When we talk about design pools, an important part of that design is determined by lighting. Sometimes the lighting of the pool is the great forgotten, especially when we contract a more commercial pool, so that either the lighting design is not included a priori or it is done quickly and is not studied in depth.
You must bear in mind that lighting a pool is not an easy task and many factors come into play that will determine the suitability or not of one system or another. In other words, each pool must have a custom lighting system if we want it to be a success and enhance the design, and not the other way around.
Having said that, do you know what is the most important objective that is pursued with the lighting of the pool?
Índice del post
Pool lighting: main objective
Always keep in mind that the main objective is that the sheet of water in the pool is illuminated evenly throughout the surface, eliminating shadowy or overly illuminated areas.
Now, how to achieve this long-awaited homogeneity in pool lighting?
Pool lighting through GodoPools PoolTechConnection home automation control:
Take note of the 7 most important steps you must follow to avoid making mistakes that ruin a design pool:
7 Steps to make pool lighting a success
1.- Choice of the wall
Always locate the spotlights on the correct wall of the pool, so that they do not dazzle the house or terrace area at night.
This is a very common mistake since, in many cases, it is not taken into account that the pool is part of a whole and must be integrated with the exteriors, the terraces, the gardens, the property itself, etc.
2.- Choice of power
Choose the focus power needed for each area of the pool in relation to the width of the pool.
Not all types of lights are suitable for all types and shapes of pools. To do this, you must choose the manufacturer that has a wide range of models so that you can combine them with each other depending on the pool area.
3.- Number of foci VS Luminosity
It is very important that you know how many spotlights you should include in a design pool in order to illuminate it correctly.
To know the number of spotlights, you must take into account what luminosity you will need.
The correct luminosity for a swimming pool ranges between 80-120 lumens per m² of water surface. This can vary in relation to the color of the pool lining, going to:
- 120lm in dark coated cases
- and 80lm on clear coatings.
We advise you to install spotlights that have the possibility of intensity regulation, since, in case of installing RGB lighting, there are colors such as red or blue for which you will need a lot of intensity. And conversely, for colors like cool white or green, you’re going to need to lower the intensity.
4.- Choice of the exact position of the focus
To determine a correct position of the spotlights, you must take into account the degrees of light beam and the luminosity specified by the manufacturer.
The data of the degree of opening of the beam of light and luminosity of the focus, will be essential to determine the separation between them. As a guide, if the beam angle was between 110° – 120° and the brightness was 2,300lm, the separation between the sources should be between 2.5m – 3m.
5.- Depth of pool lighting
Keep in mind that the ideal depth at which the spotlight should be installed to avoid a very bright or too dark ground will depend on the depth of the pool.
For depths greater than 1m, the spotlights should be placed at a height of 50cm. from the sheet of water. For areas less than 1m deep, the lighting should be located at half the depth we have. For these cases, we advise you to reduce the brightness of the spotlight you install.
6.- Brightness of the chosen focus
To prevent a wall from being overlit, you have to take into account the brightness of the chosen focus.
To have an orientation, the same spotlight that we have previously given as an example (beam of light between 110° – 120° and luminosity of 2,300lm) would have a beam of light that would reach a distance of high luminosity of approximately 5m.
7.- Choice of manufacturer
We advise you to choose, first of all, the correct manufacturer, which will be the one that offers you the most options and alternatives within its range of products.
To do this, you must take into account:
- That it has a wide range of models and sizes of spotlights to be able to combine it in relation to the needs of the project.
- Avoid installing PAR 56 type spotlights. This type of spotlight does not offer you the option of configuring sizes in relation to the luminosity it provides and is usually quite large. In addition, this type of lamp usually causes sealing problems, as they are not filled with resin. Therefore, we recommend ultra-thin and flat LED spotlights, which provide a brightness 3 times higher than PAR 56 and can be half the size.
- That the same bulb offers you the option of colors (RGB) and different alternatives of white light (cold, neutral and warm). In this way, you can customize the pool with a single click, in relation to the needs of each moment.
- It has integrated lighting intensity regulation. With this option, you can adjust the brightness depending on the color of the chosen light or depending on the specific situation.
- Avoid installing spotlights where you have to use power cable splices underwater. Even if a resin splice is used, these tend to fail quite a lot and it is a point in which the manufacturers accept enough to not give a guarantee in case of a bulb failure. Instead, we recommend spotlights with a QuickConnect anchor. These do not require special connection and, in case of connection failure, the focus is not damaged, as it is totally sealed and hermetic.
Conclusion: Is pool lighting important?
The answer is yes. In fact, it is one of the most determining factors in the final result of a Water Architecture project, both for better and for worse.
We recommend that you follow all of these steps or choose a pool builder or designer experienced in pool lighting, as even a simple pool can take an exponential leap with the right lighting.
If you need help with the lighting design of your pool, the GodoPools team of professionals can help you.
There are no comments yet