I just ordered a pentair color changing LED light to replace the old regular light in the pool that has tripped the gfi since we moved in. The bulb I removed from the current fixture while troubleshooting is 120V and 500w. Will I need to buy a transformer for the new 12V LED light, or is the transformer built in? When I ordered it I pictured just pulling the new wires, splicing it in, and I'd be good to go. Now I'm thinking there's a bit I may have overlooked, not to mention more equipment to purchase! Thanks!
Upgrading to LED light, power question
- Thread starter Smitty24
- Start date
Looks like I got a little too excited when the wife gave me the thumbs up to buy a new light. I failed to notice that some models were 12V and others were 120V. My next question is whether or not there's any benefit/reason to buy a transformer and install the 12V light, versus return it and order the correct 120V one?
The 120 is probably going to be brighter -- however your experience may be different.
Corleone
0
Benefit could be safety, though some will say otherwise. Personally I chose the 12v because I like the comfort of knowing I have less voltage in our water. I spoke to pentair who assured me there was no difference in color or brightness, though there's varying opinions on that.
Depending on the length of run and number of lights, you can get an intermatic px100 or px300. They're not too bad on price and pretty easy to wire up.
Since there are no LED's ( the diodes themselves) that operate on 120 volts I would suspect that the 120 volt unit will have some sort of voltage limiting device in the light housing itself. In fact depending on how many LED's are in the 12 volt unit I would assume there is a voltage limiting device in there as well. Most diodes are set up to run on 1.5 volts. There are some newer ones that will run on a slightly higher voltage.
I went ahead and returned the 12V and ordered the 120V. The 12V would require a transformer, about a $100. The 120V light is right at $100 more than the 12V, so I'm assuming they basically just use a built in transformer, thus the price difference. This way I don't have to do any re-wiring, just pull the new power cord and hook it up. Thanks!