Recommendations for arranging pool lighting in a private house

If a private house has a swimming pool, do not deprive yourself of the pleasure of decorating it. After all, pool lighting is not only aesthetic, but also useful. This article will tell you about the requirements for underwater and ground-based lamps, how to select them, about the principles of installing lighting with your own hands, and how to control it.

Just a few lights completely change the look of the pool.

Requirements and security

Even at the stage of preparation for mounting the lighting for the pool, you need to take into account a number of rules. They should not be neglected. In the end, this is a matter of life, because water and electricity are a dangerous combination, to put it mildly. Here are the requirements:

1. No 220 V, this is a taboo. The voltage should be only 12 volts.
2. The main thing in underwater lamps - degree of protection (IP). And it should have a maximum indicator - IP68.
3. The most important issue is the hermetic insulation of the wiring.This is especially true in places where wires are connected to the lamp. It is there that you need to do the most careful isolation.
4. Each underwater and surface light should be in the quick access zone. They do not need to be hidden somewhere, or hung too high.
5. When installing lighting, it is important to check that not a single lamp casts glare and sunbeams on the surface of the water, and also does not blind the eyes.
6. Stair lighting should combine convenience and safety.
7. The light should spread evenly over the entire area of ​​the bowl, including the walls and bottom.

For example, here the light is evenly distributed.

Selection of fixtures and lighting options

Lamp type selection

If speak about type of light bulbs for lighting fixtures, then any of the available options are suitable for general lighting and ceiling:

• halogen;
• light-emitting diode (LED);
• incandescent lamps;
• gas-discharge;
• fiber optic lighting.

But for underwater lighting inside the bowl, only 2 types of lamps are suitable - halogens and LEDs. Their advantages are outweighed by their disadvantages. Halogens shine more brightly, scatter the flux over a large area, but usually last less. LED lamps last a very long time, save a lot of energy, but they give a smaller radius of illumination, and they are more expensive. But they have a great variety of colors.

Thematic video: Choosing lights for the pool

General lighting

In general, in terms of lighting in the pool in a private house, there are two types of lighting: general and underwater. General lighting is installed throughout the surrounding area, on walls and ceilings. For these fixtures, the degree of protection against moisture plays a less important role, since contact with water will be minimal or completely absent.

Balanced overall illumination.

In general lighting, it is recommended to mount ceiling spotlights, which can give a directional stream of light. They are best fixed on brackets. Additional lamps on the walls, fixed in the same way, will provide local illumination of individual sections of the pool and the surrounding area.

Underwater lighting

The main functions of lighting inside the pool are:

• help with swimming at night;
• improving the safety of being in the water;
• emphasizing the shape of the bowl;
• outer beauty.

For underwater lighting of the pool premises are most often used Spotlights (spots) or led strip. Spots are located on the sides of the pool bowl and at the bottom. The main requirement for placement is the same distance between each pair of spotlights. This does not affect safety in any way, but aesthetically uneven lighting will look ugly. LED strip is a more flexible option, in every sense. It can be launched along any trajectory, bent at an angle, wound through channels. Plus, the LED filament is easy fastened to the walls of the pool.

LEDs add magic.

There are several other types of underwater lighting that are now popular:

1. floating lights. The essence of this method is that waterproof round lights on batteries are installed on the surface of the water. They move freely through the water and create uniform lighting. Lamps are placed in inflatable containers, tapes are not used here. This option usually has a decorative value, serving rather as additional lighting.
   floating lights.
2. Optical fiber. Using fiber optic cable, you can create spectacular lighting inside the pool. Colors, styles, brightness, dynamics will change.The main requirement is to place the fiber optic power supply as far away from the water as possible.

Rules for arranging electrical wiring

When planning the installation of lighting for the pool, you need, first of all, to take care of the safety and reliability of the power supply. There are a few fundamental principles to follow:

1. The voltage should be only 12 volts. You will need an electronic or electromagnetic transformer 220/12 V, which must be placed where moisture is guaranteed to never get.
2. Wiring should be insulated as thoroughly as possible.
3. It is better to install the backlight switch in any convenient place, but away from the pool. You can use a standard push-button switch, connect several transformers to the switch. To calculate the current, calculate the total power of all transformers.
4. The backlight is considered fully installed if there is a working circuit: automatic - switch - transformers - lamps.

Installation recommendations

The easiest way to equip the pool with lighting with your own hands is to use non-contact overhead lights. They are easy to install and, if necessary, dismantle. Such spots are hung on the walls and bottom of the bowl, the main thing is to keep the same distance between them. Their work is regulated by a non-contact touch dimmer.

Non-contact overhead lamp.

If you "stay true" to the traditional electrical approach, you need to fill your head with a significantly larger amount of information and warnings. Key points to keep in mind:

1. When buying underwater spotlights, you need to look not only at the degree of protection, but also at the maximum installation depth. There should be no conflicts with the depth in the floor or walls of the bowl.
2. If a floor or wall underwater light breaks, you will need to drain all the water from the pool to access it. Here you can make your life a little easier by installing lights on the walls above the water level.
3. Dimmers and filters provide ample opportunities for adjusting color and intensity.
4. The more matte texture the ceiling has, the softer and more pleasant the light under water will be.
5. Luminaires further away from the pool still need to have a high degree of moisture resistance. If you neglect this, the consequences can be extremely unpleasant. Additionally, special couplings that are put on the lights will help.

If you want to turn your pool into a true work of art, this will help decorative lamps. They will give the area a special atmosphere. On the ceiling in complete darkness, for example, the Milky Way, mountains, lights will look breathtaking - the scope for imagination is endless here.

Installation of lamps under water.

Lighting control

Now there are great opportunities to control the lighting system of the pool of a private house. A standard push button switch or a dimmer for general and underwater lighting, a remote control switch are the simplest and most commonplace solutions, this can no longer surprise anyone. But there are more interesting options.

One of the interesting ways to control it is a remote controller to change the intensity on or off, which you can hook on your arm or leg and swim with it underwater. By installing a multi-colored backlight, its owner gets a rich field for various light modes and their switching.

Multi-colored illumination along with fountains.

Here, a device with specified program algorithms is connected to each individual spotlight or their groups.To change them, human intervention is not necessary at all. It is enough to program all the parameters, and the light extravaganza in the pool will alternate, as if by magic.

Idea. You can generally create a show of light and sound, synchronizing the change of program with the change of the song. The controllers convert the signals coming from the computer and set the next glow algorithm with each new track. Some and permanent PC connection no need: once you download the programs, and then the controller does everything by itself. In short, the possibilities are truly breathtaking!