The Complete Guide to Swimming Pool Lights: Types, Selection & Installation

Your swimming pool light is much more than a source of illumination for your nighttime swim. Your swimming pool light is the defining romantic element, designed to illuminate your pool in the darkness, and just as importantly preventing you and your guests from getting injured when you step outside after the sun goes down. Whether you are installing your new first inground pool or replacing the 20 year old halogen lights you used to have, deciding on your ideal swimming pool light impacts your savings, your safety, and your backyard oasis at night.

Here are all the answers to your decision making questions with regard to swimming pool lighting: types of lights, electrical voltage and codes, lighting options and sizing, installation, and the test of time.

What Is a Swimming Pool Light? Types and How They Work

Pool lights are underwater lights that can be attached to the interior walls, floors, or stairs of a swimming pool in order to light the water from within. Underwater pool lights must be either 12 Volts or 120 Volts, have a proper waterproof rating (IP68), and be integrated into a separate electrical circuit with GFCI protection. They 3 uses are for visibility and safety for swimmers, aesthetic ambiance, and Nighttime security.

Professional pool builders identify five types of pool lighting depending on how it is installed. Each type is able to accommodate a different type of pool built, retrofit pool as well as related to various budgets. Moving away from incandescent lights and halogen pool lights to LED have been remarkable in magnitude: 90% of US households are now using LED as their primary lighting source according to the U.S.

Energy Information Administration, and a 45W LED pool light is approximately equivalent to 300W of incandescent in terms of light output, but 85% less energy. U.S. Department of Energy testing states so.

Here is a comparison of the five major types. For a complete list of swimming pool light features and options see the pool lights product resource page.

Inground niche lights are still the default choice for new pools. The niche—a plastic or metal housing—is installed in the shell before the plaster coat is applied. A rectangular junction box is mounted a minimum of 4″ above the pool waterline.

Nicheless pool lights revolutionized the retrofit market. As they screw into the existing 1½” return fittings, they allow pool owners to add lighting, rather than requiring them to hack into the pool shell. They work particularly well as spa lights and on tanning ledges—where a traditional niche would not fit.

Floating pool lights—super easy. No wires needed, run on rechargeable batteries or tiny solar panels, and add color changing light effects to any pool (forget in-ground and inflatable pools too!). Not a replacement for installed underwater lights, but it fills a lot of gaps for renters and seasonal pools.

12V vs 120V Pool Lights: Voltage, Safety and NEC Code Requirements

Voltage is the topic of every discussion about swimming pool lights. While 12 V introduces your swimming pool light to a power step-down transformer that drops 120 V household current to a safer 12 volts before it reaches the water, 120V operates at full line voltage beneath the surface. Both are Up to Code, NEC Article 680. But they offer very different risks, wiring requirements, and price tags.

The scope of NEC Article 680 includes all components that sit in or near swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas. Its primary demands shape your swimming pool light install:

• GFCI protection is required on all swimming pool lighting circuits–both 12V and 120V. The GFCI breaker must trip at 5 milliamps.
• Bonding: run a #8 AWG solid copper conductor to bond all metal-to-metal parts within five feet of the pool–including light niches, ladder anchors, and handrails.
• Fixture depth: the top of the light lens must be 18 inches or more below the normal waterline.
• Wiring of the light fixture: wires must be run through rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, or Schedule 40 PVC conduit from the junction box to the forming shell.

Aquatic certifying laboratories like ETL and UL rate all pool fixture products sold in the United States. All displays of UL 676 (underwater luminaires) on packaging indicate a product is tested and safe for swimming pool use. Fixtures rated IP68 waterproof which have polycarbonate lenses and corrosion-resistant stainless steel housings excel in chlorinated and salt water pools.

Pool Light Color Options: White LED, RGB and RGBW Explained

Color choice does more than set the mood–it affects your swimming pool light’s ability to penetrate water, the darkness and clarity of your nighttime pool, and the reflectivity and interaction of your pool with its finish color. LED pool lights are currently available in four diode arrangements:

Color Temperature and Water Penetration

Color temperature has more significance under water than it does on land. Cool white LED illumination (5000-6000K) penetrates water considerably more than warm white (2700-3000K). Explanation: water absorbs red light more than blue light and this is well known, the lower the color temperature of an illumination source (higher the K at 5500K) the greater the penetration into the pool, therefore most commercial installations and competitors pools almost always specify cool white.

See Wibre research.

The residential comes where the neutral 4000K white is working on a happy medium (bright enough for safe swimming but not so cold as the 6000K). Quite often, homeowners will have RGBW lighting so that they can switch it to a color changing mode (for parties) when necessary.

Control Systems

The way in which you control colour of the LED varies on the protocol of the system. There are three main layers;

• DMX512 – the commercial standard. Capable of controlling hundreds of fixtures individually with accurate color blending, has been used in large scale applications such as resort pools, fountains and water features with coordinated lighting effects,
• Wi-fi / Bluetooth- the residential standard. Controlled using phone app, voice assistant or integrated into other home automation. The size of range is from 30 feet (BT) to the whole house (Wi-Fi).
• RF Remote- mid-range. Remote control that has range of 50-100 ft. Requires no app or network.Best for pool owners that want color changing feature without the hassle of being more than a smart home.

Our methods of choosing colors: Select the appropriate color systems for your main uses of your pool. Fixed Cool White LEDs are optimal for lap swimmers. Occasional use pools for families should consider buying RGBW with WIFI controls.

For spas and commercial pools, DMX512 is a great option for dynamic effects and zone controls.

How to Choose the Right Pool Light for Your Pool

The decision to select the appropriate swimming pool light is a summary of three choices. Make the right decision and the rest will simply click into place—brand, shade, system control.
Care in these three areas will guide you toward the perfect swimming pool light.

Step 1: Identify Your Pool Type and Construction

All of your available light types depend on your pool’s construction. Gunite or concrete inground pools can accept all three—niche, nicheless, or surface-mount. Fiberglass pools may have pre-molded niche openings, but not necessarily.

Vinyl liner pools need a designated mounting plate behind the liner. Above-ground pools are limited to clip-on, magnetic or floating lights. For pool and spa lights installed together, nicheless fixtures are typically the best choice because they fit into the smaller radius walls, which will be able to go into the smaller radius walls that most full niches will not fit.

Step 2: Calculate Quantity

And here is the baseline calculation: 1 pool light for every 400 square feet of pool surface area. A typical residential in-ground pool measuring 15ft x 30ft (450 sq ft) requires at least two lights. For nicheless lights, consider approximately 1 light for every 8 ft of wall length.

A larger pool, an L-shaped pool, and a pool with an attached spa will require more fixtures to illuminate all sections of the pool and prevent darkened corners. A dark pool at night is no fun.

Step 3: Set Your Budget

The three biggest names in the pool light game today are Pentair, Hayward, and Jandy- all who produce niche and nicheless lights at various price points. When making a comparison between brands, consider lumens per watt, warranty, and proprietary versus universal mounting system.

Energy efficiency, if you can, should also be taken into account in your long term cost analysis. A 45W LED light for 4 hours each night will cost in the region of $6-8/year in electricity, whereas a 300W incandescent can cost between $40-55/year, over 10 years in you can save between $800-1,200 in electricity costs alone, even factoring in replacement bulb costs. For an insight into the perfect lighting solutions for your project, take a look at professional LED swimming pool lights with full spec sheets and installation instructions.

Pool Light Installation: Placement, Spacing and Wiring Basics

Where you position the swimming pool light matters if you want the whole swimming pool to be illuminated or just half of it to be illuminated. Have a look at these 5 considerations to help you a little more.

1. Mounting Depth

Position lights 18″ to 24″ up the deep end wall from the waterline. For the shallow areas and tanning shelves, 4″ to 9″ below the waterline is appropriate. NEC 680 allows a minimum of 18″ below the normal water surface at the top of the lens.but check with your building department.

2. Wall Position and Glare Control

Mount lights on the house side (deep end) wall. Lighting on the house side deep end wall is best for directing light toward the shallow end where the bulk of swimmers are. Also, the blinding glare is shunned from gathering areas and eating in the house.

This is the most common mistake in placement-a series of blinding glares across the surface of the pool while you are trying to enjoy it.

3. Spacing

For nicheless lights, average one fixture per side of the wall, about every 8′. For niche lights, higher wattage makes for fewer fixtures, so one or two fixtures ideally spaced throughout the pool would suffice. In the case of an L-shaped or a freeform pool, shoot to include at least one light in each section to avoid any dark zones.

Features such as spillovers and grottos need their own accent lights.

4. Cord Length and Junction Box

The pool light is supplied with either a 50ft cord or 100ft cord. The excess cord is wound up in the junction box—this extra length is used to be able to pull the fixture up to the deck level for maintenance without draining the pool. Do not cut the cord to length.

Junction box must be a minimum of 4 inches above water level of pool and 8 inches above ground level in accordance with NEC regulations. All wiring is run through rigid metal or Schedule 40 PVC conduit.

5. Niche vs. Nicheless: Timing Matters

Niche Lights should be planned during pool construction — the forming shell is set into the forming shell before the concrete is poured and the plaster is applied. Nicheless lights are retrofittable afterwards through the existing 1.5-inch return fitting, making it available for existing lighting systems and upgrades. If your systems are scheduled for expansion in the future, nicheless offers the flexibility avoiding additional cut-in work.

Pool Light Maintenance, Troubleshooting and Replacement

Wear and tear levels on a swimming pool light are governed almost exclusively by the type of bulb installed. The emergence of LEDs has reshuffled this equation drastically: the once annually tasking maintenance work has now become it task of monitoring a few seconds per month at most.

LED pool lights can last anywhere from 30,000 – 50,000 hours. At 4 hours of nightly use that results in 20 – 34 years of service. Compare to the typical halogen lamp at 3,000-5,000 hours and 1,000 hours for ordinary incandescent pool lights. This premium for LED lights will amortize itself within 2-3 years in the energy savings alone.

No-Drain Replacement

A long held mistaken belief is that you have to drain the pool in order to replace a pool light. You do not. Many inground pool lights are rated with 50 – 100 feet of cordstoring in the junction box. Shut of the circuit breaker, unscrew the single mounting screw to the face ring of the fixture, and carefully pull the light to the deck. The longer cord gives you ample slack to work on the fixture outside in the pool area. Replace the bulb or entire fixture, reseat the gasket, and lower it back into the niche.

Troubleshooting Checklist

• Flickering – Inspect wiring at the junction box and look at the LED driver for corrosion on the terminal poles.
• Condensation in the lens – small traces of moisture is normal for significant temperature changes. Standing water indicates the gasket seal has failed — replace before corrosion destroys the LED.
• Color drift – LEDs change color slightly during their life span often in excess of 10,000 hours. If one is significantly different than the others, it is at the end of its life.
• Complete failure – test the circuit breaker, then test the GFCI. If both are operational, the LED driver or bulb itself has failed.

Water Chemistry and Fixture Longevity

pH balance of 7.2 – 7.6 keeps your fixture sealed, lens clear and metal parts from corroding. Acidic water (below 7.0) attacks gaskets and hastens the corrosion process of stainless steel. Salt pool chlorine generator systems require 316-grade stainless steel housing; standard 304 stainless will rust in 1-2 years. Check your pool lights yearly during the swim season for flickering, discoloration or the presence of water behind the lens to make sure they are functional for nighttime lighting.

Frequently Asked Questions