How many lights should be on a 4 foot tree?
“A good rule of thumb is 100 lights for every foot-and-a-half of tree,” according to Lowe's. But Better Homes & Gardens recommends using three 100-light sets for every foot of a tree's height.
Basic Rule of Thumb
"So an easy, general rule to remember is that for each foot of your tree, you'd want to use one strand of lights. I prefer the strands with 150 bulbs."
Easy answer: Start with at least 100 mini lights per foot of tree plus an extra set of lights to hang inside the tree along the trunk.
How Many Lights Do I Need For My Tree? Our golden rule is 100 bulbs or 5 metres of lights per 2ft of Christmas tree. For a 6ft tree we recommend 300 bulbs or 15 metres of lights. If you're a fairy light lover, double up or mix and match styles for extra sparkle.
You want your Christmas tree to be the focal point in the room, right? But you don't want to overdo it. A tree that's too cluttered with lights will be overbearing, while a tree without enough lights will seem sparse.
Once you have identified the best approach for your space, simply measure out the design on the ground. Be sure to add two to six feet for every run to give it a natural look.
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Starting at the top of the tree, intertwine the lights on top of and under branches. Work your way down and around the tree, hanging lights in the back as well. When you reach the bottom, hide any extra lights behind the tree.
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How many lights do I need?
Lumens calculation summary
Multiply your room square footage by the footcandle requirement. For example, a 100-square foot living room, which needs 20 footcandles, will need 2,000 lumens. A 100-square foot dining room, which needs 40 footcandles, will need 4,000 lumens 2 (see PDF and complete footcandle index).
For a basic look our number one rule is at least 100 bulbs per 1ft of tree – so that would mean a 6ft tree needs a minimum of 600 LEDs. For a fuller look, you can add as many lights as you want but we recommend upwards of 700 for a 6ft tree.
For example, a 4 foot Christmas tree requires at least 52 separate pieces to be well-decorated.
In this case, most traditional incandescent Christmas mini lights only allow you to connect 4 or 5 sets end to end but with many LED mini light strings you can connect 40 to 50+ together depending on the light count. Consider your circuits: Most household circuits are 15 or 20 amps.
Start with the lights first
The first, most important thing you need to do when decorating your Christmas tree, is to always add the lights first – it's more difficult to do this after you've added decorations like baubles and garlands.
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3 Tips For a Brighter Christmas Tree
- Add more lights. This one may seem obvious, but have you tried it? ...
- Remove light blockers. Too many solid ornaments, pinecones or thick ribbon on a tree will block the light and cause your tree to look dark. ...
- Add reflectors.
Because light strings have a maximum wattage capacity, which is why many string lights come with a little fuse just in case you connect too many together at once. The fuse is designed to blow so you don't overload and damage your Christmas lights.
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You should have no less than 2 feet between each fixture. This is so that there's enough space for people walking through without being blinded by two bright lights at once!
Pole Height
For most string lights, about eight to 10 feet is perfect. If you have larger bulbs, you may want to hang the lights a little higher.
How do you make a Christmas tree look magical?
Use Ribbon
You always see ribbons flowing down the sides of Christmas trees in store displays, and we think they have the right idea. Hanging ribbon gives the illusion of height, and it can add a fun pop of color to your tree.
Mini Magical Growing Christmas Tree - YouTube
Just make sure you get green tinsel that matches your tree's color. Once you've secured the best possible match, just layer the tinsel into the bare spot. Wrapping tinsel around each branch can fill out even the barest, least-fluffed fake trees.
We recommend as a guide you use approx 30 lights per foot in height of your Christmas Tree. For example, a 4ft. Christmas tree should have 120 Christmas tree lights, 5ft. tree 150 lights, 6ft tree 180 lights and a 7ft tree 210 lights.
For a basic look our number one rule is at least 100 bulbs per 1ft of tree – so that would mean a 6ft tree needs a minimum of 600 LEDs. For a fuller look, you can add as many lights as you want but we recommend upwards of 700 for a 6ft tree.
Example: 7 ft tree with 45" diameter 7 x 45 (divided by 2) = 157 lights Safety Tips: Do not connect mini lights end to end to C7 or C9 lights.
You'll need 80 bulbs for each 100-foot cord that has 15 inch spacing. Using our How Many Lights Should I Put on My Tree Calculator, we see that a nice starting range is 350-525 C9 bulbs.
Plug in the lights to make sure all the bulbs are working. Starting at the top of the tree, intertwine the lights on top of and under branches. Work your way down and around the tree, hanging lights in the back as well. When you reach the bottom, hide any extra lights behind the tree.
A five foot tree needs 120 lights and 40 decorations, while a six footer can apparently take 240 bulbs and 50 baubles. But if your house is big enough to put up a tree over seven foot then you can get away with anything between 400-1000 lights and 90 baubles.
In this case, most traditional incandescent Christmas mini lights only allow you to connect 4 or 5 sets end to end but with many LED mini light strings you can connect 40 to 50+ together depending on the light count. Consider your circuits: Most household circuits are 15 or 20 amps.
How many lights do I need?
Lumens calculation summary
Multiply your room square footage by the footcandle requirement. For example, a 100-square foot living room, which needs 20 footcandles, will need 2,000 lumens. A 100-square foot dining room, which needs 40 footcandles, will need 4,000 lumens 2 (see PDF and complete footcandle index).
For especially tall trees, grab a ladder and a friend to help. Wrap the light string into a ball and begin unraveling as you move up the trunk. Be sure the prongs that you need to plug in are on the bottom. Plug another string of lights into the first, secure both with electrical tape and start wrapping the branches.
How many strands do I need? A good rule of thumb is 100 lights for every 1.5 feet of tree. However, if you love lights, you may want to double, or even triple, that amount.
Cord Socket Size - When it comes to the socket base size, you can choose between C7 or C9. For most structural perimeter lighting, C9s are the most commonly used. If lighting displays or small structures, then C7s work well.
General Rule: For heavy lighting, plan for around 200 mini Christmas tree lights per vertical foot-and-a-half of tree. If you prefer medium lighting, 100 mini lights per foot should be enough. Slender trees will require the fewest number of lights.
The Main Difference: Size!
C7 Bulbs are much smaller than the larger C9 Bulb. C-9's are longer, wider, and fit into a bigger socket. As you can see from the photographs above, the C7 Bulb is usually 2-1/8in in length and 7/8in in width. In comparison, the C9 Bulb measures 2-7/8in in length and 1-1/8in in width.
