Outdoor Rope lights come in a wide range of options. There really shouldn’t be any situation that you can’t find a use for outdoor rope lighting. The most difficult decision you might have to make is which project to do first! To help you in choosing the right type of rope lighting for you, I have listed some  tips  for picking the most common kinds of outdoor rope lights.

Let’s start with diameter. The three most common sizes of outdoor rope lights that you most likely would use to decorate your patio or yard are 3/8 inches,  1/2 inch and 5/8 inch. The three sizes are identical inside, the difference is the durability of the outside covering. The larger diameter lights will stand up better to settings where people could come into contact with the light. These would be great for highlighting stair treads or outlining deck railings and such. The 3/8 would be better,  because of it’s flexibility, for use in making more intricate designs or spelling out words.

Voltage could also be a consideration for outdoor rope lights. In general you have the option of either 12 volt or 120 volt. Twelve volt models can be battery operated such as solar powered lights. This is perfect for those times when an electrical outlet is not available or extension cords are undesirable. But with the right transformer they can also be plugged into a regular outlet which eliminates the batteries running out of power. The problem with 12 volt models is that they can only be short runs of about 20 feet.

The 120 volt types can be plugged directly into an outlet which eliminates the need for an additional transformer and any batteries. On the plus side is the fact that 120 volt lights can be used for longer runs. The downside is that you may need to use extension cords.

You will need to decide on how you want the outdoor rope lights to function. Do you want the lights to just stay lit continuously or do you want a pattern?  If you want the lights to flash,then you would want to get a two wire rope light set. If you would like the lights to look like they are “chasing” each other,then you will want a three wire version. This could be really important if the design you have in mind is something like a directional arrow,moving character or timed to music maybe.

Outdoor rope lights come in two basic “bulb” types incandescent and led. In short,incandescent bulbs are similar to regular Christmas tree lights and would be the choice if you plan on “dimming” your rope lights. The downsides to these type of bulbs are that they can be broken more easily, use more power and as a result produce more heat.  Not enough heat to burn anyone touching them, but enough to shorten the life of the rope lights if they are enclosed in your application.

The other type of “bulb” is what is known as an led or light emitting diode. These diode create the “glow” of a bulb without using a filament like a regular bulb. An led string will use less power to operate, there is no glass to break and there is little to no heat given off. If you are looking to save on your energy bill,  opt for the led version.

One really big advantage to using outdoor rope lights is that they can be cut to adjust for the perfect fit. Through the use of connectors and splicing kits, you don’t have to worry about your lights being too short or too long. Measure out the length that you want, follow the manufacturers instructions for cutting and splicing and you are set to go. A word of warning though. As soon as you cut any rope light that is UL listed will void the UL listing. If you would rather not do this, there are precut lengths, as well as you can order the rope light to your specific length.

One last thing to consider is simply which color or colors you would like. You can use one single color, use a multicolor version or even splice two colors together. As long as you splice the same type of rope lights together. You need to splice two wire to two wire, 12volt to 12volt, etc. Probably the hardest decision you will have to make is which patio string lights project to do first.