 years. I’m not the most experienced, but I have learned so much over half a decade and continue to learn more every year. The world of Christmas Lighting was much bigger than I initially realized and well I’m too far down the rabbit hole to stop now. My company installed miles of lighting in November 2021 and despite having installed Christmas Lights Professionally over the last 5 years, I learned a lot of new things about lights this year and would like to share as much as I can with you.
When I first started doing lights, I was a little kid putting them on my mom’s house and as I got older, I installed them on my sister’s house too. Since I was doing them myself, I started with preowned materials or only bought the cheaper products that I could afford. Now I’d advise against that since there is no longevity in the cheaper lighting products. Retail store products from Lowes, Home Depot, or Walmart last maybe 2-3 years and that’s generous. They are more difficult and in some cases very impractical to repair versus purchasing new again. So no cost savings there.
If you intend on only doing lights for 1-2 years then by all means go this route and I’ll stop you from having to read any further but if you’d like to get something that any professional would also be willing to install then read just a little more below and you’ll have a good understanding for why you should only buy Commercial Grade Christmas Lights and which ones the Professionals Prefer.
Retail Versus COMMERCIAL-GRADE Christmas Lights
It’s not all about price, but that is the number 1 thing I look at when purchasing lights. I’m going to be spending a lot on Christmas Lights and supplies in 2022. I can assure you, the cost of ownership matters most to me and that’s why I never touch any C9 Christmas Lights that can be purchased from Walmart or the other big stores. The price is similar to what I’ll be paying already if not more in some cases. The product itself is usually not able to be easily replaced one bulb at a time, which means replacing a whole strand when one light goes bad. It’s also common for the initial product you bought to no longer be available, possibly meaning new lights when you may only need one strand. Don’t even get me started on the clips that are so sun damaged after one to two seasons that you are lucky if you're not replacing them every year. To top off the misery that comes with Walmart Christmas lights, they won’t be as bright as the commercial-grade counterpart nor will they be as easy to install as perfectly as the Pro’s Do. The reason why is because professionals assemble their own lights and can custom fit them to any house, building, or yard art.
Now I’ll tell you why you need to dive in headfirst with the commercial-grade Christmas Lights. Remember LED, LED, LED. Incandescents are another story but I only install LED Lights for so many reasons, so everything I’m referring to as Commercial Grade is LED. That Stands for Light Emitting Diode. There is no filament heating up and wasting tons of energy just to not be dark. True Commercial-Grade Lights are not going to be at Lowes, Home Depot, or any other Big Box Store. These Pro Lights will be at locations where the green industry contractors go to get supplies and equipment. Places like local sprinkler and landscape supply stores. Google these places and just go in there and ask about lights. The people are generally very knowledgeable and helpful, I’ve never been inside one that required me to prove I was a business either, so that’s not a prerequisite to shop there. I also have the lights available to be purchased for home owners or professional installers, which you can find by clicking here.
PERKS OF PROFESSIONAL CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Long Life 50,000 - 60,000 Hours = Over 10 Seasons (Lights can fade/dim overtime)
Durable Construction made to withstand falls, rough handling, and the sun
LED - Massive Energy Savings. (0.58-1 Watt) lights verse (7 Watt) incandescent bulbs
Customizable Lengths to fit whatever they are going on
Different colors and patterns and color-changing options are available
Much Brighter
MY TOP 2 CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
MINLEON V2 - C9 LED BULB
Minleon Socket Cord
MINLEON
HOLIDAY BRIGHT LIGHTS (HBL)
So these are the only two companies that I've used a lot of their LED C9 Bulbs. Minleon is my Winner here. I switched to using Minleon Socket Cord and C9 LED Lights and have not regretted doing so in 2021. HBL was the primary light that I would purchase from Ace Hardware for the first 4 years installing Christmas Lights. It is a great product and rarely ever breaks. A customer ran over one once and the light still worked fine. They maybe burn out at a rate of about 1% per year for my first several years. My reason for switching to Minleon was due to finding a better product and also receiving far better support from the wholesaler. Minleon is brighter lights than HBL, but not many notice that unless they are tex to each other. The real difference is in the quality, I had 0 callbacks for lights going out after installing thousands of these.
My only initial problem was that if you use Minleon Lights, then you also should use minlion cord or admiral socket cord. The other cords I used were purchased through Ace and caused Minleon lights to have issues. The issue can cause the light to come apart when screwed in too much. Minleon cord is what I prefer due to its large contact, venting for moisture, and no tabs in the cord making it compatible with some of my favorite clips called “HALO CLIPS”. These Clips can slide over the Light Bulb once it’s assembled on the cord, then you lock them in place. A really quick and effective method of keeping the clips connected to the cord when removing. The Halo Clips also stay installed under shingles pretty well. We also use Tuff Clips which are put on while screwing the light into the socket cord. Similar to Tuff Clips are Minleon Clips which also go on while screwing the bulb in. Out of Tuff Clips and Minleon Clips, I have somewhat of a draw-in preference. Both are UV-Resistant and look like they will hold up for 5 Years or more, but they come with their cons. The Minleon is thick and can be difficult to install under shingles, which means it does not easily fall on accident but still comes down easy enough when being removed at the end of the season. The Tuff Clip is kind of the opposite, it’s thin and easy to slide under shingles but causes us to revisit some jobs each year.
So in Conclusion, my preferred commercial grade products and if I’m buying some to go put on a house and I’m guaranteeing the quality is:
BULBS = LED C9 Minleon or HBL
CORD = Minleon Socket cord 12” Spacing for my Roof and 15” Spacing for the Ground
CLIPS = Halo, Minleon, or Tuff Clips
TUFF CLIPS
C9 Christmas Light Clip