What’s Better for Commercial Grade Christmas Lights, C7 or C9?
October 18, 2022
Whether you’re installing lights in your own home, for an apartment complex, or for a professional business installation, you want the best lights for the job.Commercial grade Christmas lights will provide an amazing display throughout the season, and likely for many years to come, as long as they’re safely taken down and stored properly.
But what sort of lights should you use? The two most common types are C7 and C9. Let’s take a look at the differences between them, and when to use each.
Commercial Grade Christmas Lights – C7 vs C9
- C7 lights
C7s are the smaller type of light, typically 2.13″ long, including the base. They also fit into smaller sockets, using the E12 socket, which is the same socket used in night lights. You may also see 7-watt C7s, which are made brighter and are most often used for creating outlines, such as around the edge of a roof.
C7s tend to be a bit ‘retro’ in appearance and are usually styled to look like classic midcentury lights. They’re highly versatile, although their light output usually isn’t as high as C9s.
- C9 lights
C9 lights are bigger, around 3.25″ long, with the bulb itself around 2.5″. They are wider as well, and the base is designed to fit into an E17 base – a somewhat unusual socket that’s almost exclusively used for these sorts of lights.
So, C9s are bigger, bolder, and much more prominent. These are showpiece lights, the ones you’d hang to be noticed.
- What about C6 or C8?
C6 bulbs are even smaller than C7 and are almost always used indoors. These are lights for wrapping around a wreath or decorating a tree. They’re too small and dim for effective outdoor use.
C8 lights simply aren’t used anymore. They were used in the 1950s-70s, but production faded over time as most people went with C7 or C9. You’d have to search to even find some these days.
Commercial Grade Christmas Lights
Christmas Lights by Aqua Werx provides the best in commercial grade C9 Christmas lights, for home or business use. Contact us to learn about our affordable Christmas light installation options!
