LED holiday lights

[Gearshredder]

i just got a few packages of Sylvania and white walmart brand Christmas lights. They are rated at 5W per 60 bulbs compared to 41W for 100 mini incandescent bulbs and are brighter of course.
the Walmart brand have a 60hz buzz look to them since it doesn't use that other half of AC power. Sylvania does not have that look though.

as i was buying those LED lights, i saw a cart full of incandescent lights. I cringed.

I was wondering if anyone else is planning to do the same or something similar.

[TomO]

I just don't put up xmas lights in my house. They are pretty to look at, but I like it when someone else is paying for them to be on, lol.

[trebuchet03]

Do the sylvania's have an extra box on the line somewhere? I'm not sure how they would get rid of the 60Hz oscillation without converting....

I buy them for use in other projects... after the season...when I can get 60 bulbs for $1.50 (but in limited supply :/)

[Gearshredder]

Do the sylvania's have an extra box on the line somewhere? I'm not sure how they would get rid of the 60Hz oscillation without converting....

yes they do, and they have 2.

the other one seems like they just have an inline resistor that runs hot.

[rh77]

Too bad they're from the "W" word...:p

I say, take the LEDs and make a cluster bulb from the string for the "off-season", or try installing them as indoor lighting. Last I checked, AC-powered LED sets were expensive.

This might be a really cheap way to do some indoor, low consumption illumination...

RH77

[trebuchet03]

Last I checked, AC-powered LED sets were expensive.


It should be just the opposite.... Less components - the LEDs are just off half of the time :p The strings I have are in a series/parallel setup to put ~3V per bulb with current limiting resistors for every series subassembly.


This might be a really cheap way to do some indoor, low consumption illumination...

RH77

They're really not bright enough, unfortunately.... Unless you have a lot of them :p For fun, http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Watt-LED-Accent-Lamp/ - here's what I did with mine while they awaited hacking :p

[WisJim]

We just got a string ($4.99 at the local Fleet-Farm store) andran them through the Kill_aWatt for a day or so. They drew 5 watts/7volt-amps while running and used a tiny fractionof a kw-hr in 26 or so hours. Right now they are strung along the top of a bookshelf in the living room and do a surprisingly good job of accent lighting. I don't recall what brand they are.

[Ryland]

I like the sylvania white LED strings, 35 white LED's in a 13 foot 5 watt string, the cost is $3.99 after a $3 instant instore Focus On Energy rebate, the multi color strings are $2.99.
They do have a small pod in the string to house a rectifyer, and come with two spare LED's... altho they should never burn out, sylvania also sells a 2' x 4' net of 90 LED's that is selling for $10.99.
I'm thinking of getting a few more strings, and some crown molding, then drill a hole ever 6" for the LED.

[Snax]

We bought several of the Westinghouse strings last year, and two of them have been assigned to permanent front porch lighting duty. They are strung throughout our wysteria and provide a nice soft glow for the porch at night. We don't even turn the regular porch lights on anymore.