Pool string light ideas

Photo: istockphoto.com

Outside pool lights can go on or around the water, as well as in the water. Installing LED lights below the pool surface helps illuminate the hue of the liner, giving water a soft blue glow. Nighttime swimmers will also likely feel more comfortable diving underwater when they can see where they’re going.

Of course, given the location of these outside pool lights, they are best installed during new pool construction or while renovating an existing one.

Photo: istockphoto.com

String lights are simple, fast to set up, and a type of pool deck lighting that adds some easygoing charm to an outdoor area. With bulbs ranging in size from small twinkle lights to large outdoor Edison light bulbs, there are sure to be string lights to suit many tastes.

Whether strung around the perimeter of the pool or draped along a nearby fence, string lights look nice pretty much wherever you hang them—but that doesn’t mean they can go anywhere. As nice as it looks to string lights over your pool, it can be dangerous, or even lethal, if live string lights fall into a pool with a swimmer. Hang string lights thoughtfully and securely near a pool (not directly over it) to avoid any risk of them ending up in the water.

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3. Colorful Floating Lights

Photo: homedepot.com

Add some flair to your pool with a convenient underwater light that doesn’t need to be hung up or installed at all. This floating pool light available at The Home Depot is solar-powered and charges throughout the day. By night, it rotates through five different LED colors or can be set to a steady white. Even if you forget to turn the light off, these outside pool lights have automatically shut off after 2 or 5 hours—depending on whether it’s in static or color-change mode.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Create long, dramatic shadows with upward-facing lights mounted directly in the deck or ground. As amazing as it looks, there are a few things to consider before installing in-ground lights around a pool. Unless you’re a skilled electrician, this one is best left to the professionals, who can connect outside pool lights to power and protect them from inevitable water and moisture exposure.

Be sure to choose locations with nearby surface(s) to reflect this pool deck lighting idea, otherwise it won’t have much effect. Position your outdoor-rated lights on a flat or higher surface off a walking path, but close enough to an outside wall, tree, or accent so you can actually see the light.

Photo: amazon.com

Bring moonlight to the pool even on moonless nights. Each globe in this four-pack of inflatable outside pool lights available at Amazon is printed to look like the moon and offers cool or warm light, or they can cycle between the two. Hang these 14-inch moons from a pergola or nearby trees, or let them float freely on the water—weighted bases keep them from turning over. Best of all, they’re solar-powered and will glow for up to 8 hours at night on a full charge.

Photo: amazon.com

Outdoor pool lighting ideas don’t always have to be full of whimsy or purely decorative. On the contrary, these highly rated waterproof solar motion-sensor lights available at Amazon can add safety to a pool area within 26 feet, as well as extra security to a home, with no frills. The solar lights, which come in bundles of two or four, have three settings. They turn on and off when motion is detected, stay on all night, or can be set to smart mode, which keeps the lights on all night, but they shine brighter when sensors detect movement.

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Photo: istockphoto.com

Simple solar spotlights go a long way to highlight plants and flowers, yard art, or structures near your water feature. The effect is even more striking when the outdoor lighting around a pool doesn’t compete with additional bright lights floating on top of it. Placing small lights below plants and angling them upward shines light through the foliage, bringing attention to particular plants or trees after dark. Switch from elegant to fun by using spotlights with extra color modes.

Photo: homedepot.com

Approximately 41 percent of pools in the US are above-ground pools, and they need to be lit, too. Since above-ground pools often lack deck space, their lighting options are a bit more limited, but there are still good solutions. This Nitelighter underwater pool light available at The Home Depot easily mounts to the side of above-ground pools, no drilling or draining required. It has a 12-volt power supply, built-in transformer, and 28-foot-long cord. The light keeps swimmers safer by casting a bright light for up to 2 hours at a time, after which point it automatically turns off.

Photo: amazon.com

Guests of all ages will find it hard not to smile when they see a flock of 19-inch inflatable flamingos lighting up a pool. These outside pool lights appeal to anyone’s inner child and set the party mood with their bright-pink solar light.

Inflate these vinyl birds, let their LED lights charge in the sun, and then watch them glow pink after dark. These flamingos are a great time, especially with a slight breeze to push them around on the water—just make sure to take them out of the pool if the wind kicks up, since they may try to fly away!

Photo: amazon.com

Have a ball—or four—with these highly rated colorful globe lights available at Amazon. Recharge the outside pool lights in the sun and they will float and glow for up to 8 hours. They don’t get boring either, changing color every 15 seconds. These colorful pool lights are fabulously festive and suit virtually all occasions, from weddings to holiday parties.

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These balls don’t necessarily have to float, however. They can also be used for poolside lighting when hung from a tree branch, wall hook, or pole. Though they may look like fragile decorations, these lights are durable enough to play with in the pool.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Keep your pool deck lighting classy with minimalist pathway lights spaced 6 to 8 feet apart. Sophisticated, timeless, and practical, pool perimeter lights offer enough illumination to see without being too bright.

Solar-powered path lights relieve homeowners of the daunting task of finding ways to hide power cords, which can create a tripping hazard. The trade-off for having cordless solar path lights is that they are often not as bright as electric path lights, so you may need to use more of them to achieve a similar effect.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Pool lights aren’t just for parties; they can enhance your everyday backyard style too. Choose modern pool deck lights—such as lantern-shaped outdoor lamps—to add a comfortable, intimate glow to the space.

This type of filtered glow makes for great mood lighting, lending just the right atmosphere for romance, conversations, or listening to music poolside. Just don’t go overboard with accent lights, since they can introduce too much brightness to an outdoor space. Instead, spread these outside pool lights out over a pool’s perimeter, on deck stairs, or beside patio furniture.

The prices listed here are accurate as of publication on October 31, 2022.

RELATED: The 12 Most Dangerous Mistakes You Can Make With Your Pool

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photos ideas, norms, types of lamps used

The development of technology has led to a significant reduction in the cost of the procedure for manufacturing artificial reservoirs. Thanks to this, everyone can afford their own swimming pool in the yard, in the backyard or on the territory of sports and recreation complexes.

The operation of such objects can be carried out not only in the daytime, but also after dark, which is associated with a certain danger for bathers. Therefore, the organization of pool lighting is carried out in strict accordance with the requirements of regulatory documents. nine0003

Requirements and standards

In view of the fact that the lighting equipment is powered by the mains, and the water used to fill the pool is a conductor of electric current, their combined use causes a number of dangerous factors for humans.

To protect everyone's favorite bathing procedure, lighting in artificial reservoirs must meet the following requirements:

• 12V. nine0016
• Any fixtures located under water or in close proximity to it must have the appropriate degree of protection - IP68. If they are installed above water or additional sealing means are used, the protection index can be IP67. The last digit in the marking indicates the moisture resistance index, the higher it is, the better the protection of the case from liquid.
• When lighting fixtures are submerged in water, all wiring must be properly electrically insulated and waterproofed. Especially at points of electrical connections and contacts. nine0016
• The method of installation must provide for quick access to the fixtures in the future so that the light bulb or socket can be replaced in the event of a breakdown.
• The luminous flux from the lighting device in stationary pools must be diffused so that the entire water surface and the bottom of the bowl are systematically illuminated.
• The surface of the water in the pool must not form glare that dazzles swimmers.
• The pool entry/exit area must be well lit to provide sufficient visibility for safe movement. nine0016

In addition, SNiP II-4-79 "Natural and artificial lighting" regulates the following indicators for the illumination of water bodies.

Table: Dependence of lighting parameters on the purpose of the pool

cause a deterioration in well-being among visitors to recreational or swimming pools, which in the future can lead to disastrous consequences. For to ensure sufficient and comfortable visibility, various types of lighting or a combination of several at once. nine0003

Type of lighting

All lighting devices are conditionally divided into outdoor and underwater lighting devices.

Depending on the tasks to be solved, pool lighting is subdivided into:

• General – designed to provide a normal level of visibility within the entire pool bowl. Lighting devices are installed on top or side of the bowl, in indoor pools on the ceiling or wall, and in open pools on brackets, supports or other supporting structures. Due to the remote location, this type of lighting is characterized by a rather high power consumption. nine0016

• Local - used to illuminate certain areas or locations that the owner wants to highlight from the general background. For example, steps, bas-reliefs, frescoes, decorative waterfalls, etc.

• Contour lighting – is placed along the bowl perimeter to highlight the contour of a reservoir in the design of a room or plot. Contour lighting is widely used to accentuate an intricate shape or accentuate multiple levels or depth. nine0016

• Decorative - designed to decorate the pool, color lighting to create design effects. Recently, decorative lighting has been implemented using RGB tape or optical fiber.

Types of luminaires used

use different types of lamps. Each type has its own features of installation and operation, so consider each of them more in detail. nine0003

Spotlights

Can be used as wall lights, for local lighting or general lighting for mass installation according to the perimeter of the pool or at the bottom. Structurally, they are analogues of spotlights, for underwater searchlights, sealed models are used, and for external lighting you can install classic lamps.

According to the type of location, spot lighting devices are divided into built-in and overhead. Built-in are installed in a special recess or niche on the wall of the pool or in the edge. For them, holes are pre-developed according to the dimensions of the lighting devices, and the wiring is laid so that the lamp is flush. Overhead lamps are located directly on the wall of the bowl and protrude beyond its borders. nine0003 Recessed and surface-mounted luminaires

Spotlights for general lighting with deeper to the bottom so that they shine through the entire water column, some can be placed at the bottom. They are placed at an equal distance from each other, on opposite sides they are installed staggered to cover a large area.

If the pool is not deep, spotlights can be placed closer to the surface of the water, but they must be completely dive even with a minimum amount of liquid. Otherwise they will shine directly into the eyes of the bathers. nine0003 An example of the location of spotlights

LED strips

LED strips are a flexible structure with semiconductor elements evenly spaced on it, connected in series to the network. For safety reasons, a tape with a supply voltage of 12V is used for external illumination.

To power it, a power supply is used, selected according to the power of the lighting device. Along with monochrome models, RGB strips are also used, capable of producing various lighting effects. nine0003 LED strip lighting

LED strip lighting is convenient for contour lighting of the pool, as the strip can be easily placed along the perimeter of the edge or on the wall. LED strips are easy to stick with double-sided adhesive tape to any surface.

To be located even close to the pool, this lighting fixture must be protected from moisture. Therefore, to illuminate the reservoir, tapes in a silicone hose should be used or they should be placed in a special channel.

Alas, industrial organizations do not recognize LED tapes as a lighting device for the pool due to insufficient level protection. In most cases, manufacturers give the parameter no more than IP67, while as you need IP68. Therefore, they are most often used at home. pools.

Fiber optic filaments

These are polymer or glass fibers that carry a light signal, while the filaments themselves emit light. This principle formed the basis for decorating decorative elements, creating interesting drawings and exotic compositions. nine0003

Regarding the design of pool lighting, it should be noted that fiber optic lighting is in no way a source of electric current or voltage, therefore it is completely safe for humans.

any color, can take any shape and be laid both outside and in as underwater lights. Fiber optic luminaires give out the most uniform lighting, and their installation does not require hydro and electric isolation. nine0003

Since the fiber itself does not set light vibrations, but is only their conductor, a remote-controlled projector is used to generate light. The projector is installed in a dry place as far as possible from the water, and the threads are connected to it and mounted in the pool.

In case of damage and failure of the optical fiber, it can be replaced even without draining the water. Despite the significant advantages of fiber optic lighting, its cost is many times higher than other analogues. nine0003

Overwater Lighting

Pool overhead lighting provides for the installation of lamps at a sufficient distance from the water. Depending on the location, a level of protection no less than that of underwater searchlights may be required.

Surface lighting fixtures can be mounted on the walls of the pool itself, on the edge, on the ceiling or on the walls. In addition to the main function, they can be used to decorate the design of premises. Of course, there will be no decorative effect in the pool itself, since all the light will be spent on creating the design of the room. nine0003

Floating luminaires

If all of the above types of lighting equipment must be provided for even before the construction of pools, then floating luminaires can be installed in a ready-made structure. Regardless design features of the reservoir, the floating LED lamp can be place it anywhere you like.

Floating models are made in the form of a ball and operate from a built-in battery, so the power supply cable lines are not required for them, which provides them with autonomy. nine0003

Selection of bulbs

There is a fairly wide selection of lighting bulbs on the market today, some of them are universal, others are not suitable for use in the pool.

The following models should be noted:

• incandescent lamps - the most expensive option in terms of device power and service life, light output is 8 - 10 lm / W;
• fluorescent lamps - give a better luminous flux than incandescent 25 - 50lm / W, but rather capricious to environmental conditions; nine0016
• halogen lamps - give a good luminous flux penetrating into the thickness of the pool, regardless of the depth of installation, but are characterized by a short service life and low light output of 15 - 20lm / W;
• LED lamps are the most efficient type of lighting fixtures, have the highest light output of 90 - 120lm / W and the longest life.

Ideal for subsea installations are LED spotlights or halogen lamps. nine0003

Lighting control

The control system allows the use of various operating modes, increase the brightness of the glow, use all or only some groups of lighting fixtures, include colored lamps or monochrome lighting devices.

use dimmers or other light dimmers to you could change the effects according to your needs. In public and sports complexes, the backlight should include several modes: for training, competition and emergency lighting. nine0003

It has 2 goals: to provide safety at night and to give the tank aesthetics. Underwater lights clearly highlight the edges of the bowl in the dark, emphasize the originality of the shapes and make night swimming more comfortable - many swimmers feel uncomfortable in the water without lighting.

Pool lighting: norms and requirements

The development and installation of artificial lighting is regulated by a number of legislative acts (No. 384-FZ of December 30, 2009, No. 184-FZ of December 27, 2002, No. 261-FZ of November 23, 2009d.) and codes of practice - SNiP 23-05-95 of 01/01/1996 and SP 52.13330.2011 of 05/20/2011.

According to the established norms, the average horizontal illumination of a children's pool should not be less than 150 lux, and for an adult - 100 lux.

In addition to the standards regarding the choice of lamp brightness, electrical safety requirements must be taken into account:

1. Electrical voltage . For underwater lighting, it is strictly forbidden to use lamps with a power of 220 watts. Devices operating from a 12 V network are allowed to be installed. nine0003

2. Protection . The moisture resistance of all electrical appliances is marked with the letters IP with a 2-digit code, where IP indicates the degree of protection of the device from the ingress of dust, small particles of litter, water and microorganisms. The digital code is deciphered as follows: the first digit characterizes the protection of the device from the ingress of solid particles inside, the second - from the penetration of moisture. Lighting equipment for swimming pools is marked with the IP 68 code (6 indicates complete protection against dust, 8 ensures that the device remains waterproof when completely immersed in water deeper than 1 meter). nine0003

3. Insulation . When laying the wiring inside the bowl, special attention should be paid to the insulation of the wires, especially the places where they are connected.

4. Light . Pool lighting should be diffused, not glare on the water and not hit the eyes of swimmers. Separate lamps are installed in places of descent into the bowl. Light should be evenly distributed over the entire area of ​​the tank - from the sides to the bottom. nine0003

Another requirement for underwater lighting is quick and easy access to instruments in case of an emergency.

Pool lighting

There are three types of illumination:

1. General . Refers to the outside. Designed to illuminate the surface of the pool and the surrounding area. To organize the light flux, ceiling and wall lamps are used if the pool is indoors. For street lamps, spotlights are installed on a bracket or mounted on the facade of a nearby building. nine0003

2. Submarine . It involves the installation of fixtures on the walls along the sides and at the bottom. The number of devices, the scheme of their installation depends on the size and depth of the bowl. In small pools up to 2 m deep, several lamps can be attached to the side walls of the tank. For deeper ones, be sure to install devices on the bottom.

3. Floating . Technically, this is a separate species, because it cannot be attributed to either outdoor or underwater lighting. These are sealed balls with a lamp inside, powered by a battery, recharging can be done from the mains or from solar panels. Floating lanterns are more of a decorative lighting. This type of device is a good solution for inflatable and frame pools. nine0003

How to make the illumination of the pool from the outside is clear, it is enough to install a good spotlight. In the article we will consider in more detail the issue of organizing underwater lighting.

Underwater pool lighting - types of lamps

To organize lighting under water in artificial tanks, two types of lamps are used:

1. Built-in . They are installed in special recesses provided during the construction of concrete pools. This method of installation leaves the surface of the bowl even, the lamp is as if recessed and does not protrude from the wall. nine0003

2. Overhead . Such devices are attached directly to the wall or bottom. There is no need for recesses in the wall.

When designing concrete or composite pools, it is important to consider how electrical equipment will be accessed. It can be organized outside, then maintenance can be carried out without draining the water, or inside the walls of the pool.

There are 4 types of lamps for underwater lamps:

1. Halogen . They have a bright light flux and a wide radius of its dispersion. Cons - a short service life: only about 1,000 hours, emit carbon dioxide, get very hot during operation. For such lamps, especially durable, sealed lamps are needed.

2. LED pool lighting. There are two options - lamp and tape. Less bright, but more economical: by installing such a light bulb, you can save up to 70% of electricity. Also, the pluses include the possibility of organizing multi-colored light by connecting RGB lamps. The illumination radius of such lamps is lower than that of halogen lamps, therefore, they need to be installed in larger numbers. The main disadvantage of the tapes is insufficient protection against moisture penetration, usually LED strips are marked with the IP67 code. The disadvantage of the lamp is the price. LED lamps are harmless from the point of view of ecology, the service life is several times longer than that of a halogen lamp. nine0003

3. Fiber optic devices. The main advantage is that the lamp has dielectric properties, the devices do not emit ultraviolet radiation, are environmentally friendly and are protected from short circuits. In fact, the fiber does not emit light, but is its carrier, so the short circuit is completely excluded, even if the fiber is damaged. They work at any depth at ambient temperature from -60 to +60 °С. The only downside is the high price.

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4. Discharge lamps - gas, electrode or fluorescent. Energy-saving lamps with a long service life, emit a soft diffused light. Depending on what gas is inside, the light can be white, yellow, red and blue. On this, the advantages of the equipment end. The disadvantages include: the large size of the lamps, for brightness they need to heat up, to turn on, you need to mount special starters. If the lamp cracks in water and harmful gas enters the oxygen. Discharge lamps must be connected to a network with a stable power supply.

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