3 Things to Know About Voltage Drop and Holiday Lights

Voltage drop is not a problem with LED lights Modern LED holiday lights draw so little current that voltage drop over a long extension cord is negligible. You can run a hundred feet of 16-gauge cord without noticing a difference.

Incandescent lights still need short, thick cords If you are using old incandescent string lights, keep extension cords under 100 feet and use at least 16 gauge. For 200 feet or more, step up to 14 or 12 gauge.

Dim lights usually mean a bad bulb or connection, not the cord Check for a bad bulb, loose connection, or failing transformer first. Those are far more likely causes than voltage drop.