Professional installers generally stick to three types of lights – C7, C9, and mini lights – and these days only use LED lights for their durability and low power consumptions.
C9 bulbs are most often used for lighting roofs, windows, and buildings. These are the largest of the commonly used bulb types, and come in a variety of colors, with the classic warm white being the most popular color around the Cincinnati area (interestingly enough, the preference shifts to cool white – a bluer shade of white – the further south you go in the county.) On roofs, the spacing between bulbs tends to be 9-15″ apart, while paths, sidewalks and driveways typically use larger spacing, often 24-36″.
C7 bulbs are slightly smaller than C9s, and are also typically used to light roofs, windows, and driveways. They are sometimes used to light trees as well, particularly larger evergreens. Like C9s, they come in a number of colors, with warm white being the most popular options around the Cincy area.
Mini lights are strings of small LED lights, similar to what you traditionally get to light up a home Christmas tree. For exterior applications, these lights are most often used in tree wraps and lighting other landscaping like shrubs. There are many color and spacing options available, with most lights being 4-6″ apart. There are a few different options in bulb shapes as well which affects the appearance.
Professional installers will stick to custom length lights when installing C9 and C7 bulbs, rather than using a string of, say, 25 bulbs you can find at Lowe’s or Home Depot. These custom cut installations allow for
Tree Wraps
Tree wraps done well are a beautiful part of any holiday light installation, but whether you get it done by a professional or DIY it, absolutely make sure the lights are removed before spring. Many a tree has died from the homeowner not removing the lights and strangling the tree to death. You might be able to get away with it for a year, but leaving the lights on a tree will kill it eventually.