Summer is coming and before you know it, it’ll be here soon. According to the US Census Bureau and CDC, one of the activity preferred by kids and teens is swimming. And one way to do that is in pools, in fact we really love pools and have them in our homes or visit someone that has it.

So if you’re planning to build a pool, whether it be an in-ground one or not, or maybe you want to do fixings and maintenance for your own pool ahead of the upcoming season you may want to look for pool lighting.

There are many advantages of a well lit pool, not only provides important security measures, something vital for kids and minors. But also, if done properly, helps to highlight your backyard architecture, using LEDs at home can create effects for partying and barbecues for afternoons in the pool or simply chilling and grant you the possibility to enjoy your pool any time of the day.

But even though pool lighting has many benefits there can also be a lot of mistakes you can make in lighting that can deprive you from a great experience. For instance, already built pools may not be very attracted to the fact of doing work to lit them, as its costs can be very high and not worth it.

And there’s more nuance to that, pool architecture plays a big factor, height of the bulbs or spotlights, color of the pool, and a lot more.

Whether you want to hang out with friends or chill on a sunday afternoon relaxing in the pool. We at Lighting and Supplies are going to talk about things that you know about pool lighting to help you on your own planning and lighting decor.

Which types of bulbs exist for pool lighting?

They can be distinguished or classified based on the following factors.

1. Type of lamp: Today we can find projectors that work with halogen lamps (conventional lighting) and others that work with LEDs.
2. Fixing or mounting system: You differentiate between the ones that are embedded in the wall through a fixing mount or extra-flat ones installed on the surface of the wall.
3. Pool Material: Another relevant aspect that you should look for is the type of pool where it will be installed. There are spotlights for Liner ones and, on the other hand, spotlights for concrete pools.

Where do I place the pool lights?

The points where to place the pool spotlights is a very common question since sometimes it is not easy to choose the location to achieve optimal lighting. So you want to follow some rules.

1. Avoid directing the spotlights towards the house or the areas of greatest use, since direct exposure to the spotlight can be annoying.
2. The loss of light that occurs along the projection distance of the focus -the farther from the focus, the less light-
3. Pools with dark liners absorb more light than light-colored pools, so you should use more lights in the former.

Standards for pool lighting taking shape into account

Although the shape of the pools can vary, there are some basic principles that are applicable in most cases.

1. If your pool has Roman steps, place the spotlights on the opposite side. In this way, it will be perfectly illuminated.
2. If you have an irregular shaped pool, the angle of the wall should not exceed 10-20 degrees in the diameter of the focus. The smaller the diameter of the focus, the less affected this point will be.
3. In pools with an “L” shaped design, it is advisable to act as if they were two independent pools.

Although the design of each pool is different from a simple geometric shape to an irregular shape such as lagoons or with water effects, the basic principles of design are usually the same.

These key criteria for lighting design are illustrated below so that you have complete information to achieve the perfect lighting for any type of pool.

Criteria for Pool Lighting

For basic geometric shapes (basically rectangular; classic design), we recommend the following distributions whenever possible and make sure there’s no obstacles that prevent the distribution of light.

We take as a point of reference the fact that the house is located adjacent to the lower side of each pool.

1. ONE FOCUS. In small pools without obstacles, a single spotlight is sufficient. As long as it can be installed at a short end to illuminate the length of the pool in this way, you’ll obtain a bright and uniform light.
2. MIRROR SPOTLIGHTS. Whenever possible, we recommend installing the spotlights centered on the short ends of the pool and facing each other. This option provides the best light distribution and thanks to facing the spotlights, it is ensured that any obstruction in the pool that could cause a shadow will be illuminated by the spotlight on the opposite end.
3. LIGHTING FROM THE WIDE PART OF THE POOL. In this case, a pool that is longer than what a spotlight is usually capable of reaching (around 10 m), you install spotlights equidistantly along a wall. As a general rule, with a distance of 2.5 meters between lights and 1.25 meters with respect to the ends of the side.

In any case, most pools today have a wide variety of stairs, ledges, benches or other elements, designed to increase their safety and functionality.

Lighting alternatives for your Pool

Pool Spotlights

The simplest alternative. Placing an LED projector is easy and fast. In addition, we can choose a wide variety of powers, color temperatures and even use RGB spotlights to project colored lights on the pool. (especially great for reunions)

Integrated architectural light

A very interesting alternative if our pool is attached to, or very close to, the house or other architectural elements such as pergolas or gazebos. In this case, we can integrate the light into a nearby structure so that it is projected towards the pool area.

With this alternative, it may be necessary to do a little work, but in no case will it be necessary to act on the pool.

Floating light

Floating pool lights are original and fun points of light that can take many forms.

Whenever we place lights near water sources we must look at their IP protection factor. These are proven to be a fun alternative and give it a loose and joyful effect for your pool.

Lights in the trees

In a similar way to the architectural light proposal, here we will take advantage of a tree or another element of the garden’s vegetation to place the lights. This option, in addition to being very decorative, is truly unique when it comes to lighting a pool and it will surely leave no one indifferent.

Pool perimeter lights

Finally, we can install ground lights or LED strips along the perimeter of the pool. This type of lights may also require some type of work, but in no case in areas that are going to be covered by water.

Of course, nothing prevents us from combining several of these alternatives with each other or, if our pool already has lights inside, using them to give them an extra touch of personality. The options are endless.

Wrapping up Pool Lighting Design

Logically, there are different types of spotlights, halogen, LED, with different powers, different lighting characteristics, etc. For this reason, the guidelines and criteria mentioned are merely indicative, the advice of a professional being always recommended, in order to analyze the characteristics of each case and identify the best possible distribution.

At Lighting and Supplies, we are experts of planning, you can contact us and we’ll give a free consultation for your doubts or inquiries. Let us help you in your restaurant light journey by contacting us today!