Today, we’re addressing a question that we receive quite often. Chuck from Omaha recently inquired: What is the lifespan of LED lights? Before diving into the specifics of this query, I’d like to provide a brief editorial introduction…

How Long Do LED Christmas Lights Last

Mind Whom You Consult

At Gift All Season, we strive to ensure we’re always providing straightforward, practical solutions to your inquiries. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for many other Christmas light retailers. This topic seems to be the most sensationalized issue in our field. Consumers are often fed wildly inaccurate information regarding this topic.

Recently, I came across a blog post by one of our competitors on the exact topic of this post: The lifespan of LED Christmas lights. According to that post, you should expect your LED Christmas lights to last up to 20 years. Two decades!

That’s utter nonsense. It’s pure marketing exaggeration. (And I could use much stronger language to describe my opinion of that statement.) Rest assured, the next set of LED holiday lights you buy will NOT last for 20 years.

LEDs Truly Have Their Perks

By now, most are familiar with the numerous benefits of LED holiday lighting. Despite the hype, it remains true that LEDs have revolutionized decorative Christmas lighting (and several other uses).

While we still offer incandescent lighting for those who prefer it, LEDs now dominate nearly all our sales. We’ve also entirely transitioned to using LED lights in our commercial Christmas lighting service—installing 60,000 sets annually. Our professional installers haven’t used incandescent lights on homes, businesses, or city streets for many years.

This is because LEDs do consume considerably less energy than incandescents.
They do offer greater brightness and sharper illumination compared to incandescents.
They deliver more pure and vibrant colors than incandescents.

And yes, LED Christmas lights do outlast incandescents.

Temper Your Expectations

If I were to mimic the claims of less scrupulous Christmas light retailers and tell you that our LED lights would last for up to 20 seasons, you’d be thrilled. However, when those lights fail well before the promised time, you’d be disappointed.

So, here’s a truthful response: A string of high-quality, professional-grade Christmas lights can realistically be expected to last around 6 or 7 seasons. This assumes that the lights are taken down and stored during the off-season, not left up year-round. Leaving them up year-round can reduce the lifespan to about 2 to 2.5 years. If you live near the ocean, expect the lifespan to decrease by up to 50%.

If you purchase lower-quality LED lights—especially those of cheaper, 2-piece design where the bulb can be removed from the socket—you can anticipate a much shorter lifespan. It’s not unusual for a cheap string of LEDs to fail before the end of the first season.

Therefore, good quality LED lights, used seasonally, can be expected to last for about 6 or 7 seasons.

Is the 20-Year Claim Completely False?

The marketing hype about LED Christmas lights lasting decades is based on some truth. The diodes in LED lights indeed have an impressive lifespan. That’s why LED manufacturers often claim up to 75,000 hours for their bulbs. (Although sometimes you’ll see overly optimistic claims of 200,000 hours or more.)

However, a string of Christmas lights consists of more than just diodes; other components are prone to failure. While a diode might last for 75,000 hours in a controlled environment, that’s not how Christmas lights are used.

Christmas lights endure exposure to the sun (UV exposure is the primary cause of deterioration), wind, and rain. They are subjected to handling and movement as they are installed, taken down, and stored each year. They are sometimes kept in unfriendly conditions, like hot attics.

So, while the diodes may be capable of burning brightly for 75,000 hours, a string of lights will not last nearly that long.

An Excellent Consumer Experience Starts with Honesty

While some competitors think marketing hype leads to success, at Gift All Season, we believe in a different approach. We are committed to honesty about our products as a foundation for a long-term, successful business.

This has benefited both our customers and us for nearly half a century…roughly the cumulative lifespan of 6 or 7 of our Pro Grade LED Christmas light sets!