The Highest Quality UK Made Festoon Lighting
Posted by Ed Uden on
At Cinemattag LX we specialise in providing the best festoon lighting options available in the UK. Our range is ideal for use in the home and garden up to the most demanding of environments such as permanent cross street installations, sea front and pub gardens.
All our festoons with replaceable lamps are made in the UK to the highest quality. Unlike other brands the lampholders are both glued and stamped into place ensuring the longest lifespan possible.
In our festoon hire division, some of our strings are over 10 years old and have been through very harsh use but continue to work and look like new.
So which lamp spacing / lamp options are best for you?
First of all, consider the effect you want to create. Are you after a subtle glow, with lots of individual points of light, or general task / safety lighting for an area?
To create a subtle ambience try 0.5m or 0.75m lamp spacing with a lower wattage lamp option such as the 2.3W Lumilife LED Filament Glass Lamp or for a more durable option, use a polycarbonate lamp such as the ProLite 1W Warm White Golf Balls or Inno-Lite 2W Clear Filament golf balls. Should you wish to dim your festoon we offer 4.8W Lumilife LED Filament Lamps which can lower the intensity of with a suitable dimmer. We would not recommend these in a festoon with a spacing of less than 1m unless they are to be dimmed as en mass they are very bright!
For general lighting or large scale projects use the 1m or 3m lamp spacing festoons. Again the 2.3w Lumilife LED Filament Lamps work well with these festoons. If choosing a 3m lamp spacing festoon and you need general illumination use the Prolite 8.5W LED Lamps.
Why not add some colour with our Prolite 1W Coloured Golf Ball Lamps or even our Funky Filament Lamps?
What kind of festoon should I choose?
We offer 3 different options when purchasing festoon. These are;
- Lightweight Connectable series - IP44 - ideal for use in the summer in gardens. These do not have replaceable lamps but do offer cost savings over our heavier duty options.
- Heavy Duty Festoons - UK Made - Replaceable lamps - IP55 rated. These are ideal for permanent installations and constant use. We offer a variety of lamp options and spacing as described above. Most have a long (3m) lead in to the first lamp so can easily be installed a distance from the power source. Many are also fitted with 13A plugs for direct connection to a 13A socket. We can also fit a 16A plug to these if required. They have a short lead out to a terminated (fully waterproof) end. These festoons can be purchased on their own or with lamps (at a discounted price) as part of our package options.
- PRO Festoons - UK Made - Replaceable lamps - IP55 rated. These festoons are perfect for hire companies as they feature an IP44 16A midnight black plug and socket for linking multiple sets together. If you do not need to link multiple sets we would recommend the heavy duty festoons. Both the heavy duty and PRO festoons are the same in quality, and only differ by their plug and socket connections.
Rubber or PVC Cable?
There is a small price difference between rubber and PVC cable. For use in the garden and around the home PVC cable will be suitable. However we usually recommend the rubber cable option as it is tougher than the PVC and less susceptible to UV light degradation. Whilst you may have heard of electricians recommending rubber is removed from older houses due to it going brittle over time, we can assure you that the modern H05RN-F cable used in our festoon is far more durable. Owing to a synthetic rubber being used in the manufacturing process this cable does not degrade over time and is suitable for permanent outdoor use and will not perish in sunlight.
ES (E27) or BC (B22) Lampholders?
This really comes down to personal preference. Due to ES lamp holders and lamps being used more widely across the world there is a larger lamp choice available in E27. However if the festoon is to be regularly taken down / moved as part of a hire business for example we would always recommend BC lamps as they are far quicker to install and remove. Both lamp holder variants are equally waterproof.
Cant find what you're looking for?
If you cant find exactly what you are after on our site please give us a call on 01202 649571. We have a very close working relationship with our UK manufacturer so can have custom festoons built to your specification.
One of our festoon experts will always be very happy to help with any queries you have as we understand choosing the right option can be a bit challenging as there are so many variants available.