All of us have been used to normal light bulbs, but in recent times have become more aware of power usage, with some people realising that 40 or 60 watt light bulbs cost less to run than 100 watt, without too much reduction in actual light produced. Indeed, more recently there has been a switch to using low wattage, long life light bulbs in the home. Efficient use of power is more and more in demand and people have gone to great lengths to reduce the power usage in their home. At Christmas, however, we seem to have fewer options, with traditional fairy lights still the norm, albeit with some low voltage alternatives. They still carry what is termed as incandescent bulbs, made of glass with a delicate filament in the centre. We all know how frustrating it is to set up the Christmas lights, indoor or outdoor, only to find one or more are broken. Or worse…putting up the lights, have them working, and then finding whole sections have gone with no idea which bulb it is!

Incandescent bulbs can be frustrating, especially when you cannot remember who you bought the lights from, or the type of bulb needed or whether they have gone out of stock and all you need is ONE bulb!!

LED, which stands for Light Emitting Diode, is a wholly different approach to lighting, where normally a bulb is made of glass with that flimsy filament, the led bulb is made of a small chip of semi-conducting material (of which, Silicon is the most common) and without getting too technical, this is impregnated with impurities which, when electricity is passed through it, it gives off light. To determine the colour given off, certain different crystal materials are used. For instance, aluminium gallium arsenide gives off a red light and infrared.

With leds only being able to give coloured light within the visible spectrum (i.e. those colours detected by the human eye) the colour, white, was a problem. Shuji Nakamura, now a Professor at the University of California, USA, discovered the first marketable blue and subsequently white led light. After inventing the blue led, he coated it in composite YAG phosphor which with the application of heat (through electricity) converted it to what the eye perceives as white light.

When leds finally fail they tend to fade away rather than stop immediately. However, the one drawback for leds could be that is if a bulb goes or is faulty then it cannot be replaced for instance, in a string of Christmas lights.

So, on the whole, Christmas LED Lights are far more efficient and use far less power, more robust and brighter than your traditional fairy lights, and can have a higher quality of construction and do last longer - in some cases - for an exceptionally long time.

They can be bought static or multi-function (chasing, flashing, twinkling) for indoor or outdoor use, and look spectacular in displays whether on your Christmas tree, around the profile of your house or tree, out on your local high street or around a landmark building.

Christmas LED Lights –probably the most exciting lighting innovation since the invention of the light bulb!

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