Return on Investment for LED Lighting

[bradj]

We went way over budget on our pool design. We also had no desire for multicolor LED so the appeal for an adder for White LED lighting didn't make sense considering I just couldn't spend any more money on the pool construction.

I've seen a few mentions on here that incandescent lighting just doesn't make sense anymore. I decided to not use the PB adder costs for my ROI calculation, but the price to purchase an equivalent Incandescent & LED light from an online supplier.

Pentair Incandescent 300W, 120V, 100FT of cable $219.95: Amazon.com : Pentair 78928500 Amerlite Underwater Incandescent Pool Light with Stainless Steel Face Ring, 120 Volt, 100 Foot Cord, 300 Watt : Swimming Pool Lighting Products : Patio, Lawn Garden
Pentair LED 300W Equivilant, 120V, 100FT of cable $413.89: Amazon.com : Pentair 601102 IntelliBrite 5G White Underwater LED Pool Light, 120 Volt, 100 Foot Cord, 300 Watt Equivalent : Swimming Pool Lighting Products : Patio, Lawn Garden

I currently pay $.06 kWh

The LED uses ~260 watts less than the Incandescent.

Assuming I run the lights for 4 Hours, twice a week, all year that comes down to (260W x 8 x 52) / 1000 = ~108 kWH x .06 = $6.48 annual savings

The cost delta is $193.94 / $6.48 = ~30 year payback.

Even if I double the usage all year long that's still 15 years. Now I don't anticipate either of these lights lasting 15 years, at least the experience I've had with residential LED lighting says that.

Are there other reasons to switch to LED in the future once these burn out? I imagine those in areas with much higher electricity costs would have a different opinion.

Thanks!

 

[bdavis466]

I don't view pool lights (or really anything pool related) as an investment. A pool is a hobby that you should be able to enjoy. The added expense of color LED lights is very small in the scope of the project and well worth it in my opinion. Your's may very well vary, but that's a decision you'll need to make.

You can't put a price on being able to change the look of your pool with a flip of a switch or a push of a button...

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Not that I think that an ROI analysis of lighting options is all that instructive (I see it as a personal/aesthetic choice more than an economic choice), your analysis really needs to be modified with the bulb lifetimes factored in. A halogen lamp that is run daily for several hours will burn out rather quickly. You can easily go through two or three halogen lamps before an LED ever needs replacing. Therefore the cost delta shrinks considerably and your payback time gets much shorter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[bradj]

I don't view pool lights (or really anything pool related) as an investment. A pool is a hobby that you should be able to enjoy. The added expense of color LED lights is very small in the scope of the project and well worth it in my opinion. Your's may very well vary, but that's a decision you'll need to make.

You can't put a price on being able to change the look of your pool with a flip of a switch or a push of a button...

Understood.. I guess my comment was concerning plain white LED lights vs incandescent, not colored.

Regarding the investment aspect, its purely just a term assuming lighting performance is equal between the two options it would solely come down to cost/return to choose one over the other.

Thanks!

Not that I think that an ROI analysis of lighting options is all that instructive (I see it as a personal/aesthetic choice more than an economic choice), your analysis really needs to be modified with the bulb lifetimes factored in. A halogen lamp that is run daily for several hours will burn out rather quickly. You can easily go through two or three halogen lamps before an LED ever needs replacing. Therefore the cost delta shrinks considerably and your payback time gets much shorter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

I guess thats what I'm getting at. I've never had a pool, assuming we use the lights a couple times a week, mostly during the summer what could the expected lifetime of an incandescent vs LED bulb be?

Either way I won't be changing the bulbs until after the first dies, my question was mostly out of curiosity.

 

[gwegan]

I guess I was not aware you could purchase plain LED lights.

 

[Nectarologist]

Hi brad,
If you really don't want the color change option then I'd save the money too. I always say you have to stop the bleeding at some point (money-wise). I don't know what is involved in changing the standard bulb but I'm sure there is a video on youtube and I'd be shocked if you can't do it yourself. I felt the same way about a VS pump. It wasn't worth the extra cost given what I was paying to run the pump each year (only a 4 month swim season here).

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Understood.. I guess my comment was concerning plain white LED lights vs incandescent, not colored.

Regarding the investment aspect, its purely just a term assuming lighting performance is equal between the two options it would solely come down to cost/return to choose one over the other.

Thanks!



I guess thats what I'm getting at. I've never had a pool, assuming we use the lights a couple times a week, mostly during the summer what could the expected lifetime of an incandescent vs LED bulb be?

Either way I won't be changing the bulbs until after the first dies, my question was mostly out of curiosity.

Performance is not the same. LEDs will last a lot longer than halogens. However, halogens are typically much brighter than LEDs so a proper analysis would use not only the price, but the price divided by the lifetime and the number of lumens (light intensity). Once you factor in those various performance parameters, I think you'll still find the return on investment to be fairly short.

I don't use my pool light a whole bunch (it's a plain-Jane 500W halogen). We don't swim at night and it only turns on if I need to work on the pool at night. Other than that, the light is off.

Changing a light is a fairly simple DIY project. It's not hard at all and will only cost you the money for a new bulb and lens seal kit.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[bdavis466]

Performance is not the same. LEDs will last a lot longer than halogens. However, halogens are typically much brighter than LEDs so a proper analysis would use not only the price, but the price divided by the lifetime and the number of lumens (light intensity). Once you factor in those various performance parameters, I think you'll still find the return on investment to be fairly short.

I don't use my pool light a whole bunch (it's a plain-Jane 500W halogen). We don't swim at night and it only turns on if I need to work on the pool at night. Other than that, the light is off.

Changing a light is a fairly simple DIY project. It's not hard at all and will only cost you the money for a new bulb and lens seal kit.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

I wouldn't have my lights on either if it was a standard pool light. They do not compare in any way to the color changing LEDs. I get a stupid smirk every time they come on and wouldn't change them for anything. The halogen lights really make a pool look dated.

 

[k_lewis]

Hey all- Newguy here, found this topic interesting since I just dealt with it recently and wanted to share some info I found. IMO, going LED is hands down a great upgrade. makes the pool light up so much nicer. I think more folks would do the LED bulb upgrade if it did not cost a small fortune- for a bulb that cost $5 to make in parts. This is just my opinion, but I find the Pentair LED bulb prices outrageous and excessive. If you knew the actual costs to mfr, you'd be outraged too. I can appreciate some "nich market" and "brand name" markup, but $400+ per bulb? Come on.

So this is what I did, went with a less known USA company that makes pool LED bulbs in house - I have no affiliation whatsoever, this just worked out better for me and cost less than half of the pentair option. bulbs have been runnning great for 2yrs now and they are super bright. Service is really good too, a solid small business.

Website: http://www.ledpoollights.net/

You can order the lights in 12-volt (low voltage) or standard 120v, must be specified when ordering. (If you have 12v pool lights you will also have a low voltage transformer somewhere near your pool equipment, similar to the type used for landscape lighting). Otherwise it will be regular 120v.

For a small spa light in corner of pool, get the 70 LED model at top of their webpage.
For a large, single light pool up to 45’ long get the 250 LED model second one on webpage, or the largest one 450 LED third one on webpage.
If you have more than one light in the main pool, get two of the 250 LED model bulbs or 450 if needed

I put a 70 in my corner spa (12x12 roughly) and one 250 in the main pool (45' x 25'). Looks wicked and plenty bright. change color at flick of switch, auto cycle through specific color pairs or full spectrum, etc. I have mine going from a deep ocean blue to a light aqua green and back (2 color gradual fade cycle).

Hope it helps!

 

[borjis]

One GREAT aspect of an LED is that you won't be digging out the niche to replace bulbs nearly as often.

 

[k_lewis]

^^ +1 on that, as long as they are quality LED bulbs from a reputable maker. I've seen a lot of the no-name overseas LED bulbs go out in a week or few months. Problem is they use cheap IC chips and components ahead of the LEDs, or "2nd's" low quality LED chips. I mentioned the above source since they are the only other place I know that has lower priced quality in-pool bulbs, and service to back it up. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive at first since I had never heard of the company before, but the decision payed off. I've recommended them to a few of my friends and our pool contractor since then. No issues reported that I am aware of.