In an effort to keep our community and our staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic we have implemented the following additional procedures as of November 12th, 2020:

This is in addition to our previous policies we have been operating under for months:

Know that we take this very seriously. All employees are aware of the provincial health guidelines and have signed contracts pledging to adhere to them.

Maybe you have seen our work at the Zoo Lights Festival or at The Forks/ River Trail. Perhaps you have even seen us working in your neighborhood or even on your own house? If so, you have most likely asked yourself, “How does Lights Unlimited uphold such an outstanding quality of work season after season, light after painstaking light?” Well, not only do we have some of the most qualified and experienced employees in the business, but some of our credit is due to the equipment we use.

After years of trial, error, and experimentation, we have found the perfect tools uniquely designed for Christmas light installation.
Here are some of our secrets…

Tree Polls

Spot the Tree Poll being used not on a tree

Specially designed to set lights on the very top of any variety of tree, Tree Polls help us reach roughly 25 feet into the air! These polls work like Russian nesting dolls, where each extension of the poll can slide out of each other to offer easy collapsibility, storage, and as much reach as possible. The end of the poll features a Y-shaped tip to help guide the light strand from branch-to-branch.
Since no job is out of the question, where there is a tree that is, in fact, too large for the Tree Polls, we bring out the heavy guns.

Bucket Truck

Bucket Truck hanging lights like you’ve never seen before

Possibly getting mistaken for Manitoba Hydro workers, our Bucket Truck crew is a highly specialized and certified team that soars through the air delicately placing lights on the tallest of trees and most challenging to reach peaks of houses. With safety being paramount, the Bucket Truck crew dawns the highest quality hard-hats and safety harnesses to bring the brightest of lights to your world.

Clips

Gutter Clips in Action

With everything from Gutter clips to soffit clips and permanent installation clips, this secret weapon is what keeps your Christmas lights immovable and steadfast while on your roofline. Being a small Winnipeg based business ourselves, we order our clips by the tens-of-thousands from a local Winnipeg-owned company. Through the most torrential of storms, the specialized clips we use will help keep your lights pointing plum to the ground.

At Lights Unlimited, we are relentless in our pursuit to find new techniques and tools to produce the highest quality of work imaginable.
With cutting edge technology at our tool belt and the most skilled laborers in the business, Lights Unlimited will be lighting up your world for a long time to come.

One of the most massive detriments to a poorly installed Christmas lights display is the misuse of string lights. 

As one of the most diverse lights on the market, string lights are used for everything from trees, lamp posts, bushes, custom-built lanterns, and sometimes roof lines. 

While their different applications may make them seem like a fool-proof choice for lighting displays, choosing the proper type of string lights will make or break the display. 

The most common string lights on the market are C6, G12 and 5mm. 

C6

A strand of C6 Multi-Colored lights

Perhaps the most common light string style, these bulbs are a smaller take on the classic C9 Christmas lights. The cone-shaped C6 lights lend themselves to any use. Commonly used on foliage, these lights will elevate to unique contours of any tree. Whether it be deciduous, evergreen or a small bush, C6 lights are the go-to for outdoor lighting needs. 

G12

A strand of G12 Warm-White lights

A similar to C6 lights, G12 lights are commonly used for outdoor trees and other foliage. However, these lights are also popular for outdoor event displays due to their globe-shaped bulb that casts a soft and delicate hue. A despite the difference in the bulb shape, often G12 and C6 lights are used interchangeably. 

5mm

5mm Warm White lights

An incredibly popular option for string lights, 5mm lights are a staple to any beautiful lighting display. Commonly used as the go-to style for trunk wraps, these lights are attention grabbers as they wonderfully outline any tree’s complex and unique aspects. One fantastic way to spice up your display would be to utilize the twinkling option available with 5mm lights.

All of these styles come in a variety of colours of bulb and wire. Whatever choice you make, be assured that we have you covered. There is no limit when you work with Lights Unlimited!

Trying to decide between incandescent and LED light fixtures? Look no further to find the style of lighting best suited for your needs.

INCANDESCENT

A tried and true style of lighting, Incandescent bulbs have been around since the 1850s. Incandescents produce light by heating a wire filament until it glows. The wire is surrounded by a clear glass bulb that acts as a vacuum to protect it from oxygen.

Incandescent lights are commonly used for interior or patio lighting. Due to their aesthetic appearance, incandescents are typically the go-to style of lighting for weddings, coffee shops, and other elegant events. The light produced is a warm, tangerine hue that instantly creates a beautiful atmosphere. Incandescent lights are often the preferred light for wedding and film production because they photograph exceptionally well. Although LED lights continue to gain popularity in that area, incandescent is still the first choice in those fields when sufficient power is available.

The Downside
They have the worst energy efficiency on the market, converting only about 5% of their energy into light. The heat these bulbs infamously produce is the cause of the remaining energy to be lost.
Incandescent bulbs also have an incredibly short life span. Lasting on average for 1,000 hours, they suffer compared to the 20,000- 30,000 hours that LEDs can survive. Though they can be used for Christmas lights, it is not very common due to these factors.

LED

An LED, or Light-Emitting Diode, is made from a unique material called a semiconductor. A diode is the simplest type of semiconductor component. When a current passes through the semiconductor, light is emitted.

There are two types of LEDs:
Diffused LEDs: The achievement of colour through color-tinted plastic cases.
Clear LEDs: They have a clear plastic case but emit colored light.

LEDs uses are for general and special-purpose lighting, where a particular colour is needed. The industry standard for Christmas lights, LEDs are an incredibly popular choice for the Christmas season. LEDs use much less energy than incandescent bulbs because diodes light is much more efficient than filaments. LEDs are chosen 99% of the time for Christmas lights because they rarely burn out and allow larger displays.

The Downside
The upfront cost of LEDs is more than incandescent, but that is due to their long lifespan and durability. As LEDs are increasingly becoming the ‘go-to’ style of lighting, the price is ever reducing.

CONCLUSION

If you want to light your house for the Christmas season or expect to use the lighting day-after-day, it would be in your best interest to invest in LED lights. Their efficiency will save you money in the long run and will last season after season.
For a more elegant look, consider Incandescent bulbs. The colour radiated from the bulb is incomparable and ubiquitous with chic events.

The best way to get that professional, clean look on your home is to use the right materials. The good news is that the most attractive looking lights are also the most durable and, over the long run, most cost-effective.

Socket Wire

At Lights Unlimited, we start with socket wire that is both durable and fully customizable to your home’s unique rooflines. We use SPT-2 wire, which is rated for Canada’s winters, and won’t fail on Christmas Eve when your family is over for dinner!
If you have ever installed retail lights on your home, you may have experienced hanging all the lights up, only to have a large section of the lights go out inexplicably. This dreadful event won’t happen with Lights Unlimited! We use the same tried and true two-wire socket wire that won’t let you down and keep the lights burning all through the night. With an LED retrofit bulb, it’s practically maintenance proof even in our climate. Our standard socket wire is the classic dark green, but other colors, such as brown and black, can be available upon request.

Bulbs

The most exciting aspect of Christmas lights is also the most important. Using the right bulbs is also a must – and we have you covered. We have a host of colors available: Warm White, Cool White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink, and Turquoise. Because we use a retrofit system, it means we build our lights by hand, and you can have any custom pattern you want! It even means that you can change the bulb colors in a future year while keeping your existing custom socket wire and clips. It can be a fun way to change your house display for a reasonable cost down the road.

Classic C9 LEDs

Our standard bulb for houses is the C9 LED. This bulb is the classic conical or “pine cone” Christmas bulb shape. It is much brighter than retail-purchased lights as it has 5 LEDs in each bulb, which gives the light a more vibrant appearance. It also means that the lights don’t have that flicker, which many have observed with other LEDs. C9 LEDs use less than one watt and, as such, are very energy efficient. Recent industry innovation and upgrades to C9 SMDs allow them to look the same while using less than 0.6 watts per bulb! Just one more reason to be proud of your Christmas light display.

Gorgeous G30 Warm White bulbs on display

The other option for your house is called the G30 bulb. This bulb is for those who want a little extra brightness in their display—shaped like a 1″ sphere that acts as a magnifier for the 5 LEDs inside the bulb. The cost is a little bit more, but these are quite popular due to their clean appearance and classy look. G30 LEDs also come in the same color options as our C9 LEDs.

Using quality bulbs and socket wire, your Christmas lights will be an excellent investment with a look you will be proud of. By taking proper care by taking lights down for storage for Spring and Summer, these lights are the best option for you and your home.

The first snow of the season reminded me of a snowy day last year when your favorite local Christmas light installers somehow were allowed on TV. The fine people at 92.1 Citi FM saw fit to come out and get some footage of us installing Christmas lights on a home on Deepwater Cove in the Maples area. If you don’t believe the screen shot above (sorry Jets fans, btw) just watch the video below. It’s true…. I’m the guy staying warm in the brown parka and blue hat.

As far as the nuts and bolts go, we installed C9 pure white LEDs on the full perimeter of the home, plus matching but smaller C6 pure white LEDs on their large deciduous tree in the front. We used white wire to keep the sockets on the house as discrete as possible.  It looks very bright and nice at night and the homeowner was very happy with the installation. If you’re ever interested in something like this you know who to call.

So anyways, hopefully I sounded like I know what I’m talking about! Lots of fun and thanks again to Mark and the crew at 92.1 Citi.

This is a 55′ Christmas tree we lit in the Osborne Village neighborhood of Winnipeg. It’s a fantastic look with the uber-bright C9 Retrofit LEDs hung in a custom white/blue pattern.

We’re very proud of this tree. I began thinking though, if we wanted to make it even better, how would we do it?

Just like you would hang decorations in your indoor Christmas tree, lit decorations such as spheres are certainly an option in your outdoor tree. Same would go for a star (or angel) on top. With a bucket truck things like this are possible.

What do you think? I really, really want to do one of these. This would be a stunning tree that would find its way on to many Christmas light sightseeing tours.

What on earth does Lights Unlimited have in common with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, JUNO Award-winning musicians Chic Gamine, and a denim-wearing, bearded men’s choir?

We were all at Prairie Barge Festival 2014 – as were many of you.

Barge Fest is a fantastic cultural event held each year in Winnipeg at The Forks with the WSO and many other musicians performing literally on the Assiniboine river by means of a giant floating wooden barge. It’s a great event and I highly recommend checking it out next year.

You’re pretty great, Winnipeg. #prairiebarge pic.twitter.com/znigmgdoKj

— Rachel Stone (@arghstone) August 31, 2014

If you checked it out this year, you may have noticed our outdoor light spheres setting the mood. We installed 14 light spheres among a cluster of Poplar trees above a public sitting area for the concert, stage right from the performance area. Varying sizes of spheres was best we felt so we chose spheres between 10″ and 24″ in diameter. Warm white lights were used to best fit with the star and moon feel of the natural setting. The final look was very nice and may become a regular feature at The Forks.

#PrairieBarge with the @WpgSymphony #Winnipeg pic.twitter.com/a7ijA45aiQ

— The Forks (@TheForks) August 30, 2014

One thing we decided to do a little differently was suspend the spheres from ultra-thin aluminum wire which we string from tree to tree. This was to create the effect of the spheres floating in mid air and not necessarily tied to a tree. This will be an option we keep in mind for future outdoor events or weddings.

The only change I would make on this one is to add just a few more spheres. Hopefully can do more of these.