If you’re considering having an inground pool built, you should also be thinking about whether or not pool lights are important to you. This is crucial because pool lights need to be installed during construction. If you change your mind and decide you want pool lights at a later time, you’ll be looking at a costly renovation.
The Reasons for Installing Pool Lights
Lighting your pool will allow you to use your pool both day and night. Swimming at night can be a wonderful experience with the reflective light that underwater lighting provides. By lighting your inground pool, you also give yourself peace of mind when your children go swimming after dark because you’ll have better visibility for keeping an eye on them.
The Number of Lights Needed
The number of lights you will need for your pool depends on the type of light used. One LED light will adequately illuminate a pool up to 30 feet long but pools longer than that will require two lights. These recommendations are the bare minimum. Talk to your pool expert to find out what they recommend.
Lighting Options
The most popular pool light today is the LED but you can also get fiber optic or incandescent lighting, as well. Here are the pros and cons of each.
- LED stands for light emitting diodes. They have no filaments so they don’t emit heat. LED’s can change color and have several light show settings. They also have a very long life span; about 30,000 hours as compared to 5,000 hours for an incandescent bulb and 6,000 hours for fiber optics.
- Fiber Optic lights are unique in that the light bulb is located in a dry box on top of the pool patio. The light from the bulb travels through fiber optic cables to a special fitting inside the pool wall where the light shines out into the pool. Some fiber optic lights have a color wheel within the box, allowing them to change color. Fiber optic lights have been mostly replaced by LED technology. The main disadvantage of these lights is that they are the least bright of all the lighting options but are very expensive.
- Incandescent lights work by electrical current passing through a filament. The filament glows, producing a bright light. The only way to change color is to place a colored lens over the light inside the pool, which is rather antiquated today, but the major drawback to incandescent lights is that they have a much shorter lifespan than other options.
Are Pool Lights Safe?
As long as they are installed according to the manufacturer’s directions and conform to local building codes, pool lights are very safe. Installed correctly, modern pool lighting is virtually risk-free.