Christmas Lights Calculator

On this page

• 3D preview of the lights on your fence
• How the Christmas lights estimate works
• How to measure your fence and roofline
• What the 3D preview shows
• How many Christmas light bulbs do I need per foot of fence?
• How many outlets do I need for Christmas lights on a fence?
• Why does the calculator say the price is not set?

How the Christmas lights estimate works

The calculator turns the length of your fence, and optionally your roofline, into the quantities a lights installation needs:

• Total lights run is the fence length plus the roofline length, the total length of light string to buy or rent.
• Bulbs along the run is the run divided by the bulb spacing you pick: C9 bulbs are usually 12 inches apart, C7 bulbs 6 inches, mini lights 4 inches.
• Post-top bulbs adds one accent bulb per fence post, the way the 3D preview strings them. Posts are counted from the post spacing (8 ft for most wood fences).
• Clips assumes one clip per bulb along the run; post-top bulbs hang from the post itself.
• Power points is how many outlets or extension cords the run needs, from the longest run a single outlet can feed. Check the rating printed on your light set: LED sets usually allow far longer runs than incandescent ones.

Installed cost shows "Price not set" until installation pricing is published; the quantities above are what a quote is based on.

How to measure your fence and roofline

Measure each straight fence section along the top rail and add the sections together. Gates count as part of the run if the lights continue across them. For the roofline, measure the eaves and gables you want lit, following each edge the string will hang from rather than the straight-line distance.

If you would rather not walk the property with a tape, open the Using Map tab, find your address on the satellite view and trace the fence line: the calculator measures the traced line for you.

What the 3D preview shows

The preview renders a 6 ft board fence at the length you enter and hangs the lights the same way our fence rendering does: a cable between neighbouring post tops with a gentle sag, bulbs spaced evenly along each cable, and one bulb on each post top. It is a visual guide to how dense the bulbs will look at the spacing you chose, not a drawing of your exact fence.

How many Christmas light bulbs do I need per foot of fence?

One bulb per foot for C9 sets spaced 12 inches apart, two per foot for C7 sets at 6 inches, and three per foot for mini lights at 4 inches. A 60 ft fence with C9 bulbs uses 60 bulbs along the run plus one on each of its 9 posts.

How many outlets do I need for Christmas lights on a fence?

Divide the total run by the longest run one outlet can feed and round up. The limit is printed on the light set; the calculator defaults to 200 ft, which most LED C9 sets allow, and incandescent sets usually need an outlet far more often.

Why does the calculator say the price is not set?

The quantities come from the fence geometry, but installed lights are priced per project and the published rate is not available yet. Until it is, the estimate lists the run length, bulbs, clips and power points a quote is based on.