Need advice, is a ColorLogic 4.0 facing house okay?

[rv4hess]

I've read several people here write that they don't like the pool light facing their house, and one post that their ColorLogic 4.0 facing house did not bother them.
I had planned to put it on the right side shallow end under the skimmer. The pool kit came with it, already cut in the middle of the far wall, facing the house.
The way our play pool depth and stair/swim outs are laid out, it does look like it is the best way to light it with only one light. I'm not positive that even 2 lights facing opposite would light the steps as well?
Please, anyone with experience with the ColorLogic or any LED lights, facing the house, let me know if I should seriously rethink this layout.
A glow on the back of the house would be fine, but I don't know about staring at a bright light in the water.
It would be a royal pain to change it now but much worse later, if it turned out to be very annoying.

TIA, John

 

[woodyp]

Got any lights on the back of the house pointing to the pool? That's generally all I need with pool only 20 feet away.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I can't speak for that particular light but with our 100w multicolor light you can look right at it and it not bother you. I don't think it'd be worth the trouble to change it if it were me. I also think you'll be surprised at how well it lights the steps too. I know ours is to one side of the pool and it lights the entire pool very well.

 

[Stevereno]

Our PB steered us away from putting any lights in that would face the house and we were glad he did. Based on the amount of light we see on the rock waterfall and in the trees behind/beside our pool, there would have been a good deal of light shining toward the house. When sitting on the deck between the house and pool having the pool light in your eyes all the time might not be real pleasant.

To woodyp's point, we have floodlights along the back of our house but turning those on kind of ruins the ambience that you get from the pool lights alone (if that's important to you). We have an attached spa (with a single incandescent light) and when we're sitting in it at night with only the pool and spa lights on it's a lot more soothing than having floodlights shining in your eyes. Now when we have a night time volleyball game those floodlights will certainly come in handy.

 

[waste]

Hey there

While I've certainly been a promoter of 'have the lights face away from the house', it shouldn't be that big a deal. With your ColorLogic, you can always switch it to a less obnoxious color, if the pool light bothers you in the house.

Thanks for the pic

(WAYYYYY of topic but... have the PB include some supports for the stairs and 'swimout' that will be encased in the 'collar'. Backfilling and achieving full compaction under these is difficult, at best, and not done most of the time - making the fiberglass prone to cracking and settling. )

 

[rv4hess]

Great info, please keep the suggestions coming.
My dilemma is that facing any lights from the opposite wall will likely result in one or both sets of steps being shadowed. The only way I see to light the steps will be from a direction that faces us somewhat. I thought about trying the light out tonight in different locations, but I've read they need to be submerged for cooling, Is that true for the LEDs? Also not having a liner in will change the looks, especially with our dark liner colors.

Stevereno, volleyball is a great point to bring in, we definitely want to have good lighting for that. Our deck flood lights will be helpful for this. I wonder if having the light even with the net, (like it is now, or directly opposite), would be preferable to an end behind some players.

Ted, good observation on the step supports, I've purchased 1 1/2" dia sch 40 pvc to support the steps/swimouts. The wood is temporary until I get the pvc glued in.
I plan to use bricks or blocks to support the pvc and add a rebar rod in the bottom of the pipe for the concrete to hold and support it correctly.
I assume dirt will not work well for backfilling under the steps, and that I should use 57 stone.

I'm always interested in your observations, experiences and ideas.
Thanks, John

 

[Melt In The Sun]

You can run the light without submerging it; just don't leave it on for very long if it starts to heat up (not sure an LED will even do that). You can do it for a short time even with a standard incandescent light.

 

[Stevereno]

Great info, please keep the suggestions coming.
My dilemma is that facing any lights from the opposite wall will likely result in one or both sets of steps being shadowed. The only way I see to light the steps will be from a direction that faces us somewhat. I thought about trying the light out tonight in different locations, but I've read they need to be submerged for cooling, Is that true for the LEDs? Also not having a liner in will change the looks, especially with our dark liner colors.

Steverino, volleyball is a great point to bring in, we definitely want to have good lighting for that. Our deck flood lights will be helpful for this. I wonder if having the light even with the net, (like it is now, or directly opposite), would be preferable to an end behind some players.

Thanks, John

Understand your step shadowing issue, that should override the other directional issue. Don't know if it is a practical option or not but have you looked at installing two small lights just for the steps? Just a thought.

I would think for volleyball that light from the side would be preferable to light from the end to minimize the amount of time the light is in the eyes of the players.

 

[openpool]

While our CL4.0 is not facing the house, it is 2.5 ft below the surface of the water on the deep end, and sitting on the patio facing it (30ft or more) it is not uncomfortable in any way. As was said above, there's always a color to suit your style. It certainly will also depend on how much ambient lighting (flood lights, etc) the surrounding will have.

 

[waste]

Ted, good observation on the step supports, I've purchased 1 1/2" dia sch 40 pvc to support the steps/swimouts. The wood is temporary until I get the pvc glued in.
I plan to use bricks or blocks to support the pvc and add a rebar rod in the bottom of the pipe for the concrete to hold and support it correctly.
I assume dirt will not work well for backfilling under the steps, and that I should use 57 stone.

I knew the wood is temporary and just wanted you to have the steps be as permanent as the rest of the pool :-D

Your plan sounds like what I would suggest

57 stone is a good and less needing of compaction material - as I said, most PBs don't backfill the step areas completely. Your PVC supports will keep an 'incomplete' backfill from becoming a 'pool wrecking problem' in the future :-D

I hope you know that we want lots more pics of your pool's progress

 

[rv4hess]

Just spent a while trying the ColorLogic in all different parts of the pool. Facing the house straight on, (as it is cut out now), is our least favorite. It does give this design pool the best light diffusion available from one source. We all really liked anything facing away and just casting the glow. The trouble is only "one" light does not diffuse well from the bump out in the near wall. It really needs two. Somehow I've got to justify another 500-600 to make this happen. Not to mention patching the big hole in the far wall. :grrrr: Anybody know of a good deal on a ColorLogic 4.0 and a niche?
Another option: The "boss" liked Stevereno's idea of 2 smaller lights at the steps. What would be the best options for step lighting?

Thanks, John

 

[rv4hess]

Temporarily wired the twin Colorlogics facing outwards. The extra $600 sure looks to be worth it.
Thanks for everyone's advice,
John.

 

[BigJD]

Looks sweet! Can't wait to see my dual colorlogics!

 

[Stevereno]

I think you'll be happy with your decision.

 

[rv4hess]

Update after using pool at night,..
The light intensity is greatly reduced through water so having LED lights facing you is not nearly as bad as when we checked it without water. This reduction and the low intensity of some colors make it much better to have 2 (or more) LED lights in a mid size pool like ours.
I am glad we faced our 2 lights away from the house but I also would not mind having more lights facing in other directions too,..
We didn't buy a dimmer but these Colorlogics can be dimmed and color customized too.

Next we'll be looking at some LED flood lights for the pool and patio area.