Parts Needed to Install LED Christmas Lights Outside

• Use clips to install LED Christmas lights outside your home. Robert Shafer/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

  Installing Christmas lights on and around your home can help get you and your family in the mood for the holidays, especially when you consider that LED Christmas lights tend to last longer than traditional bulb lights. The only part you need to use to install LED Christmas lights is the light clips that hold the wire in place and prevent you from having to staple, screw or nail the wire to the outside of your home. Nailing or stapling the wire will pierce it and could cause it to break or create an electrical hazard. There are three basic types of light clips: roof, tube or alligator clips.

Roof Clips

• Roof clips are designed for use on roofs and gutters. The clips are usually made of plastic or metal, and they have a hook as well as a clip to accommodate more than one strand of LED Christmas wire. The clips generally slide in between the roofing and the gutter. To install roof clips, force the thin end in between the roof and the gutter. Because of the tight fit, these clips do not generally require nails or screws to secure them. After you've positioned all of the clips, gently secure the wire to the clips.

Tube Clips

• Use tube clips to install LED Christmas lights anywhere outside. You can use them on your roofs, eaves, above your door or even on trees and shrubbery outside your home. Tube clips generally screw into a surface. They have a thin tube on the end that opens slightly to accommodate the Christmas light wire. Some tube clips have multiple tubes to accommodate thicker lights or more than one strand or lights.

Alligator Clips

• Alligator clips are another type of plastic clip you can use to install LED Christmas lights outside your home. Alligator clips have two jagged jaws that hold the wire in place. These clips are usually made of plastic because they apply pressure to the wire without splitting or tearing the plastic insulation. Some alligator clips are double-sided so they can accommodate two sets of wires.