Garland of lamps: advantages and disadvantages, simple DIY methods, safety precautions

A garland of lamps is one of the main attributes of the New Year. Due to some features, it can be used not only indoors, but also in open areas. This simple device is used to decorate Christmas trees, walls of houses, railings, cornices and other structures. The LED garland will give everyone a lot of positive emotions and create a festive atmosphere.

Advantages and disadvantages

Before you make a garland of LEDs with your own hands, you need to accurately determine its purpose. To do this, you will need to take into account all the advantages and disadvantages that can affect the operation of the New Year's decoration.

Among the positive aspects of using such garlands, the following are worth highlighting:

1. Long service life. High-quality lighting devices can work for 10 years. This figure is significantly higher than that of New Year's decorations made from ordinary lamps.
2. The minimum amount of electricity consumed. This type of garland is considered one of the most economical. LEDs consume 10 times less energy than incandescent bulbs. At the same time, the brightness of the light they give out is not inferior to their outdated counterparts.
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3. High safety performance. High-quality LED garlands operate at a voltage of 12 V and practically do not heat up. These features reduce the likelihood of fires to a minimum. In addition, the likelihood of electric shock is almost completely excluded.
4. High brightness. LED garlands always shine very brightly. Because of this, they are made compact, which makes it possible to decorate even small objects.
5. Low weight. Thanks to their minimal dimensions, these luminous decorations are very lightweight. This advantage allows you to hang the garland on thin furnishings or small tree branches.
6. Parallel connection. This allows the string of lamps to work even if there are malfunctions in one or more links in the chain. Outdated jewelry used a serial connection, and if one of the bulbs burned out, the entire device would fail.
7. Ease of controls. All modern Christmas lights can be adjusted using a special control unit or remote control. These devices allow not only turning on and off the decoration, but also changing the glow modes.
8. Durability and reliability. LED strings are protected from mechanical stress and any other damage. This is ensured by the high-quality coating of the lamps by their strength characteristics.

Among the many advantages, one drawback can be distinguished. It consists in a slightly overpriced garland. However, all financial costs will quickly pay off due to energy savings.

DIY manufacturing methods

The easiest way to get jewelry is to buy it. All you need to do is visit a store that sells lighting fixtures or New Year's products and choose the most suitable device. In the absence of extra money, you can make an electric garland with your own hands. This option will turn out to be less costly from a financial point of view, but more time consuming.

To connect to the mains

This method of making homemade jewelry is considered the simplest and most commonly used. He gained his popularity due to the minimum investment of time and money. A distinctive feature of such a garland is its connection to the mains through a special power supply unit. To make a New Year's attribute, you will need the following materials and tools:

• a set of LEDs for 20 mA;
• a resistor designed for a resistance of 100 ohms;
• wire 0.25 or 0.5 millimeters thick;
• 6 V power supply;
• a sharp knife (you can also use a clerical knife);
• soldering iron with a fine tip;
• rosin;
• solder;
• not wide scotch tape;
• colorless silicone sealant and a gun for applying it.

During the work, other items may be needed. If this happens, then they can be easily purchased or rented from friends.

Step-by-step process of making a garland:

1. First of all, a coil of wire is taken and a piece of the required size is cut off. The length should be chosen based on the size of the item being decorated. For a Christmas tree garland, 3-5 meters will be enough, and for decorating the facade of a building - 100 m or more.
2. Then, with the help of a marker, the places where the LED lamps will be located are outlined. It is best to have adjacent elements at a distance of up to 30 centimeters from each other. This way you can get more uniform and beautiful lighting.
3. In the designated places, the top layer of the wire insulation is cut off with a sharp knife. To connect the LED, it is enough to process 2-3 centimeters.
4. A small amount of solder and rosin is applied to the exposed cable. This is done to facilitate the fastening process.
5. The legs of the LED are brought to the resulting layer and carefully soldered.
6. To strengthen such an unreliable attachment, additional fixation is used. This will not only increase the strength of the connection, but also cover the rest of the exposed wire.
7. Then an adhesive tape is taken, and a piece of no more than 4 centimeters in length is cut off from it.
8. With its help, the LED is carefully wrapped.
9. Similar steps are performed to fix the remaining bulbs.
10. After that, a colorless silicone sealant is taken, and the lamp is securely fixed with it.
11. At the very end, a resistor and a power supply are connected, which converts the alternating current into direct current.
12. The finished garland is connected to the mains.

Such a Christmas decoration can be slightly modernized and made even more attractive. For such work, you will need ordinary plastic cups of the same size, sharp scissors, glue, tape, colored paper or watercolors.

The garland is being improved in this way:

1. One of the cups is taken and cut to the required size. It will be used as a template.
2. The remaining blanks are made on it.
3. Parts of the appropriate size are made from colored paper. You can use watercolors instead of this material.
4. They are then neatly attached to the plastic cups with any quick-drying glue.
5. Small holes are made in the lower part. Their diameter should be such that the LEDs can freely pass there.
6. There, the lighting elements are fixed with pieces of scotch tape.

The result of all the work will be a brighter garland that will change its appearance and will give out even more light. With such a decoration, a festive mood is guaranteed.

Lithium battery

This LED light string is used to decorate buildings and create festive street lighting. Its peculiarity is a multi-colored train that remains after moving. Such a decoration is able to withstand strong gusts of wind and heavy precipitation in the form of rain or snow. To please everyone with beautiful illumination, you should prepare the items necessary for work in advance:

• small multi-colored LED lamps with the ability to diffuse outgoing light;
• round magnets with a thickness of 3 centimeters and a diameter of at least 1.5 millimeters;
• lithium batteries type CR2032 3 V;
• thin wire with a cross section of 0.5 mm;
• Scotch.

Such a garland is made for quite a long time, therefore, perseverance, patience, attentiveness and accuracy will be required from the master.

Manufacturing instruction:

1. At the very beginning, LED bulbs from lithium batteries are tested to determine brightness. To do this, the longer leg is attached to the positive pole, and the shorter one to the negative.
2. A small piece is cut from the skein of scotch tape. With its help, the battery is attached to the LED. In this case, it is necessary to fix the optimal position of both structural parts.
3. For greater strength of the connection, another layer of adhesive tape is wound.
4. Then a magnet is taken and applied to the positive pole of the battery.
5. In this position, it is fixed.
6. The actions are carried out in the same way for other LEDs.
7. At the very end, they attach to a thin wire and form a chain.

Safety rules

Despite the fact that garlands of LED lamps are considered one of the safest, care must be taken when using them. This will help to avoid abnormal situations that can lead to electric shock and its negative consequences. To prevent this from happening, you must follow a few simple rules:

1. All garlands used for decoration should be located high above the ground or floor. If you neglect this rule, you can accidentally tear the jewelry and get an electric shock. In addition, this precautionary measure will keep young children and pets from coming into contact with a potentially dangerous object.
2. When using the garland outdoors, it is necessary to stretch the wires well and make sure that they do not sag. If this condition is not met, the appliance may fall into a puddle. In addition, you can simply catch on the wire and fall.
3. It is recommended to use not too thin wires, as there is a possibility of their rapid wear or chafing from external factors.
4. It is imperative to check the garland for performance. Only then can it be hung on a New Year tree or any piece of furniture.
5. It is forbidden to connect several strings to the same outlet at the same time. This can cause overheating and malfunction.
6. You can not leave the house and leave the turned on garland. Such negligence can lead to fire and other unforeseen situations.
7. When decorating the holiday tree, you need to check the insulation layer of the wiring. If it has even minimal defects, then it is better to refuse such a garland. Otherwise, you can provoke the appearance of a spark, which will lead to a rapid ignition of the Christmas tree.
8. In the event of any emergency, you must immediately de-energize the luminous jewelry.

A garland of LED lamps is a wonderful decoration option for the entire apartment. They can be placed not only indoors, but also outside, which ensures the maximum effect of observation from the side. With proper manufacture and adherence to safety measures, you can reduce the risk of an abnormal situation and avoid negative consequences. A well-made garland will delight all people and give them a festive atmosphere.