How Many 5G Intellibrites (color) With Ocean Blue PS (i.e. dark plaster)??

[dmalma]

How Many 5G Intellibrites (color) With Ocean Blue PS (i.e. dark plaster)?? - UPDATED

Hi fellow TFPers! They are on the 2nd day of the dig on my OB pool and the excavator wants to dig for the pool light niches and wanted to know placement. The rectangular portion of my pool is 19 x 38 and I have a spa that will sit in the pool 4' (shallow end) with stairs on either side. I've been going around and around with this for weeks, but was thinking of going with 3 5G intellibrites (color) because of the dark plaster. They would be spaced every 8 1/2' on the long wall facing away from the house. I also want the stairs on either side of the spa to be illuminated and was going to put a globrite on the 2nd step on each side. Would this be too much? I'm not concerned about cost only over illumination...Thanks so much for your help!! (I'm also going to post pics later today of the dig )

- - - Updated - - -

Additional information: I will also have an 8 x 12 Baja shelf in the deep end that will have 3 lighted bubblers...

 

[Corleone]

I have 1 5g 12v intellibrite and it lights up my 32x16 rectangular pool pretty well. I have caribbean blue pebble and the blue's and greens shine throughout the pool, the red doesn't get very far though. I think 2 lights would do the job for you, but if money isn't a factor, get 3 lights and you'll definitely be pleased.

Here's a pic of how mine looks with one light

 

[SuzfromTexas]

Dmalma: Welcome to TFP! And thanks for sharing your pool build with us. I love your pool and decking design. It's all going to look awesome! I can't help you about your lighting. Personal preference I would imagine. I wouldn't want it too bright. But I can't say what would make it too bright. If it were me, I'd be inclined to agree with Corleone and go with two lights especially since you'll have lighting on the steps and lighted bubblers on the Baja shelf. Will you have a light in the spa?

If you want it very bright, then 3 would be the way to go in the main pool body. Take care! Suz.

Corleone: Your pool looks fabulous! All of your lighting is magnificent! I can also imagine some fun things going on for Halloween just behind and above the tall wall behind the fire wall - if so inclined! Suz.

 

[bmoreswim]

Our pool is similar size but without the extras. We have two Hayward LED's with gray plaster. It's pretty well lit but I've said before that 3 would be awesome. Two thoughts...can you decrease the illumination % of the lights if three were a little bright for some occasions? And you might consider "weighting" them just slightly towards the deep end. The deep end eats light. Maybe 6" each. Though I can't tell the depth - maybe it says 7'? Ours is 8 1/2' and the two are evenly spaced and the deep end is darker.

 

[spool]

Thats an interesting thought bmoreswim, anyone know if the intelibrite 5G LEDs are dimmable? We're close to breaking ground on a 19x47 pool. We'll have an in-pool 7x7 spa and sunshelf so the actual swimmable area is a 19x39 rectangle. I was originally considering 3 Intelibrite 5G LEDs but changed plan to 2 because of the fear that it might be too bright. I don't want to attract every mosquito and bug in site for a mile. If they are dimmable I would consider going back to 3...

 

[bdavis466]

The 120v lights are dimmable and require a Pentair Relay Dimmer P/N#520406 to do so. I would not recommend doing this though. The relay is expensive and you can achieve the same effect if you put the lights on different circuits. That way you could choose to have 1, 2 or all of the lights on as you please.

I've never heard of anyone complaining that their pool has too much light. I'd put in 3 5gs with the 2 globrites.

 

[dmalma]

Thanks so much for all your input! I really appreciate it! I was so busy yesterday with the dig (and trying to find a way to get rid of all the dirt!) that I missed all the wonderful responses from everyone and had the diggers carve out for just 2 lights because they wanted an answer as to how many lights I was going to have and I was so worried about having an overly-bright pool. So of course I stressed out after reading all the replies (I really wanted 3 pool lights too!) and thought I'd try to get through to Pentair again just to get an answer about the brightness of their lights, etc. (I'd been trying for 2 days to get through to someone at Pentair and gave up yesterday morning after being on hold for 40 minutes, with no end in sight, before getting cut off. ) This morning I was able to get through to them (yay!) and the rep gave me some good information that helped me decide on definitely going with 3 lights. (I had the steel guys dig out for 3 lights today. ) Hopefully this info will help others like me (and spool) who are having a hard time deciding how many lights to install. (Pentair for some reason likes to play their cards close to the vest. Why don't they just post this information on their website? )

Info from Pentair:
Each Intellibrite 5G is 1000 lumens or the equivalent of one 150 watt bulb. (Doesn't matter if you use a 12v or 120v light.) There's a formula that Pentair uses to calculate the number of lights needed based on the square footage of the pool. In order to illuminate the pool properly you need 1/2 a watt for every sq ft of pool. Using my pool, for example, the rectangle portion is 19 x 38 but my spa (which has steps on either side of it) goes into the pool 4 feet so we (me and the Pentair rep) subtracted out that area and, when calculating sq ft, we ended up with a rectangle of 19 x 34 or 646 sq ft. We then divided 646 sq ft by 2 (which is the 1/2 watt for each sq ft) to come up with the number of watts needed to light the pool. For my pool it's 323 (646/2=323) or 2 Intellibrite 5Gs (@ 150 watts each). (I'm using the color-changing lights.) HOWEVER, Pentair's calculations are based on a white plaster pool. Because I will have a dark plaster pool I will need additional light and, given the size and shape of my pool and the fact that I'll have 2 Globrites on the steps in the shallow end and 3 ColorCascade lighted bubblers on the baja shelf, I decided to just add one more pool light. (The lights are spaced 8 1/2' apart). I'm also going to add 2 Intellibrite spa lights to my 8' circular spa (using the same formula used for the pool).

In the end I know it's personal preference as to how many lights to put in the pool, but for me it sure helps to have a point of reference to go by in order to decide as well as nighttime pics of other people's pool. (Thanks, Nick/Corleone! Your pool looks beautiful!) So I will be sure to post nighttime pictures of my pool when it's done so everyone can see what all that lighting looks like.

In the meantime, I'm going to go update my original build post with pictures of the build so far...

Thanks again! (and sorry for the long post )
Laura

 

[bdavis466]

I'm not far from you. You can look at mine if you want...but if you do you will choose to go with 3 lights

 

[spool]

Thanks so much for all your input! I really appreciate it! I was so busy yesterday with the dig (and trying to find a way to get rid of all the dirt!) that I missed all the wonderful responses from everyone and had the diggers carve out for just 2 lights because they wanted an answer as to how many lights I was going to have and I was so worried about having an overly-bright pool. So of course I stressed out after reading all the replies (I really wanted 3 pool lights too!) and thought I'd try to get through to Pentair again just to get an answer about the brightness of their lights, etc. (I'd been trying for 2 days to get through to someone at Pentair and gave up yesterday morning after being on hold for 40 minutes, with no end in sight, before getting cut off. ) This morning I was able to get through to them (yay!) and the rep gave me some good information that helped me decide on definitely going with 3 lights. (I had the steel guys dig out for 3 lights today. ) Hopefully this info will help others like me (and spool) who are having a hard time deciding how many lights to install. (Pentair for some reason likes to play their cards close to the vest. Why don't they just post this information on their website? )

Info from Pentair:
Each Intellibrite 5G is 1000 lumens or the equivalent of one 150 watt bulb. (Doesn't matter if you use a 12v or 120v light.) There's a formula that Pentair uses to calculate the number of lights needed based on the square footage of the pool. In order to illuminate the pool properly you need 1/2 a watt for every sq ft of pool. Using my pool, for example, the rectangle portion is 19 x 38 but my spa (which has steps on either side of it) goes into the pool 4 feet so we (me and the Pentair rep) subtracted out that area and, when calculating sq ft, we ended up with a rectangle of 19 x 34 or 646 sq ft. We then divided 646 sq ft by 2 (which is the 1/2 watt for each sq ft) to come up with the number of watts needed to light the pool. For my pool it's 323 (646/2=323) or 2 Intellibrite 5Gs (@ 150 watts each). (I'm using the color-changing lights.) HOWEVER, Pentair's calculations are based on a white plaster pool. Because I will have a dark plaster pool I will need additional light and, given the size and shape of my pool and the fact that I'll have 2 Globrites on the steps in the shallow end and 3 ColorCascade lighted bubblers on the baja shelf, I decided to just add one more pool light. (The lights are spaced 8 1/2' apart). I'm also going to add 2 Intellibrite spa lights to my 8' circular spa (using the same formula used for the pool).

In the end I know it's personal preference as to how many lights to put in the pool, but for me it sure helps to have a point of reference to go by in order to decide as well as nighttime pics of other people's pool. (Thanks, Nick/Corleone! Your pool looks beautiful!) So I will be sure to post nighttime pictures of my pool when it's done so everyone can see what all that lighting looks like.

In the meantime, I'm going to go update my original build post with pictures of the build so far...

Thanks again! (and sorry for the long post )
Laura

WOW! Thats of tremendous value! Thank you! Going to update mine now. 19x39 = 741 /2 = 370.5. Also doing a dark plaster so sounds like I'll need 3 lights as well. At what depth should they be installed? I may have an issue with a bench interfering with the 3rd light...

 

[dmalma]

Hi, spool! Per Pentair the light should be placed so that it is a minimum of 18" below the surface to the top of the lens. I'm not sure how wide the face ring is around the light (I don't have my lights yet to measure and tell you) but you might have to take that into consideration too.

WOW! Thats of tremendous value! Thank you! Going to update mine now. 19x39 = 741 /2 = 370.5. Also doing a dark plaster so sounds like I'll need 3 lights as well. At what depth should they be installed? I may have an issue with a bench interfering with the 3rd light...

 

[dmalma]

Re: How Many 5G Intellibrites (color) With Ocean Blue PS (i.e. dark plaster)?-UPDATED

Hi all! Just thought I'd resurrect this thread to follow-up with some nighttime pics of my pool in case anyone was wondering how many lights to install. We love the amount of lights we have and it makes for a pretty nice light show. FYI, we've had problems with the Pentair ColorCascade LED Lighted Bubblers on the baja shelf failing (all 3 have failed in under a year) so we'll be replacing them with Pentair ColorVision LED Bubblers with GloBrite LED Lights. Pentair isn't even making the ColorCascade lights anymore, which is a good indication of how much trouble people must be having with them. The niche is different for the ColorVision vs the ColorCascade lights, but we're able to replace them because we have to jackhammer out the lighted bubblers on our baja shelf anyway because the conduit's broken and leaking.

Hope the pics are helpful.

 

[Just-a-PB]

The 120v lights are dimmable and require a Pentair Relay Dimmer P/N#520406 to do so. I would not recommend doing this though. The relay is expensive and you can achieve the same effect if you put the lights on different circuits. That way you could choose to have 1, 2 or all of the lights on as you please.

bdavis, Yes you can dim the standard 120v incandescent bulbs, but the LED Intellibrites, and Globrites, can not be dimmed!!

I have 6 in my pool No such thing as too much.