Magnetic Christmas Lights – Take the hassle out of hanging Christmas decorations this holiday season by using magnetic lights or hooks.
Outdoor lighting remains a central element of Christmas decorations and holiday landscaping ideas, but the task typically requires much effort by the homeowner. To simplify this annual task, try using magnetic lights this year.
This relatively new product offers options for innovative decorating ideas and eliminates the need to pound nails, mounts and other potentially permanent additions into a home’s exterior to install Christmas lights.
Instead of mounting outdoor string lights on individual hooks, installers either hang lights on magnetic hooks attached to a metal surface, or use Christmas light strings with magnets attached directly to the bottom of each light. Magnetic Christmas Lights
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How magnetic lights work
Terry Genenbacher, sales director for Lite-Netics Magnetic Lighting in Lubbock, Texas, says his company started selling magnetic lights five years ago after his son, Shawn, invented the concept and acquired a patent for it. The idea attracted the attention of the reality TV show “Shark Tank.” Magnetic Christmas Lights
“We’ve incorporated a magnet into the base of every socket, so it takes that traditional installation time from hours down to minutes,” Genenbacher says.
The magnetic lights simply stick to any metal surface, he says. They hold up under difficult weather, but can be easily removed by pulling down on the lights. “The traditional hooks that glue or screw onto the surface are up there all the time and can break,” he says.
The company integrates the magnet into the bottom of each light for hassle-free holiday decorating. (Photo courtesy of Lite-Netics Magnetic Lighting)
Magnetic lights and magnetic clips save time
Genenbacher says professional Christmas light installers provide most of his business, buying magnetic outdoor light strings in bulk, but homeowners have begun to notice the benefits. Magnetic Christmas Lights
“A lighting installation job that used to take 90 minutes can be done in three,” he says. “Professionals like it because they have such a short season in which to install Christmas lights, and the quicker they can put them up, the more jobs they can complete.”
Magnetic lights only work on ferrous materials, check here about the metal strips around the roof’s edge or galvanized steel gutters. The magnets won’t stick to aluminum or vinyl gutters, for instance.
“Metal drip edges, fences or railing tend to work the best,” Genenbacher says. “If you’re running lights along a driveway or sidewalk, you can stick a nail in the ground and set this on top of the head.” Magnetic Christmas Lights
Genenbacher says Lite-Netics Magnetic Lighting, which sells the product nationwide, has seen 30 percent growth every year. A 25-foot magnetic light string without bulbs costs about $22, while a 25-foot magnetic string of warm white LED bulbs costs about $40. Genenbacher says the company offers discounts to first-time buyers.
Lite-Netics Magnetic Lighting obtained a patent for the magnetized light concept about six years ago. (Photo courtesy of Lite-Netics Magnetic Lighting)
Installing outdoor lighting with magnetic hooks
But if you want to install outdoor lighting for the holidays without buying a new product, or just want to use your existing Christmas lights with a new mounting method, magnetic clips offer an alternative. These magnetic hooks work just like traditional screw-in or glued-on mounting methods.
Megan Johnston, president of Clear N’ Bright Windows in Woodinville, Washington, says her company began using magnetic clips for its holiday decorating jobs last year with great success.
Johnston says the magnetic hooks don’t significantly save time on installation, since each strand must still be manually hung on the clip. It costs more to install the lights using magnetic hooks, but it pay dividends in convenience and simplicity. “It’s a lot easier to replace since you just pull it off and put another one in there,” she says.
The company primarily uses magnetic hooks on commercial lighting installations, she says, but whenever residential Christmas lighting clients live in homes with steel gutters or other elements that would support the magnets, the company suggests the client go with the magnetic clips. “You can put it up there without having to deface the surface,” Johnston says. Magnetic Christmas Lights
Have you used magnets to install Christmas decorations, or are you interested in doing so? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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