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No, you should not leave LED Christmas lights up all year. While the LED lights themselves are very durable, their wiring and casings can be as vulnerable as any Christmas lights. They’re subject to drying out, experiencing cold or sun damage that causes them to crack, and even damage caused by gnawing pests. (The same is true of incandescents.) If you want your lights to last the years that they’re rated for, bring them inside after Christmas is over. 

While wet-rated and damp-rated lighting is designed to handle contact with moisture, there’s a difference between the two. Wet-rated lighting is safety-rated to be placed in areas with direct exposure to water, including your shower. Fixtures classed as wet-rated are made with waterproof seals to protect the filament and other electrical components from water and moisture. 

Damp-rated fixtures can be used in places with some moisture contact, but not direct exposure. They don’t have the same waterproof seals used in wet-rated fixtures. Damp-rated lighting can be used on your bathroom ceiling or along a wall outside of your shower.

The easiest and best way to power your outdoor lights is with the use of outdoor outlets. Most building codes now require exterior outlets in homes, so you likely already have outdoor outlets available to plug into. However, you can have these outlets installed if your space doesn’t currently include them.

Testing tools, such as Christmas light testers, non-contact proximity electrical testers, and multimeters, all simplify the process of testing Christmas lights. However, without one or more of those tools, testing Christmas lights the old-fashioned way only works sometimes. Without testing tools, the simplest testing method is visual inspection, which may or may not yield positive results.