String lights near pool?

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L

linzjane88

0
May 23, 2014
77
SW Washington
Pool Size
14500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
SWG Type
CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Looking through Pinterest I saw a couple of neat pool ideas using string lights on the fence surrounding the pool. Some of them uses the string lights over the pool (they look to be about 8 feet or so up). Coming from someone who *does not* understand electricity and all things related.....isn't that unsafe? I would love to border the fence surrounding our AG pool with lights but it will be within about 2 feet of the pool. I would think electricity+large vessel of water filled with people might be a frowned upon scenario. But Pinterest makes it look so doable! :D

Anyone care to enlighten me (maybe a pun intended)?
 
Ah, yup that could be unsafe and in violation of the electrical codes. Pretty sure you are not supposed to have any high-voltage (120V) lights within 5 feet around the pool. Not sure what the rules are for draping over the pool, but sure seems like a bad idea.

Edit: Here are the codes. Looks like within 5' horizontally of the pool, the light must be at least 12' above the water level with some other requirements as well.

http://www.topshammaine.com/vertica...ticle_680_Pools_and_Similar_Installations.pdf
 
Thanks for the reply. I was assuming there wasn't some magically safe way to pull that off. I guess we will have to find some other way to light up the area. I am sure Tiki torches nearby would give a siimilar effect. And really, there only a handful of days around here you would want to be swimming after the sun goes down. SW Washington isn't exactly known for its blazing temperatures.

Night swimming=good. Electrocution= Bad.
 
The simple rule of thumb for lights is 10 feet horizontally from the water. There are some exceptions, for example 5 feet away when high up and permanently mounted, or even higher up permanently mounted and above the water, but for most people most of the time 10 feet horizontally is the correct way to think about it.
 
Yeah i found out about the 10 feet rule for landscape lights after reading in the forums here. I had some some great looking LED harbor style lights to go in my landscape area but they were 4 to 5 feet from water. Now they light a stone path behind the landscape at exactly 10 feet from waters edge. Not as nice looking as i had them at first but still somewhat effective. I did put up some cafe string light but they do not go right over the pool but from 9ft to 12ft eaves on the house.
 
This thread has got me thinking....are the requirements the same for any type of lights? For example, does the code apply equally to 110V ac lights (plugged into a wall outlet) and 12V dc landscaping lights (plugged into a transformer)? I haven't put in any yard lighting yet--and I don't think the 10-foot requirement will cause me any design issues--but it's definitely on the schedule for this summer.
 
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