Get matched with top lighting pros in Culbertson, MT

You can take a few steps to prolong the life of your holiday lights. Make sure to replace burnt-out bulbs as quickly as possible to avoid overloading the rest of the circuit and knocking out more lights. Before packing them up each year, plug each strand into the wall to confirm everything is still working. Wrap the lights carefully back into their original packaging or something similar—winding a strand tightly together or leaving it to hang loose in a storage bin can lead to frayed or damaged wiring. 

It’s fair to be concerned about handling pool lights or wiring in a pool filled with water. But fortunately, pool lights and swimming pools are designed to make it easy and safe to replace the lights without needing to drain the water. Instead, you can turn off the electricity to the pool as a safety precaution, unscrew the pool fixture, pull it up and out to the side of the pool, then change the bulb.

The lifespan of a pool light depends on the type, but thankfully, these lights are designed to last a long time before they need to be replaced. LED bulbs last the longest, about 20,000 to 30,000 hours, while incandescent bulbs last the shortest amount of time, about 1,000 to 5,000 hours. Fiber optic pool lights will last around 6,000 hours.

High-quality landscape lights that are hardwired and properly maintained can last for 10 to 25 years or more. You’ll usually get a longer lifespan from soffit lights and wall-mounted lights that aren’t directly exposed to the elements or prone to damage from foot traffic or vehicle traffic. Solar-powered and battery-powered lights often won’t last as long, but you can still expect a lifespan of five to 15 years.