Considering upgrading your Christmas lights to professional quality this year?
At Gift All Season, we advocate for the use of professional grade Christmas lights for all enthusiast decorators. Whether you are embellishing a home or a business, pro-grade lights provide numerous hassle-free advantages over retail grade lights that you might not know about. Also known as commercial-grade lights, these pro options aren't usually found in large chain stores. Until you shop with a professional supplier like us, you might not have experienced the exceptional quality that pro grade Christmas lights offer. We're here to highlight the key differences between professional-grade and retail-grade lights.
Pro Grade LED Christmas Lights
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Bulb and Lens Structure
Most professional-grade lights are produced with a single-piece design, meaning the bulbs cannot be detached from the sockets. While the inability to remove and replace bulbs might be seen as a drawback, it actually provides significant benefits in terms of durability.
This is because moisture and debris entering the socket is a primary cause of light failure, and the single-piece design helps prevent this issue. One-piece construction is a major factor in making professional-grade lights significantly more durable than retail-grade options.
In fact, professional-grade bulbs are rated to last up to an astonishing 75,000 hours, far longer than a typical light set is likely to be used.
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Superior Components
Each component used in the production of LED lights comes in various quality and price ranges. Every manufacturer must choose whether to prioritize quality or affordability. Those focusing on quality will opt for the higher-grade, more expensive components for professional grade lights.
It's a matter of durability and quality. The difference in visual quality of the diodes in LED bulbs can be quite noticeable.
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Full-Wave Rectification
All LED lights cycle on and off numerous times per second. Full-wave lights cycle on and off twice as quickly as half-wave lights, significantly impacting visual quality. All professional grade lights are full-wave lights.
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Longevity
Typically, you can expect professional-grade lights to last approximately 6 to 8 years, long enough to offset the higher cost per season.
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Professional Warranty
We provide a comprehensive 3-season warranty on all of our professional grade lights.
Retail Grade LED Christmas Lights
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Bulb and Lens Design
Retail grade lights use a two-piece design, allowing you to remove and replace the LED diode as required.
However, this can be both positive and negative since you are more likely to need to replace failed diodes on retail grade lights. The two-piece structure also tends to allow moisture and debris to infiltrate the socket, a frequent cause of failure in retail-grade lights.
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Inferior Components
As mentioned, manufacturers opt for high-quality, costly components in professional grade bulbs. Conversely, they choose cheaper components for retail grade bulbs to keep the price low.
The use of cheaper components results in initial cost savings for the consumer, but these components tend to fail much sooner compared to the pricier ones in professional grade bulbs. Additionally, there can be a noticeable difference in visual quality.
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Half-Wave Rectification
Retail grade lights cycle on and off half as frequently as pro grade ones, which affects visual quality and often leads to noticeable flickering in retail grade lights. Some people even experience headaches from the flicker present in half-wave rectified retail-grade lights.
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Durability
You can expect retail grade lights to last around 2 to 3 seasons, meaning you'll likely need to buy multiple sets to match the lifespan of a single set of professional-grade lights.
Have You Made Your Choice?
Now that you're aware of the differences between professional-grade and retail-grade lights, is it clear which suits you best? Generally, those who prioritize short-term cost over long-term quality and durability tend to opt for retail grade, despite potentially higher overall costs of price and time.
On the other hand, those who seek the best-looking, longest-lasting lights offering the greatest long-term value typically choose professional grade. Professional Christmas light installers always go for pro grade because they understand the value of their time during the busy holiday season.
We hope this guide has helped you decide which grade of lights will best meet your needs. With today's date in mind, there's not much time left to procrastinate. Whatever grade you choose, it's time to order those lights! For more information on commercial Christmas light wholesale orders, contact Gift All Season toll-free at (800) 391-5280.
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