- are an essential safety requirement if a pool is to be used at night

• Unlit pools are dangerous - a swimmer in difficulties may go un-noticed and drown

• Unlit pools are also not as attractive to look at as lit pools (just my opinion!)

• Installing lights in your pool and pool area not only adds to the overall appearance; it also makes it a safer pool

• Proper lighting in the pool, and also in the pool area, is necessary to make it safe at night

• If someone fell into the pool at night they would not be visible and could drown

• It's far more likely that someone could trip over in the dark if the pool area has poor or non-existent lighting

• Installing pool and terrace lights helps to secure the safety of your family, friends and pets

Traditional pool lighting falls roughly into two camps; Halogen lights and Tungsten lights

Halogen Pool Lights:

are usually flat-mounted directly to the wall of the pool and consume up to 100 Watts

They can be retro-fitted to a pool that currently does not have lights

The bulbs often give years of trouble-free performance but nothing lasts forever

Happily, the bulbs can be changed fairly simply: -

• Turn the lights off and turn the breaker to the pool equipment off also

• Remove the light from the wall by removing the fixing screw/s

• Each manufacturer has their own trick of hiding the screws so you'll have to examine your lights to find the screws - very often they are behind a clip-on ring of plastic that surrounds the glass

• If the light was installed correctly there will be sufficient cable, coiled behind the light, to allow the unit to be removed from the water and brought to the side of the pool - if not you'l have to partially drain the pool to change the bulb

• Disassemble the unit and install a new Halogen bulb; reassemble and re-fit to the pool wall

NOTE: Do not touch the new bulb with your bare fingers, or allow any dirt or grease to get onto it, as the intense heat of the bulb (when it's on) will cause the glass to melt at the 'dirty' spot, the light will burn out and you'll have to do it all again!

Tungsten Pool Lights:

- are usually niche-mounted in the pool wall and consume 300 Watts

A niche light has a plastic 'bucket' like this, built into the wall of the pool during construction

The cable passes through the cable-gland (seen here at the bottom of the fitting but almost always installed with the cable-gland uppermost)

The image on the right shows a 300W Tungsten bulb installed to the bulb-holder assembly which is known as the 'light guts'

Please watch a video of how to change the bulb here

Note: If Chlorine is your principal sanitizer the black rubber of the cable may be partly decomposed and it can leave unsightly stains on the pool coping.  Clean the cable with paper towels and water before continuing

Both of the above types of light have their drawbacks: -

• They only produce white light

• (Coloured light can be produced by fitting a filter over the bulb)

• They have a lifespan of a 4-5000 hours at best

• They consume a lot of power

A better alternative is to replace a defective bulb with LEDs or to install them from the outset

LED lights produce coloured (including white) light, consume a tiny fraction of the power of either a Halogen or a Tungsten bulb and have a lifespan of at least 50,000 hours without significant dimming

LEDs also have many colour-changing programs and can transform a pool, as well as making it safer

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For free and unbiased advice, a site visit or no-obligation Quotation*, please make initial enquiries by email. Tell us a little about your pool problem and include a daytime phone number. Thanks, we look forward to meeting you soon

Note: - Please contact our recommended pool professionals for supply and installation of all pool-related services: - 

Andalusia and the Costa del Sol - Pool Safety Spain

Nerja area - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*We only offer Quotations: - a fixed, agreed price that cannot, and will not, be increased. We do not give 'estimates', as an estimate offers the client no guarantee of final price

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Ken Walker - MyPoolGuru©