At first glance, using empty socket C7 and C9 light line can be a bit intimidating. But the fact is that it is very easy to install and while it does cost a little more than the stringer sets, the finished product will look significantly better. By following a few easy steps, even someone that has had no experience with Christmas lighting installations can install professional looking light line. Whether you are installing the light line around the perimeter of a building or using it with yard stakes to outline landscape features, the basic steps are still the same.

Step 1 – Select Your Cord

Empty socket light line comes in 1,000′ bulk cord spools or it can also be purchased by the foot. The cord is available in either C7 or C9 socket sizes with white or green cord. Spacing between bulbs ranges from 6″ up to 36″. For building perimeter applications, 12″ spacing is the most popular choice, but on smaller structures, 6″ or 9″ is also sometimes used. For ground stake lighting, 15″ is generally recommended, especially for longer runs.

Product Link
C7 & C9 Empty Socket Light Line

Step 2 – Select Your Bulbs

Due to the fact that light line sockets are the same for both LED and incandescent bulbs, you can go with either option. While LED bulbs have exploded in popularity in the last few years, incandescent bulbs still remain popular for perimeter lighting applications. If choosing LED bulbs, go with a good quality bulb. It’s best to find a seller that also has an active installation department that uses the same bulbs that they sell. Here at Christmas Designers we install tens of thousands of LED bulbs a year and only offer bulbs that will hold up well for our installation department. There are a lot of inferior bulbs on the market and generally you won’t discover the bulbs are poorly made until after you’ve put a lot of hard work into installing the light line.

When it comes to replacement LED bulbs, also called retro fit LED bulbs, you have a choice between dimmable and non dimmable. If you are not planning on connecting your light line up to an animated controller, then go with the non dimmable version. These cost a little less per bulb and actually have about 10% more illumination than dimmable bulbs.

Product Link
C7 and C9 Replacement Bulbs

Step 3 – Select Your Plugs

Adding plugs to the cord is where most people balk at using empty socket light line. Our customers often think that this gets into dealing with electrical and they are afraid that it requires some special knowledge and is beyond their ability. In fact, the opposite is true. Adding a plug to C7 or C9 cord is extremely easy and can be done without having to deal with hard wiring. You simply put the cord in the channel on the plug and slide on the back plate and you’re done. You’ll need a male plug on the end where you plug the cord in and a female on the other end.

Product Links
Male Plug Green
Male Plug White
Female Green
Female White

Step 4 – Select Your Clips

The type of clip you choose will depend on the attachment surface. There are a wide variety of clips available, but be sure to buy the better quality versions available from quality Christmas sellers. Many retail store clips will easy break and won’t hold up as well as clips that are designed for pro and commercial installers. To help you choose the best clip, consult our clip guide:

Christmas Light Clips and Hardware Buyers Guide - PDF

Product Links
Clips and Attachment Hardware

Once you’ve chosen your cord, bulbs, plugs and clips, you’re ready to install the light line. When installing, the most important thing to remember is to not exceed the maximum amperage rating for the cord. Follow the guidelines below to make sure you are not over amping the cord:

LED C7 or C9 Retro Fit Bulbs -  400 bulbs or 400 feet, whichever comes first.
Incandescent C7, 5 watt bulbs – 125 bulbs
Incandescent C7, 7 watt bulbs – 85 bulbs
Incandescent C9, 7 watt bulbs – 85 bulbs

Once you’ve made the switch to empty socket cord, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to find out about the benefits of this type of lighting. You’ll quickly see why professional Christmas installers only use this type of lighting for their perimeter lighting projects. It’s not only easy to install and customize the cord, but it also looks great. While the overall cost is a little more than using stringer sets, the improved aesthetics and overall ease of installation makes it well worth the extra initial investment.

For more information on the difference between stringer sets and empty socket C7 and C9 cord, take a look at our blog detailing these two types of lighting options:

Understanding the Difference Between C7/C9 LED Stringer Sets and Empty Socket Light Line

When it comes to choosing the best C7 or C9 light set option, it can be a bit confusing. We spend a lot of time walking customers through the two main C7/C9 lighting options. The first and least expensive option is the standard LED stringer light sets. The second, more expensive option is using empty socket light line with C7 and C9 replacement LED bulbs. Let’s take a look at each option.

C7 and C9 LED Stringer Sets – Using C7 or C9 LED stringer sets are a popular choice for the average homeowner looking for a low cost LED light that will work well around the perimeter of the yard or house. These are also frequently used to scatter light larger trees. The advantage of the LED stringer set is that it is the lowest cost option as well as the easiest to work with. The disadvantage is that you are working with a fixed length set that cannot be trimmed down or custom cut to the area you are trying to light. If you get to the end of a run and you have some of the light set left over, you have to either hide the cord or incorporate it into the lighting design. Without having the ability to custom cut your light line, it can be difficult to have a completed project that looks as crisp and clean as a professionally installed light line.

C7 and C9 Empty Socket Light Line with Replacement LED Bulbs – Empty socket light line is what professional Christmas installers use and offers the most flexibility during installation. The cord typically comes on 1,000′ rolls, but we also offer it by the foot for anyone needing less than a full roll. The cord itself is relatively inexpensive, but the bulbs do tend to be a bit costly. However, the illumination intensity and the quality of the LED bulbs are significantly better than what you get with a stringer light set. The other big advantage is that you can cut the cord to any length. This allows you to create clean, professional looking lines without having to worry about hiding extra bulbs and sockets.

There’s often a misconception about using empty socket light line that leads people to think that it’s only for professional level installers and the installation is too difficult for them. However, the fact is that it’s actually very easy and virtually anyone that has installed their own Christmas lights can use this type of cord without any problem. All you need is to select the cord type, the bulbs you want and then get a few male and females and you are good to go. Take a look at the end of this blog for links to the main components needed for installing professional light line.

4 Steps to Installing Light Line Like the Pros 

Helpful Links:

Empty Socket Light Line

C7 LED Replacement Bulbs

C9 LED Replacement Bulbs

Male Plugs

Female Plugs

Attachment Clips

Installing a Slide On Plug

For more information on LED Replacement, Retrofit LED Bulbs, take a look at the video below.

Browse our website for commercial grade C7 and C9 LED replacement retrofit bulbs

Retail Grade

Retail Grade is the type of light set that is commonly found in standard retail stores such as Lowes or Home Depot. These lights are geared towards the average homeowner that is looking for an inexpensive light set to use for their own lighting during the holiday season. The bulb and socket are a two piece design with bulbs that pop out in order to replace the LED diode. Many retail lights also tend to be longer than the sets you find in the Pro or Commercial Series.

While the pop out bulbs and the longer set length found in Retail Grade LEDs tend to be the big selling points for these lights, the fact is that these two features are the primary reasons these sets tend to fail quicker than the Pro and Commercial Series. The pop out bulbs do allow for non working bulbs to be replaced, however, because the bulbs are not sealed, dirt and moisture tends to get into the system significantly reducing the life expectancy of the set. When it comes to the set length, it’s important to understand that the longer a set of lights, the more potential failure points the set has. Each solder connection, every bulb, and every inch of cord length increases the chance that something can fail on the light set. This is the reason that most Pro installers use shorter sets in either 50 bulb or 100 bulb configurations. When you start to get 150 to 200 bulbs on a single light set, the set is significantly more likely to fail than a shorter set.

Retail Grade LED Christmas lights are not a bad choice as long as you understand that the cheaper upfront cost means that you will save money initially, but the set will only last a few years. If longevity is more important and spending a little more at the time of purchase is not a problem, then we recommend going with our Pro Grade LED Christmas lights.

Pro Grade

Pro Grade LED Christmas lights are what most professional installers use for both residential as well as commercial lighting applications. Most lights in this category do not have removable bulbs. The lens and socket are molded together creating an effective barrier against water and debris. As a result, the light sets have a much lower failure rate since debris and water in the socket is a leading cause of set failure. While most Pro Series lights do have a one piece bulb and lens design, there are some newer lights in this series that actually incorporates a threaded lens that allows you to remove an LED, but at the same time still prevents debris from getting into the socket.

Most Pro Grade lights come in shorter lengths than what you find in the Retail Series. The shorter sets serve two purposes. The first being that when installing shorter sets, they are easier to handle and can generally be installed quicker than a bulky, long set that gets tangled up and is hard to hold onto. The second reason that most pro level sets are shorter is, as stated above, the longer a light set is and the more bulbs it has, the more potential failure points there are. A set with 200 bulbs has 4 times as many potential trouble spots as a set with 50 lights. The failure might be in the LED diode or possibly a solder connection between the wire and the bulb socket. These failures are multiplied several times over when the set is very long. Also with longer sets, the handling tends to be rougher on the set because it gets tangled and pulled and simply abused more than a shorter set that is easier to control. As a general rule, an installer will encounter more outages and less overall life expectency when dealing with sets that have more than 100 bulbs.

Commercial Grade

Commercial Grade LED Christmas lights are not always easy to categorize. Some sellers will take inferior LED light sets and put the name “Commercial” on them to make it sound like the quality is better than it really is. While there has not been an industry standard established for what a commercial light set really is, the generally recognized specs are that the cord must be at least 20 gauge and the plugs are typically a co-axial style screw connection. Between the heavier gauge of cord and the threaded set to set connections, these sets are meant to hold up better in commercial lighting applications.

For six years we exclusively used Commercial Grade LED Christmas lights for all our own installation jobs. We were huge fans of these lights and were very excited about the thicker wire and the improved set to set connections. However after a number of years using these sets we finally concluded that we were not seeing the benefit that was originally promised with this grade of light set. The only exception was in the C7 and C9 lighting styles, which did hold up significantly better than non commercial light sets.

Beginning in 2010, we switched all our own installation jobs over to the Pro Grade LED Christmas lights. Since making the change we have not seen any reduction in light set quality and overall service issues on jobsites have been very minimal. In addition to the quality and longevity being about the same between the Commercial Grade and the Pro, there is also a cost savings by going with the Pro Series.

As a general rule, our recommendation is to go with a Pro Grade LED light set if you want the best set for long term use that will hold up in a variety of conditions. While the upfront cost is more than the retail grade, in the end your annual cost will be less because of the much longer life expectency.

If money is tight and a shorter life cycle is acceptable, then go with a quality Retail Grade LED light set.

For more info on LED Christmas Lights and a wide selection of lights in all three of the standard LED grades, take a look at our website: LED Christmas Lights

When installing Christmas lights and decorations, zip cord and light line are often used. These are usually made from 18/2 wire. However from time to time 16/2 cord may also be used and in some cases a very thick 14/2. But since most Christmas lighting and decorating projects utilize 18/2, we’ll focus on that for now. When looking at the two numbers for the zip cord, 18/2, the 18 refers to the size of the wire, which in this case is 18 gauge. The 2 means there are two wires that make up the cord. The smaller the number, the thicker the wire. So a 16 gauge cord is thicker than a 18 gauge.

As far as the SPT rating, this is simply the thickness of the insulation that surrounds the copper wires. 18/2, SPT-1 wire has an insulation thickness of .030″ and 18/2, SPT-2 has insulation that is .045″ thick.

Because of the thicker insulation, SPT-2 wire has a higher maximum amp rating than SPT-1, which means it can power more lights and decorations. 18/2, SPT-1 is rated at 7 amps and 18/2, SPT-2 is rated at 10 amps.

Because SPT-2 is thicker it is often recommended for cold conditions where the insulation tends to get brittle and cracks. However, in our own testing as well as feedback from other pro installers, we’ve found that the thicker insulation actually tends to crack easier when it gets cold whereas the slightly thinner SPT-1 tends to be more pliable which reduces cracking due to cold temperatures. Like many issues within the Christmas lighting field, this is a topic of much debate and everyone seems to have their own opinion regarding which option is better. However, SPT-1 is still the most often used type of cord and we sell it about 10 to 1 over SPT-2.

For most installations, our recommendation is to go with SPT-1 unless you are looking to run longer lengths of incandescent C7 or C9 lighting. If you’re using LEDs, then the 10 amp rating on the SPT-2 cord is not necessary. The reason why is due to the lower electrical requirements of LED bulbs. With a 10 amp rating you could run over 1100 bulbs on a single run. However the issue is that the amount of footage of perimeter cord it would take to hold this many bulbs would be so long that you would get extreme voltage drop and all the bulbs would not be properly illuminated. Typically we don’t recommend running more than 400 feet of 18/2 cord. Otherwise you will start to get voltage drop. By going with18/2, SPT-1, you’re saving money upfront and the 7 amp rating is more than enough for most applications, especially when using LED Christmas lights.

If you’re looking to shop our website for light line, zip cord or plugs, be sure and browse through the links below:

Empty Socket Light Line

Zip Cord & Plugs

The answer to this question is not as simple as it might seem. It all depends on what kind of outage we’re talking about. Since the one piece LED bulb and socket design is our most popular style of LED, we’ll focus on that type of set for this blog posting.

When looking at an LED outage, there are two types of bulb related outages:

1) Bulb still in tact, but fails to light up.
2) Bulb lens cracked or significantly damaged.

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these.

Bulb still in tact,but fails to light up

LED bulbs do last a long time, but from time to time one does fail to light up. As long as the bulb lens has not been cracked or broken, then the light set will continue to illuminate with the exception of any individual bulbs that are not working.

Bulb lens cracked or significantly damaged

When it comes to lens damage, the general rule is if the lens is cracked all the way through to the core of the LED, then either the entire set or on longer stringers, half the set will go completely out. However, fortunately most LED lenses are very rigid and don’t easily crack or break.

It is important to note that some sets are more prone to outages due to broken bulbs. M5 light sets have small diameter bulbs that break relatively easily and for this reason M5s tend to have more problems due to outages caused by broken bulbs than other light sets.

5 mm Wide Angle Conicals have very rigid bulbs because of the low profile of the lens. C7 and C9 stringer sets also tend to be resistant to outages caused by bulb breakage. These larger lens sets have an outside lens and then inside this outer shell, they have a 5 mm conical lens. So these light sets have even more protection to prevent the actual LED from getting damaged.

So the bottom line is that if one bulb goes out, but it’s still intact, then yes, the light set will stay lit. But if the LED lens is significantly cracked or damaged, then anywhere from half to the full set will go out.

View the video below for an overview as well as an inside look at our new Pro Grade C9 LED Christmas Light set.

Be sure and browse through our selection of these new C9 sets: Pro Grade 3 Piece C9 LED Christmas Lights

One site I recently came across claimed that LED lights are 10 times brighter than incandescent lights. So based on this ridiculous claim,  a LED retrofit C9 bulb would be as bright as a 70 watt light bulb. A whole house lit up with bulbs that are 10 times brighter would be so bright that you couldn’t even bare to look at them. 

The same site then went on to claim that LED Christmas lights will last at least 50,000 hours. Now granted, most LED bulbs are in fact rated between 25,000 and 75,000 hours, but this is not the same as stating that the light set will actually last that long. Bulb life ratings are based on perfect factory conditions and don’t take into account weather and UV, as well as wear and tear from installation and removal. Once all of that is taken into account the life of a light set is nowhere near 50,000 hours. After all, if you had your LED lights turned on for 12 hours a night for 45 days during the holiday season, your lights would supposedly last 92 years based on the 50,000 hour life expectancy!

Despite these outlandish claims, potential buyers still fall for the overblown hype these sites are claiming.  As one of the country’s leading LED Christmas light sellers, we’re constantly fighting the misinformation that is being fed to unsuspecting customers.

 This is not to say that we’re not huge fans of LED Christmas lights.  In fact we’ve switched all our own pro install jobs that we do throughout Florida over to LEDs. We use very few incandescent lights and the benefits of LEDs have made them a huge success, both for our installation division as well as our eCommerce department. While we have no doubt that LEDs are the way to go, we do feel strongly about making sure our customers and dealer network have accurate information and specs to go by when making a buying decision.

 When shopping for LED Christmas lights, look for outlandish claims and too cheap to believe pricing. When in doubt, call the company on the phone and ask them direct questions. The larger, better established sellers will have a trained staff ready for your calls and will be able to answer your questions accurately and professionally. While a site can seem impressive on the Internet, the true story generally comes to light when you contact them on the phone.

Wide Angle Conicals used for palm wraps and fronds.

We often get asked what is the best all around light set used by professional Christmas installers. There’s no doubt that it’s our Pro Grade 5 mm Wide Angle Conical LED Christmas Light Set. This is the exact type of light that we use for our own installations throughout Florida and we sell more conicals to our higher end customer base than any other light set.

The reason for this set’s popularity is mainly due to the intensity of the illumination as well as the low profile bulb that is very resistant to breaking. These sets hold up well in the harshest conditions and work equally well in a wide variety of lighting applications. The bulb and the socket are a one piece molded design which helps prevent dirt and moisture from getting into the lighting system. The one piece design also significantly increases the useful life of the light set versus the pop out bulb design that is commonly found in retail grade LED light sets.

Another question we get asked is when it comes to deciding between our Pro Grade Series and our Commerical Grade, which one is a better choice. In the past we’ve been big fans of the Commercial Series  5 mm Wide Angle Conicals, but beginning in 2010 we began switching over to the Pro Series for our own pro install jobs. What we found was that the Pro Series held up just as well and even had fewer outages. The cost was a little less and the installation went quicker by not having to deal with the commercial screw connections from set to set. We have now switched completely over to the Pro Series for all our lighting and this is our general recomendation for other serious installers as well as Christmas enthusiasts.

Our 5mm Wide Angle Conicals are available in either a 50 light, 6″ spacing or a 70 light, 4″ spacing. Most of the pro installers prefer the 50 light with 6″ between bulbs. Because of the very large quantities that we bring in of this particular light configuration, we can offer the 50 light at an unbeatable price. While we are still very competitive on the 70 light set, however, if you want the best pricing along with the most popular light set, then go with the 50 light, 6″ spacing Wide Angle Conical LED light set.

Browse our selection of 5 mm Wide Angle Conical LED Christmas Lights