Chasing Rope Lights
Chasing rope lights are a great way to spice up your outdoor decorating. Unlike typical rope lights, which simply remain steady, chasing rope lights, can display their lights in a variety of different ways. For example, the lights can blink on or off, or flash at pre-determined intervals, or live up to their name by turning the lights on and off in a way that makes it seem like they chasing each other. Chasing rope lights are also available in an assortment of colors so they can be used for different occasions, i.e. having red and green lights for Christmas, as well as in two-, three- or five-wire varieties.
Chasing rope lights are used with controllers, which generate the lighting effects. They attach to rope lights using pin connectors; the higher the number of connectors, the more effects can be generated. For example, chasing rope lights with two wires may be able to generate only flashing or blinking effects, while rope lights with five wires may be able to create flashing, color blending and sound synching effects. The number of effects that rope lights can create is also determined by the functions of the controller. Note that controllers are generally designed for indoor use, so if you are planning to use rope lights outdoors, you will have to protect the controller from the elements by placing it in a waterproof container.
Chasing Rope Lights Decorating Ideas
For Christmas, you can use rope lights by shaping them into a Holiday-themed design such as Santa Claus or a Christmas tree, or use them to spell out a greeting such as Happy Holidays! You can also use rope lights to accent Christmas by placing the lights around the border of the decoration. And you can further add to the Christmassy-feel by using rope lights with color blending functions, and program them to transition from red to green and vice-versa.
However, chasing rope lights should not be limited to Christmas since they are appropriate for any holiday you can think of. For example, you can use flashing rope lights on Halloween, shaping the lights into a Jack-o-Lantern face and then having it periodically flash. Or why not use red, white and blue lights to decorate your house on July 4th The possibilities are endless depending on your creativity.
You can also use rope lights as a promotional device to highlight business signs. For example, you can spell out the name of your establishment using rope lights and then generate light effects that are synchronized with music using the sound synching function. This will surely attract the attention of passersby so that they will be curious enough to come in to your place of business and possibly make a purchase.
Chasing Rope Lights Buyers Guide
When buying chasing rope lights there are two considerations the rope lights themselves and the controller. As mentioned earlier, rope lights can be bought with two, three and five wires, and the more wires there are the more expensive the lights will be. So you have to consider your needs and your budget and find a compromise between the two. You also have to determine the length of the rope lights that you need, since this will also determine how much you will have to pay.
Rope light controllers are available with a wide variety of functions, ranging from the basic blinking and flashing to more sophisticated controllers. These will let you create an assortment of effects and even integrate a timer that will let you program it such that it will shut off or turn on the chasing rope lights at pre-set times to save you money on your electricity bill by running them only when they are wanted.