Lights?

[jamjam]

My pool builder is offering me standard white light (I assume 120v halogen) or colorlogic LED for a significant up charge. I have no needs for colored lights, but I would prefer LED. Should I ask for a low voltage white LED light (if so any models?) or should I just slap an LED bulb into whatever standard light fixture he installs.

If I go low voltage white LED should there be a price premium over standard 120v enclosure (other than the price of the bulb)?

 

[TimZ]

Curious to see what thoughts others have on this. We were in a similar position (pool was just built, lights aren't even fully wired yet). Our builder was really negative on LED lights because of upfront cost, longevity issues, and color quality. He also argued that most people use lights less than they think they will, at least here in the northeast where you basically have long days all of swim season. We let him talk us into sticking with standard lights, and we figure we could always use an LED bulb or replace the fixture at a later date.

One thing worth investigating is color temperature for whatever LED you might get. I probably haven't checked out every option, but all of the pool white LEDs I've found have been bright white rather than soft white.

 

[joonbug99]

This was a huge disappointment for us when we finished our build. We allowed the builder to talk us into one colorlogic light. We should have went with two or three. We have a very dark liner and the light doesn't even illuminate the deep end well. I'll admit we don't do much night swimming but I love the look of a well lit colorful pool and we don't have that.

How big is the pool? Ours is a rectangle 18x40 with a platinum onyx liner One pentair colorlogic light at the deep end is NOT ENOUGH!!!!!

 

[joepaiii]

My pool builder is offering me standard white light (I assume 120v halogen) or colorlogic LED for a significant up charge. I have no needs for colored lights, but I would prefer LED. Should I ask for a low voltage white LED light (if so any models?) or should I just slap an LED bulb into whatever standard light fixture he installs.

If I go low voltage white LED should there be a price premium over standard 120v enclosure (other than the price of the bulb)?

How big is your pool? Pentair gave me a calc to shoot for 4 lumens per sq ft of pool surface. So that is part of what you need to think about. A joonbug99 mentioned - the led color lights tend to put off a lot less lumens then other white lights.
Check out the chart below for lumen output. You can pretty quickly see that one color LED light does not equal one white LED lght and certainly doesn't equate to one halogen light. This table shows why so many are disappointed with LED light output.




That said - if you plan to use a traditional light - get one that is easily serviceable - and you could try putting in LED bulbs to see if it does what your want. You might want to plan for more than one if you are going to LED.
Remember the calculation - pool area in square feet times 4 lumens.

Average pool - 400 sqft 400sqft * 4 lumens = 1600

This means you would need more than 2 of any of Pentair RGB LED lights.

But since you want a white light - I think you could shoot for one of the Intellibrite 5G Pool lights non RGB lights they would be bright enough for the average pool. If you have a larger pool then make sure you size accordingly.

For the low voltage lights - there is extra cost in the form of a 12v transformer that isn't there in a traditional 120v niche. So that adds to cost as well as the bulb.

Personally - I think you would be fine with a traditional light niche with a standard 120v bulb if you don't want all the colors that the LED offers. Just be sure to think about light output if you are planning LED in the future.

 

[Desert Dog]

The LED color lights are pricey and if you want low voltage then you need a transformer. It isn't much. $100 transformer should do it. I'm on the more lights the better stand point since it would be a real pain in the you know what if you turn your pool on and decide it is too dark and want to add. My pool is about 13' x 32. I have two 5G lights and one micro bright on the Baja shelf. Not bright enough? Color no good? LOL.

 

[jamjam]

Pool is 18x36 rectangular- any thoughts on safety of 120 vs 12v? I’m inclined to just stick with the standard light.