When it comes to Christmas lights, one of the biggest decisions is LED vs incandescent. Both create beautiful holiday displays, but they’re very different in cost, energy use, durability, and appearance.
As professional Christmas light installers who’ve worked with both types across hundreds of Northeast Ohio homes, here’s what we’ve learned.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | LED | Incandescent |
|---|---|---|
| Energy use | 80-90% less energy | Higher energy consumption |
| Lifespan | 50,000+ hours | 1,000-3,000 hours |
| Durability | Shatterproof, cool to touch | Fragile glass, gets hot |
| Brightness | Brighter and more vivid | Softer, warmer glow |
| Color options | Wide range + color-changing | Limited to bulb color |
| Upfront cost | Higher per strand | Lower per strand |
| Cost over time | Much lower (lasts years) | Higher (frequent replacement) |
| Safety | Cool to touch, low fire risk | Hot bulbs, higher fire risk |
| Environmental impact | Lower | Higher energy + waste |
Why Professional Installers Use LED
At Brightify, we use commercial-grade LED lights exclusively. Here’s why:
- They last for years — Our LED strands survive season after season. Incandescent bulbs burn out constantly, creating more maintenance calls and frustrated homeowners.
- They’re safer on your home — LED bulbs stay cool to the touch, even after hours of operation. Incandescent bulbs get hot enough to damage shingles, gutters, and nearby foliage.
- They’re brighter — Commercial-grade LEDs produce more light per watt, meaning your display looks more vivid and impressive from the street.
- They save you money on electricity — Running a full LED display costs pennies per night compared to dollars for incandescent. Over a 6-week holiday season, the savings add up.
- They survive Ohio weather — Northeast Ohio throws everything at your lights: lake-effect snow, ice, freezing rain, wind. LED lights are shatterproof and rated for extreme conditions. Incandescent glass bulbs? Not so much.
The Energy Cost Difference
Let’s do the math for a typical residential display (200 feet of roofline + 2 wrapped trees):
| Metric | LED Display | Incandescent Display |
|---|---|---|
| Watts per strand (100 lights) | 7-10 watts | 40-50 watts |
| Total watts (full display) | ~100 watts | ~500 watts |
| Cost per night (6 hours) | ~$0.08 | ~$0.40 |
| Cost for full season (42 nights) | ~$3.36 | ~$16.80 |
That’s an 80% energy savings with LED — and these numbers get even more dramatic for larger homes and commercial properties.
But What About the “Warm Glow” of Incandescent?
This is the one argument for incandescent that still holds some weight. Traditional incandescent bulbs produce a warm, slightly amber glow that some people associate with classic, nostalgic holiday lighting.
But modern LEDs have closed this gap significantly. Warm white LEDs (2700K-3000K color temperature) now closely replicate that classic warm glow while giving you all the benefits of LED technology. Most people can’t tell the difference from the street.
What About Permanent Outdoor Lighting?
If you’re already leaning toward LED (and you should be), permanent outdoor lighting takes it a step further. Permanent systems use high-quality LEDs that are installed once and stay on your home year-round. You control colors and effects from your phone.
Many of our customers start with seasonal LED Christmas lights, love the experience, and eventually upgrade to a permanent LED system they can use for Christmas, Halloween, 4th of July, birthdays, game days — any occasion, any time of year.
Read our full comparison of permanent vs seasonal lights →
The Bottom Line
LED wins in virtually every category that matters: energy efficiency, durability, safety, brightness, and long-term cost. The only advantage incandescent has is a slightly lower upfront price per strand — but that savings disappears after one season of replacements and higher electric bills.
This is exactly why every professional Christmas light installation company — including Brightify — uses commercial-grade LEDs. When we install lights on your home, we provide the lights as part of our all-inclusive program. You never buy a strand — and you get the best technology available.
We serve Mentor, Eastlake, Wickliffe, and all of Lake County.
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Or call us at (440) 571-7790. We serve homeowners across Northeast Ohio.