When we talk to prospective pool owners, pool lights are one of the topics that always come up. Pool light enable you to enjoy your swimming pool when it gets dark, they are an important security feature and most importantly, your pool will look stunning with pool lights on. In this article, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about pool lighting and pool light design.
Why do you put pool lights in a fibreglass swimming pool?
The main reason you have pool lights in your pool is that until you own a swimming pool many customers do not realise you use your pool every night. Speaking to Lisa Young from Box Hill who has owned a Compass Pool for over 10 years she says every night my pool light comes on and I look at my pool and smile. She said ‘I might not be swimming but every evening I love looking at my beautiful clean pool’.
If you can see your pool from the house (many customers located their pools near kitchens / alfresco living / windows from the house that view the pool from main rooms) then add an extra light and use it all year round. Set the pool light to come on each night to enhance the pool. The more you use the pool light(s) the longer they last. The low energy lights also mean they do not require much energy.
Jill Martin sent in this email to me ‘I love nothing more than having a cup of tea and looking at my pool each night. I then change the colour depending on my mood’.
How does a lighting work in a fibreglass swimming pools?
The LED light in the pool light is low frequency and runs back to a transformer at the pool equipment. This then runs to normal power.
How do you change the light if there is a problem?
To change the light you just unscrew two screws and the entire light house can be pulled up and rested on the edge of the pool coping. There is no power that runs to the swimming pool so you don’t need to worry about any issue with power. Many new customers say they are worried about power in their pool however they are perfectly safe. The power runs from normal 10amp into a transformer that then transfers low amp along the cable to the pool light.
There are pool lights designed for fibreglass swimming pool and for concrete pools. The outside casing is slightly different but the functioning of the actual light is the same.
What colour is that pool colour?
One of the problems we find at Compass Pools or the one complaint that customers tell us is that ‘why don’t you put the colour of the pool on the photos in your brochure or display photos’. The reason for this is that many photos and award winning photos of fibreglass swimming pools actually have photographers taking photos at ‘dusk’ and they always put the pool lights on (sometimes red or blue or green) to give different effects. We have to explain that if we put the actual colour of the swimming pool on a photo then the reality of the pool colour can be very different to customers expectations …. Hence it is a tricky thing. Adding pool lights to your fibreglass swimming pool does mean that your pool at dusk or evening will ever be the one colour. By the way the best way to see what colour the water looks like in the Compass Pool range of surfaces is the pool colour selector as this gives you a true reflection of what the different colours look like.
This is the same swimming pool – compare the water colour by daylight and dusk
A photo of a pool does not necessarily give you the actual colour of the pool colour water as it can look 50 shades of blue
Pool lights are so strong now that they can make the one pool show different water colour by just changing the colour of the LED setting. When arranging professional photos on swimming pools, the photographers use the pool lights on different colours to enhance the backyard. This creates differences in the pool water making the same pool look very different. Water reflects the sky so most pool water looks a version of blue. Even if your pool shell or tiles are white or grey or stone the water will still look a shade of blue. However, if you have a ‘brown / sand / natural coloured fibreglass pool shell or tiles then these yellows in the base colour can affect the sky blue reflection to show a green water or shades of green. The one swimming pool water colour will vary depending on the time of day and condition of the weather i.e. clouds, sun, haze etc these weather conditions all affects the shade of pool water colour.
The LED pool lighting is such a pleasure to own as no matter what colour pool you choose to buid, at night time you can have any colour water you like.
See this one pool with the different colour LED lights affecting the colour.
Spa electric pool lights
At Compass Pools Melbourne we have been using Spa Electric lights since 1980. Back when it was globes, this Melbourne based company has lead the way with pool lighting in Australia (and the world).
They introduced the Ceramic Light technology in the early 2000 replacing the pesky halogen globe (this globe did require fairly regular replacement and if you talk to pool owners who used to have these lights you might hear them suggest it was more effort than it was worth. Since the LED ceramic lights they now give upwards of 50,000 hours of globing and so the replacement is very infrequent. In the early years of LED you would chose the colour LED light (white, blue or green) and you had very reliable lights.
In 2010 the LED evolved even further allowing different colours in the one globe meaning you didn’t have to decide on the colour. Today all you need to do is pause the colour you like or have Disco setting and your pool lights will change colour or flash.
How many lights do I need in my fiberglass swimming pool?
We suggest at Compass Pools Melbourne that a 6m long pool or under only needs a single light. If your pool is 8m and over we would suggest two lights. If your pool is between 6m and 8m you could have one or two lights depending on how bright you light the water. If you like soft subtle colour then one but if you want brighter light then definitely two. If you choose a darker colour maybe add another light to make sure you have the light you desire. Pools that are 10m over might even have 3.
How much do swimming pool lights cost?
How much does a swimming pool cost and then how much do pool lights cost is also a regular question we get asked. Pool lights are one of the fairly lower cost item for a swimming pool and range from $400-$900 per light hence if you are looking at a $40,000 to $60,000 swimming pool package then the lights are fairly standard in the packages.
