Lighting Basics

Lighting Basics

Lighting can be a key element in the ambiance of your poolside paradise. Illuminating the pool at night can provide an ambiance as well as safety for your pool area. Lighting can set the mood as well as extend your swim time.

Pool lighting used to be simple when your only choice was white and how many did you want? Now there are a multitude of lighting options for in and around the pool. Pools being built today have tanning ledges, water features, vanishing edges, and more where lighting can set the mood and ambiance.

Jandy has an excellent Lighting Design Guide using nicheless LED lights .

Lighting Technologies

Pool light technologies has evolved over the years with incandescent lights, halogen lights, fiber optic lights from a central light hub, LED lights, all being used in pools.

In 2023 the U.S. Department of Energy released its Energy Conservation Standards for General Service Lamps, written to manage the amount of energy expended on lights in various applications and industries. Similar to the DOE rule for variable-speed pool and spa pumps, this new regulation is performance-oriented. It applies to all lamps that emit between 310 and 3,300 lumens. If a light falls under that category, it must emit at least 45 lumens per watt. Distributors and retailers were prohibited from selling non-compliant lights beginning March 1, 2023.

Many incandescent and halogen lights are impacted by this ruling, because they don’t typically fall within that range. This impacts the replacement of lights on existing pools. You may need to swap out existing fixtures with others that are compatible with the niche, unless a compliant bulb is available that is compatible with the fixture. In some cases you can find bulbs out there that can retrofit into the incandescent fixture. But, depending on the situation, you may need to pull the light as well.

This is why you find LED lights being offered, with few other alternatives, by the major pool equipment manufacturers in spite of their cost and reliability issues.

Pentair still sells their white incandescent Amerilite in 120 volt 400 watt and 500 watt models. The Pentair website says "Due to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulations regarding incandescent lights, the 100W and 300W Amerlite Incandescent Lights are now obsolete and have been removed from this specifications grid."

Niched or Nicheless Pool Lights

“Niche” refers to the pool light housing. Niched pool lights are generally larger in size and require advanced planning for placement during the rebar installation phase.

"Nicheless" lights are smaller and don’t require a niche or special accommodation with the rebar. Nicheless lights usually fit in a 1.5" PVC pipe. Nicheless lights are smaller, have less LEDs, and put out less lumens then niche lights. Light niches are usually proprietary to a manufacturer which makes changing lights difficult.

With nicheless lights you are not locked into one manufacturers lights as others should fit the 1.5" opening. Although in some cases a different light may require more depth in the pipe so check specifications carefully when changing light models.

You can sufficiently light most swimming pool designs with either one or two niched pool lights. Alternately, you can use multiple nicheless lights with little to no difference in energy consumption. Plus, with more lights spread throughout the pool, more even light distribution will be attained — making it an aesthetic decision.

Considerations For Pool Light Selection

• Light Controls and Automation Compatibility
• LED Pool Light Cost and Reliability - Long term reliability of pool LED lights is not known since no models have been installed that long. The first generation of LED lights had poor reliability and were expensive to replace after warranty expired. In 2024 we are seeing 2nd or 3rd generation models being brought to market. That resets the clock on evaluating the reliability of these new models. Independent manufacturers have emerged to offer what are claimed to be more reliable replacements for the major manufacturers lights. Only time will tell if the lights and companies will last.
• 12 Volts 1r 120 Volts
• Niche or Nicheless

Lighting Manufactures

Below is a survey of pool light manufacturers in no specific order.

Pentair

Pentair has three product lines of LED pool lights - IntelliBrite, GloBrite, and MicroBrite. As mentioned above Pentair still has incandescent Amerlite lights in 400 watt and 500 watt models. The IntelliBrite uses the same niche as the Amerilite. The GloBrite uses a proprietary niche, while the MicroBrite is nicheless and has an adapter that fits the GloBrite niche.

Pentair recently came out with their next generation IntelliBrite lights, called the Architectural Series. Pentair also came out with next generation GloBrite lights. Both those are supposed to address reliabilty issues in the first generation lights.

Pentair LED Pool Lights has more detail on Pentair LED lights.

Jandy

Jandy has niched and nichless LED lights in both color changing and while models. The Watercolors light were their first generation LED light. The Infinite Watercolors models are next generation. Jandy Infinite WaterColors LED Light Controller requires Aqualink Revision Y or later.

The Watercolors Nicheless LED Lights with Hydrocool Technology seems to be from Fluidra's acquisition of CMP and like CMP's Brilliant Wonders nicheless LED lights they come in P-Series, H-Series, or S-Series models to work with Pentair or Hayward automation. Make sure you get the series that is compatible with your automation.

CMP

CMP, which was recently acquired by Jany's parent company Fluidra, has Brilliant Wonders nicheless LED lights with Smart Synch Technology. You need to order the lights to be compatible with your automation - J Style for Jandy Aqualink, P Style for Pentair automation systems, or H Style for Hayward automation systems.

The Brilliant Wonders lights also have a IP68 waterproof quick disconnect allowing the lights to be replaced without pulling the wire from the light conduit or removed for winterization.

Brilliant Wonders has some of the best reliability and we hear of few failures.

Florida Sunseeker

Florida Sunseeker has a wide range of replacement niche and nicheless pool lights.