What Are C6 LED Lights?

The C6 Designation

• The C6 designation was originally chosen for Christmas lighting with incandescent bulbs. The "C" refers to the cone shape of the cover placed on the light. The "6" indicates that the bulb is six-eighths-inches in diameter. Newer LED bulbs that meet the same size and shape criteria are given the same designation, resulting in a C6 LED light. The most common application for this bulb remains holiday lighting for both indoors and outdoors.

How They Work

• C6 LED lights rely on light-emitting diode technology, which has been used for lighting since the 1960s. LEDs use electricity to take advantage of energy band gaps present in semiconductors. The width of the band gap determines the wavelength (color) of the light emitted. Engineers are able to exploit the natural electronic structure of different materials to make C6 LED lights in a variety of colors, from red to blue. Because they rely upon electronic switching instead of a burning filament, C6 LED lights are more efficient than their incandescent cousins.

Benefits of C6 LED Lights

• C6 LED lights have many distinct advantages over similar incandescent bulbs. These advantages derive from the benefits of light-emitting diodes. LEDs typically have a much longer lifetime than traditional bulbs because they do not rely upon a burning filament. Additionally, they only require about one-tenth the electricity that incandescent lights need. When hundreds of lights are needed for decoration, this difference can quickly accumulate to significant energy savings. Unlike conventional lighting, which relies on plastic coatings for coloring, C6 LED lights can be engineered to emit a variety of different colors.

Disadvantages of C6 LED Lights

• Although C6 LED lights cost less in operation, they typically are priced significantly higher than incandescent lights. This is because LEDs rely on more advanced technology than incandescent lighting. Colored C6 LED lights can cost even more, especially for colors that are difficult to produce like blue. Some reports have indicated that squirrels are likely to damage outdoor LED lighting by gnawing on them to sharpen their teeth. Because LEDs use less electricity than traditional lighting, the squirrels get less of a shock when they breach the coating of the bulb, providing less of a deterrent to the behavior.