Does rope light use a lot of power?
A. You bet! 150 feet (a typical roll – costing between $60-$90 depending on where you buy it) uses about 8 amps. LED rope light uses a fraction of the power – but costs an arm and a leg. For example, a 150 foot roll of LED rope light can be over $500 – 8 or more times more costly than standard rope light!! Further, each length needs a transformer – another $5.50 or so. Our Ferris wheel has eight spokes – each with a different color of 3′ length of rope light. That cost me about $10 in material (rope light), and $12 in power cords – a total of $22. To do the same eight spokes in LED light would cost me about $83 in rope light, plus $50 in power cords and transformers – totaling around $140! Further, LED lights can only be either on or off. Standard rope light can also be faded up or down (I use that feature in the Ferris wheel display).
