November 14th, 2005
Not Your Father’s Holidays Lights
By John Tintle
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
In an effort to bring the holiday season a little closer, I am going to write about the newest trend in holiday lighting LED light sets. Yes those tangled masses of lights you have in your attic or garage will still work, and you should be happy, however these LED light sets are going to help you out. A popular brand is Forever Bright by Holiday Creations, there are different makers out there, but this product is what caught my eye.
The Forever Bright lights are rated for up to 200,000 hours of use - or almost 23 years, by the company and come with an one year warranty. Holiday Creations also claims to save you 80% to 90% on your holiday electric bill by using these low power consuming LED’s. These LED lights may cost you more to buy upfront, but in the long run you should save money with these efficient lights.
John’s 2 Cents:
While I just love hanging Christmas lights up in 80 degree weather here in Florida, I am interested in these LED lights. Not only do you get the money saving benefit of these bulbs, they also last longer than the conventional bulbs on the market, plus the ability to change colors of the bulbs automatically, just by changing the amount of electicity feed to each bulb. So you may not run out and replace all your Christmas lights this year but consider buying a string or two to add to your collection.
Image Source: Bulb Museum
Oldster says:
Seems like a great idea but I’m a little curious about one thing. If they have a 200,000 hour life why are they warrantied for only one year?
November 14th, 2005 at 6:48 am
JTintle says:
I need to read things completely.
The warranty is:
If the L.E.D.s in this set fail within one year from the date of purchase, exchange it where purchased following their return policy. If the L.E.D.s in this set fail after the first year from the date of purchase, ship it prepaid with proof of purchase to the address below. We will replace the set with a comparable set or refund the purchase. This guarantee excludes damage resulting from accident, alteration or misuse of the product. The guarantee specifically excludes electrical wiring.
November 14th, 2005 at 7:35 am
Eddie says:
I thought about that too. A one year warranty on holiday lights is completely different than a one year warranty on say… a portable audio player since they will only be used for maybe a couple of months out of the year. They should have a “season” warranty.
A one year warranty on holiday lights might as well be a three month warranty. Or if you do a 13-14 month or so warranty- you should be able to safely assume that you can get at least two holiday seasons out of it.
November 14th, 2005 at 7:51 am
Bedammit says:
Warranties allow companies to set a term of life expectancy so that litigation can’t easily be brought against them after the term. Whether the suit would be for damages the product may make or its future untimely failure.
November 14th, 2005 at 8:35 am
AJ says:
As with software, Version 1.0 seems a bit risky for complete replacement deployment. One or several test strings might be the ticket for those eager to try the latest and greatest. Otherwise, V1.1 and beyond might be the way to go!
November 14th, 2005 at 9:31 am
James says:
The big advantage would also be “you don’t have to check for burned out bulbs.” Now if they wouldn’t tangle…
November 14th, 2005 at 1:22 pm