I tried using LED tubes with the existing T8 ballast and they worked for a while, but then started flickering, and eventually, the ballast died. I've heard that flickering is a common problem with the original LED tubes, but that there are newer bulbs which don't do this. I'm considering just bypassing the ballast and using direct-wire LED tubes (4 ft.). Is that the best route, since it's more energy-efficient, eliminates the ballast failure issue, and would avoid the flicker problem? Any downside? If not, do I have to source a specific type of bulb to work with my shunted headstones? Thanks!

The question is regarding possibly revising the wiring of our holiday lights . We have four strings of lights/Garland. Each has a plug (male end) on one end, and a receptacle (female end) on the other. (I’ll refer to the string of lights as A, B, C, and D) This year we plugged A into B, and B into the outside wall receptacle. We also plugged C into D, and D into the outside wall receptacle. (A→B→ wall receptacle; C→D→ wall receptacle) The wall receptacle is on a dedicated 20 amp circuit. My question: would there be any problem/things to be worried about, if I linked all 4 strings of lights together? In other words A plugs into B, B plugs into C, C plugs into D, and D plugs into the receptacle. (A→B→C→D→ wall receptacle). As always, thanks in advance.