It’s now that time of the year when you need to start decorating your house for the holidays. One of the ways that you can make your home stand out is through the installation of Christmas lights.
The use of Christmas lights are a go-to decoration that will surely bring the holiday vibes. Before you start hanging those lights you need to plan ahead and choose where and how will you install your chosen lights.
No matter how complex or simple your home decoration is, embellishing it with Christmas lights will make it more extravagant. Read on to learn about the best ways to hang Christmas lights anywhere in your home.
Prepare Materials
With proper tools and equipment, installing Christmas lights can be done like a pro whether you are outdoors or indoors. The materials that you will be using will depend on where you hang your lights.
Aside from Christmas lights, you may need a ladder, adhesive hooks, light-hanging poles, etc. If it is your first time installing lights, measure the area that you plan to include, so you will know the exact length to buy.
Choose the Best Christmas Lights
There are Christmas lights suitable to hang on gutters and rooflines, while there are also lights that are more suitable for wrapping around your Christmas tree. You also need to decide about the color suitable for your theme.
Where to Put Your Lights
When you are installing outdoors, inspect the roofline, shingles, gutters, bushes, and trees where you intended to decorate. There are certain types of clips that you can use depending on the surface area.
Locate where your power sources are. If you don’t have an existing power source outdoors, you can use a power cord where the power source is indoors.
Turn on the Lights
When you have properly installed your lights in their designated area, it’s now time to turn them on. You can still make final touches about the placing of the lights to make it more appealing. You can make use of an outdoor timer for it to automatically light at night and turn off automatically at midnight.
Tips for Installing Christmas Lights
If you are to put Christmas lights outdoors, it's best to choose waterproof lights. Make sure that the brand passed the national industry standards for safe usage. Indoor lights should never be used outdoors, while outdoor Christmas lights can also be used indoors.
Whether you are installing outdoors or indoors, make sure to use an outlet that is suitable for the wattage of the Christmas lights. For safer use, make use of a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet.
If the GFCI outlet is used, then the power will shut down if there is an overcurrent detected. If you are installing outdoors, and you are not sure if the outlet you have is properly installed, don’t hesitate to ask help from a licensed electrician.
It's ideal to buy Christmas lights from the same company to be of the same quality. As much as possible, opt for an LED light because it is cost-efficient to lessen a lower bill.
Installing Lights on Trees or Bushes
If you will install bulbs in trees or bushes, make use of C7 or C9 bulbs because their wattage and size are bigger. It's more convenient to use Christmas lights dedicated for trees and bushes, such as the Net lighting.
These are mini LED lights so no need to weave the light strings in and out of the leaves. Always test Christmas lights before hanging them.
You will waste time and effort if you already installed the lights before discovering that it's no longer operational. If there are only a few bulbs that are not working, you can make use of a tester to re-energize them.
Conclusion
There are the best ways to hang Christmas lights. No matter what manner you choose, it’s important to properly install them for you to enjoy their beauty. Installing Christmas lights properly will also ensure its safeness and longevity.
Try out these tips now if you are going to be hanging Christmas lights! If you want to learn more about decorating, then check out our other articles.
