Christmas tree garlands. Types and device. Work and how to choose

Preparing for the New Year is a busy, interesting and enjoyable process. The amazing time of the New Year holidays takes up a lot of people’s time. They begin to think about what the festive table will look like, what dishes to prepare to surprise guests, how to properly decorate the interior of an apartment or private house. You can also decorate the local area, garden plot, flower beds, building facade, gates and gates. To make your most unimaginable fantasies come true, LED street garlands will come in handy.

Just a few decades ago, our grandparents could not afford such luxury: interior light bulbs simply could not withstand too low temperatures and precipitation. Modern manufacturers of LED products have learned to produce waterproof and frost-resistant devices, which are used even in outdoor diode garlands. We will try to understand the history of these devices, their classification, operating modes and basic requirements when choosing these products.

The history and advantages of street garlands

The United States of America is considered to be the birthplace of street New Year's garlands. They appeared there about 100 years ago. These were bright, eye-catching and unusually beautiful devices, which, due to their high cost, did not immediately become widespread.

The use of garlands on the main New Year tree of the country after some time led to their mass production, thanks to which people were able to afford to use similar products. At first, multi-colored electrical tape appeared as a decoration on the shelves of shops and cafes, and later on the facades and local areas of private buildings.

This miracle of technology was brought to Russia much later, which was due to a more severe climate and significant frosts in certain regions of the country. Currently, various simplified technologies are used to simultaneously protect the device from the effects of severe frosts and reduce its overall cost, making it available to every person who wants to decorate their home. They are suitable not only for residential buildings. Street garlands decorate advertising signs, store windows, and banners.

Classification by shape and appearance

The main criteria for classifying LED products of this type are considered to be the power supply method and configuration. In the first case, we are talking about devices connected to the electrical network, or powered autonomously from it using a battery or batteries. Solar-powered garlands are often used, but this is not permissible everywhere, but only where sunlight is abundant.

When choosing a product, you need to focus on the method of decorating the exterior and configuration:

1. Garlands "Curtain" and "Rain" are among the most popular varieties. In the second case, many single- or multi-colored flashing lamps are used with the ability to switch to a shimmering effect. An excellent option for lighting roofs and building eaves. "Curtain" is more suitable for larger areas.
2. A linear garland is useful when decorating beautiful bushes and trees. It is often used when decorating curved contours, due to the increased flexibility of the material. A good solution when looking for an original design.
3. You can complement the local area with bright luminous figures in the form of snowmen, Santa Claus and other fairy-tale characters.
4. A standard tape consisting of a flexible board on which numerous diodes are installed. There are models of the same or different colors with a variety of operating modes and specific lengths up to 50 meters. A very easy-to-use product from which you can create the most unusual shapes.

1. Outdoor frost-resistant garland “Fringe” or “Icicle” is another option for decorating cornices and canopies. The length of a separate board should not be more than 1 meter. When several LED lamps are connected, an unusual effect of running lights is obtained (like on a runway). The built-in controller leads to their gradual attenuation. One lighting fixture can contain up to 10 “melting icicles” installed at a distance of about 500 mm.
2. The “Grid” garland is a very complex structure consisting of several wires connecting LEDs. Well suited for decorating the facade of a building.

In addition, street garlands can consist of LEDs shaped like raindrops, balloons or geometric shapes.

What types of street garlands are there?

The shape and size of the light bulbs, as well as the general appearance of the garland threads are also of no small importance. Below you can find out which garlands are most suitable in style for a particular location.

Types of street garlands by design

Classic thread garland

This version of the garland looks like a regular long string of wire with the bulbs placed one behind the other. This model is particularly versatile and can be used in any outdoor space. With its help, you can lay out certain shapes or simply decorate the outline of a canopy, window, roof or gate. Models of this type come in both single-color and color with one or more operating modes.

Garland-thread

Prices for various types of outdoor LED string garlands

Outdoor LED garland thread

Garland-curtain (garland-curtain)

This model has the appearance of a horizontal cable on which hanging wires with light bulbs are placed. The length of the threads varies from one and a half meters to nine, and the “curtain” will look especially harmonious on panoramic windows, flat facades or doorways.

Garland curtain

Prices for various types of outdoor LED curtain garlands

Outdoor LED garland curtain

Fringe or icicles

A garland of this variety looks especially festive, and its design resembles the “curtain” described above. Only in this case, the vertical threads in one garland have different lengths, not exceeding 1 meter. Using the controller in these lighting devices, you can achieve the effect of flowing glow. This kind of “fringe” looks good on canopies and balconies, as well as when placed at the top of gazebos or on the canopies of terraces.

Fringe garland

Prices for various types of outdoor LED fringe garlands

Outdoor LED fringe garland

LED mesh

The mesh version of the light decoration looks original and allows you to decorate any location. The mesh can be elegantly placed on the facade or roof, thrown “carelessly” onto the balcony or stretched across the openings. The only disadvantage of this option is the fragile fastening of the wires, so it is recommended to handle this model with particular care.

Garland-mesh

Prices for various types of outdoor LED garlands network

Outdoor LED garland network

Belt Light

Belt Light is a strip of five-core wire that carries larger LED bulbs, often shaped like classic incandescent bulbs. The distance between the diodes can reach 40 centimeters . And they are suitable for decorating the facade, stage, gazebo.

Belt Light example

Duralight

A special type of garlands, often used in advertising and office lighting, is a plastic tube with LEDs inside. In this regard, a bright and fairly even strip of light is obtained, with which you can lay out various inscriptions and figures.

Duralight tapes

Video - Duralight, outdoor LED garlands

Operating modes of outdoor LED garlands

The main feature of any LED garland is its huge variety and many operating modes. Each of them is given specific names. Separate controllers with a unique combination of modes are built into the boards.

We list the main operating modes of an outdoor LED garland:

• FIXING (fixing) - static lighting, when the LEDs emit the same color with the same brightness throughout operation;
• CHASING (chasing) - the bulbs begin to light up gradually, after which a slow attenuation occurs (an excellent option if you want to create the effect of overflow or a light “waterfall”);
• FLASH (flickering) – approximately every 4, 5 or 6 LEDs in the strip begin to blink (one of the most common and popular modes);
• CHAMELEON (chameleon) – the product glows brightly, constantly changing its colors;
• MULTICHASING (multi-chasing) - requires a controller with several operating modes.

The more operating modes an LED garland supports, the higher the cost of the product. You should not overpay if you plan to use one or two modes. Before purchasing a device, be sure to check its operation and make sure that all declared modes are working properly.

Outdoor LED garlands: frost-resistant and moisture-resistant models and their advantages

Now let's figure out what technical characteristics are important for frost-resistant decor. LED garlands for outdoors have the following advantages:

• such lighting sources have a higher brightness level compared to alternative options;
• long service life;
• low power consumption;
• the presence of a sealed plastic housing allows you to protect the lamps from water and other environmental factors;
• frost resistance of products requires use in winter;
• the ability to use a variety of attachments in the form of stars, hearts or other configurations;
• parallel connection does not interfere with operation even if one element is faulty.

For your information! When choosing a product, pay attention to the quality of the lamp fasteners, the plastic and the integrity of the individual elements.

How to choose a frost-resistant LED garland for the street?

There are several basic requirements and recommendations that need to be taken into account when choosing an LED garland:

1. Check the quality of the plastic case. Cheap plastic will begin to crack at temperatures below -10 degrees. The safe operation of all equipment depends on this.
2. The length of the garland is one of the important characteristics. Standard tape has a length of 5 to 20 meters, but can be increased by additional sections.
3. Moisture resistance. Check the product packaging. The letter N means that the flex board is not protected from moisture.
4. Frost resistance. It is important that the letters G and R are indicated on the packaging of the garland.

When operating the product, pay attention to the presence of voltage drops in the network. Even high-quality devices produced by trusted manufacturers can quickly fail due to critically low or high voltage. To stabilize it, you need to use special devices.

Main varieties

LED lights designed to decorate trees, buildings and billboards are available in a wide range:

Curtain or curtain

"Curtain" or curtain. This option is made in the form of many cables hanging in a vertical plane with LED bulbs located along the entire length, and a single fastening for them is a horizontally oriented wire without LEDs. The result is a kind of curtain that provides a certain level of illumination of the object.

LED garlands of this type in quantities of no more than 10 pcs. can be combined into one structure. There are models that are designed with LEDs with different shades of emitted light. Another feature is that this type of lighting fixture has a standard width (2 m), but the length of vertically hanging wires can vary from 1.5 to 9 m.

Mini curtain or “fringe”

Mini-curtain or “fringe”. This outdoor garland is similar to the option discussed above, but has some features. For example, the length of each vertically oriented cable is different, and the maximum value of this parameter does not exceed 1 m. A single fastening is provided - a horizontally oriented cable. The maximum permissible number of similar lamps connected together is 20 pieces, but only on the condition that they all operate in constant light mode.

Universal LED garland. It is a cable on which light bulbs are located at some distance from each other. Depending on the model, the design may provide attachments of different shapes; operation of the lamp with unprotected light bulbs is allowed. The cable length varies from 5 to 20 m, and it is also possible to connect up to 35 garlands at once, provided that they operate in constant light mode.

Universal LED garland with attachments

The outdoor garland Duralight is made in the form of a polymer tube. There are LEDs inside. The body diameter of these lamps corresponds to 16 or 13 mm. There is a version with a rectangular cross-section, the dimensions in this case are different.

Street garland “melting icicles”. It is presented in the form of a cable to which plastic tubes of varying quantities (5-10 pcs.) are connected. Inside these elements there are Duralight lamps. The principle of operation of such garlands is the variable extinction of each of the LEDs located inside. As a result, the desired lighting effect is created.

Net. The design of such lighting devices is quite simple: wires connected to each other in a kind of mesh fabric. LEDs are located at the connection nodes.

The main criteria on the basis of which street lighting devices are selected: the size of the area covered with the garland, as well as the illuminated area; type of object requiring decorative design and lighting; lamp power; lighting color scheme.

Rules for installing frost-resistant garlands

When decorating the local area, first of all you need to decide what effect you want to get in the end. This will affect the size, shape, choice of color and brightness level of the diode strip. For example, an LED garland for decorating the facade of a building should be long enough, while the “Fringe” variety is suitable for a porch. Shrubs are decorated with small-sized products. Short pieces of LED strip are used to decorate railings and tree trunks, wrapping around them in a spiral.

Important! Under no circumstances should you ignore safety rules and do not use LED garlands intended for indoor use outdoors. Such products do not have the necessary protection. Not only will it quickly fail, but it also poses a health hazard to people nearby.

Legislation on the operating hours of street garlands

The operating conditions for lighting devices related to outdoor lighting systems are specified in the PEU. There is also clause 6.4.18, which regulates the use and connection of street garlands.

Any architectural lighting of a country house, including New Year's illumination, must be connected to the electrical network via a separate line. The power of the product should not exceed 2 kW per individual phase. Do not forget that in everything, in length and even power, a reserve is required. Another operating condition is protection against current leakage (overcurrent).

We study reviews and prices before buying an outdoor frost-resistant LED garland

If you don’t want and don’t know how to make decorative garlands yourself, then you can go to the store to buy them. Let's look at some popular options. A brief overview of manufacturers and prices in the table below will help you choose the right model for yourself:

Now let’s look at some reviews:

Review by Brozgaeva: Electric LED garland “Rain” CRISTALnovolight 192 ledCR-026 - Just the thing for the New Year!

Advantages: durable, 8 blinking modes, energy saving...

Disadvantages: short wire

Hello friends and guests of Otzovik! I recently saw a friend’s review of a garland and decided to tell me about mine! I had problems finding this model on the Internet, since there are tons of similar garlands. As a result, I am writing what I saw on the box - Electric LED garland “Rain” CRISTAL novolight 192 ledCR-026...

More details on Otzovik:

Review, Irgy, Portugal: LED garland Inspire - An excellent garland for the holidays and beyond. Suitable for outdoor decoration.

Pros: Quality.

Disadvantages: no

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Last year, for the New Year, we bought a garland. We bought it to use indoors, but as we later noticed, it is also suitable for outdoor decoration. The instructions are no longer there, probably thrown out or destroyed by a child. But the packaging remained. I was going to put the garland there to put it away after the holidays.

More details on Otzovik:

To summarize, we can say that this product offers a fairly wide range of prices. When choosing a budget option, it is worth considering that this factor may affect the service life of the product.

Street garlands lie idle somewhere on a shelf most of the year, but on the eve of the holidays they are simply an irreplaceable attribute. Therefore, the issue of choosing a garland should be approached with all responsibility. A high-quality product will illuminate your yard and home with delightful multi-colored lights throughout the holiday, giving everyone around you a rosy and festive mood.

DIY LED garland

To make your own LED garland, you will need several basic components and tools:

• LEDs (at least 20 mA each);
• electrical cable (select a cross-section of at least 0.25 mm, preferably 0.5 mm);
• resistor element (100 Ohm);
• power supply (6 V);
• sharp knife;
• silicone transparent sealant and a gun for its application;
• marker;
• soldering iron with rosin and solder.

A simple electrical circuit of a Christmas tree garland with LEDs involves sequential switching of each individual element. Making such a device is very simple. First, decide on the distance at which the luminous components will be located, and then use a marker to mark the wire. Usually a distance of 20-25 cm is suitable.

Take a sharp knife and remove the insulating layer at those points of the wire where the LEDs will be connected. The length of each cut should be at least 10-20 mm. Use rosin and apply it to each area. Apply solder on top, due to which the LED will be securely and as simply as possible attached to the wire. Solder the legs of the glowing element.

An LED soldered to a wire will not be as reliable as it seems. To increase the strength of the product, additional protection is required by insulating the exposed parts of the wire. At the same time, such protection should not interfere with the glow of the LEDs, so transparent materials should be used. A special electrical tape will handle this task. Wrap the legs of the LEDs and the exposed parts of the wire with it, then apply silicone sealant on top.

All that remains is to connect the resistor and power supply to the tape, and then test the resulting product.

LED garland repair

One of the common malfunctions of an LED garland is the absence of one or two colors during operation. Sometimes part of the flex board fails. To repair the device, disassemble the power supply and make sure that all contacts are intact. If you find torn elements, fix them back using a soldering iron. If the power supply is intact, then you should look for the reasons in the main wire. Inspect it carefully and make sure there are no bites or other mechanical damage. If you find any, be sure to eliminate them.

If the garland does not light up when connected to the electrical network, you need to carefully examine the power supply and network cable. Check how well the components are attached to the electronic board.

Consider an LED garland as a simple electrical circuit consisting of several elements. Use the following guidelines:

1. The control unit can always be replaced with a starter used in the operation of a fluorescent lamp. Select the appropriate power to make the LEDs flash at the desired speed.
2. First, you need to check the contacts on each LED. Pay attention to the components located at the ends of the tape. If switching is carried out using anodes, then find the corresponding connection diagram on the Internet. One excellent option is to connect LED lamps at the ends of the strip using cathodes.
3. To replace a damaged LED, disconnect the garland from the electrical network. Use a desoldering strip to remove the burnt-out element, then install a new product in its place. Don't forget about polarity!
4. If duralight fails, you must identify the problem area and cut it out. Pay attention to the special sections marked on the tape. If everything is done correctly, then by throwing away the non-working part, it will be possible to connect the 2 remaining segments together.

Using an LED outdoor garland, you can create a festive atmosphere and decorate your garden in an original way. It is absolutely not necessary to do this only on holidays: all street lighting fixtures are reliably protected from the effects of numerous factors, including severe frosts, precipitation, heat and ultraviolet rays of the sun, and therefore can be used all year round without the need for dismantling.

To eliminate the possibility of breakdowns, you should buy electrical products from trusted manufacturers. Before purchasing, do not forget to make sure that the device is operational and that the actual technical and operational characteristics correspond to those stated on the packaging or in the technical data sheet.

More information about the properties of garlands

Street lighting should be economical, since lamps and lanterns usually operate for a long period (10 hours or more). Therefore, LED lamps have become very popular in comparison with other types of lighting devices.

Rosa type

Their advantages:

• Very long service life, several times higher than that of gas-discharge lamps and incandescent lamps;
• They do not need to be regularly maintained; it is enough to timely note the process of reducing the light intensity, which usually occurs towards the end of their service life;
• LED garlands are well protected from mechanical damage thanks to the polymer housing, which can be made in the form of a strip or tube;
• Lightness;
• The light emitted by the LED is richer and brighter;
• An effective connection scheme for light bulbs (parallel), thanks to which, if one unit fails, the street garland will continue to work.

In addition, some types of such lighting devices allow you to change the attachments on the light bulbs. And instead of burning dots, you can see stars, flowers and other shapes. Among other things, the operating mode changes and it is possible to select a garland with a certain shade of lighting.

Depending on the design of such lighting devices, the following operating modes are found: continuous, flickering, chasing (with smooth fading and resumption of lighting), chameleon (in which the light bulbs change color), combined (a combination of several modes).

LED garlands are characterized by different protection classes, but according to the standards, the IP44 protection level is a sufficient minimum. However, an IP65 option would be more practical and safe. The winding material of these lighting devices can be different: PVC, silicone, rubber. But the first of them is less resistant to sub-zero temperatures (the maximum threshold is -20 degrees), while outdoor garlands made of silicone and rubber can work properly at temperatures down to -50 degrees.