How to choose pool lights

Some of our customers are not from the lighting business, they may be importers of pool equipment & pool accessories, they have years of experience in buying pool pumps, pool heaters, or even pool cleaners, but led pool light is a new business for them.

Also, some may be a construction company who are building a waterpark, they do not know how to choose good quality pool lights for their project. Also, there are some spa & fitness areas, even some from outdoor living and hotel resorts, they may also need underwater lights but lack kind of professional knowledge and get confused on how to choose the right pool lights/ underwater light.

We,?the?SWIN?team,?understand?different?customers'?worries?based?on?our?12?years?of?experience?in?selling?pool?lights?worldwide, so?we?collect?the?most?common?questions?that?people?may?ask,?we?hope?the?below?Q&A??can?help?all?various?businesses?which? may?need?led?light?and know?well the basic data?then?make?the?right?decision?when?buying?pool?lights.

Firstly,?when?we?buy?led?lights,?there?are led?specification?datasheets.?What are they mean ?

Let?us?learn?the basic LED ?Parameter first.

1.Q: What is an LED (Light Emitting Diode)?

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a solid-state semiconductor device that converts electrical energy directly into light.

2.Q: What is a Watt?

A watt is equivalent to one joule per second, corresponding to the power in an electric circuit in which the potential difference is one volt and the current one ampere. A watt is equal to the voltage multiplied by the amperage. This is how your electric company keeps track of how much energy you consume.

3.Q: What are lumens (lm)?

Lumen is the measurement of brightness as perceived to the human eye. Because of incandescent lighting, we are all accustomed to using watts to measure the brightness of light. Today, we use lumen. Lumen is the most important variable when choosing which?LED light?you need to look at. Make sure you compare lumen output between LED lights before determining which one is best for your project.?

4.Q:What is luminous efficacy??

This is calculated by measuring the lumen output and then dividing that number by watts. For example, a light that has a lumen output of 300lm/ft and a wattage draw of 3w/ft has an efficiency of 100lm/W.

5.What is AC?

This is Alternating Current. This is the electricity that is used in most homes and commercial spaces. It’s often referred to as line voltage and number differs from country to country.

6.Q: What is DC?

This is Direct Current. Most LED lights?on the market use low-voltage DC. A transformer or low-voltage battery is often required to step-down the AC voltage to a suitable level for the LED lights, which is normally 12V or 24V DC.

7.Q: What is CRI and why is it important?

Color Rendering Index (CRI) is the measurement of how colors look under a light source when compared with sunlight. Having information on the CRI of a LED light is important because you want to make sure that the colors are being accurately represented by the light source. CRI is measured on a scale from 0-100. A CRI of 80+ is the industry-standard for most applications while a CRI of 90+ tends to be necessary for situations that need color accuracy.

8.Q:What is color temperature?

The color of light can be quantified by referring to its color temperature. White light is measured in Kelvins (K). Most white lights fall in a spectrum between 1800K and 6500K. When getting close to 3000K, the light is noticeably warmer. On the other end of the spectrum, the lights have a blue-ish tint and cooler tone when nearing 6500K.

9.Q: Which color temperature should I choose?

Choosing the correct color temperature lights for your project is very important, and as important as the brightness you choose. Consider the look and feel you want your project to have. What other color lights will be present? What material and color are the materials you wish to light.

10.Q: What is IP stand for?

This is a rating system that defines the ability of a product to be able to work in different environments. IP is an acronym "Ingress Protection". It is a measurement of the protection an item will have against solid objects (dust, sand, dirt, etc.) and liquids.

An IP rating is comprised of 2 numbers. The first number refers to the protection against solid objects (dust, etc) and the second number refers to protection against liquids.

11.Q: What is the difference between IP65, IP67, & IP68?

The differences between commonly sold IP65, IP67, & IP68 strips are slight, but very important.

IP65?= Water resistant. “Protected against water jets from any angle” Do NOT submerge IP65 LED lights, these are not waterproof.

IP67?= Water resistant plus. “Protected against the events of temporary submersion (10 minutes)”Do NOT submerge IP67 LED lights for extended periods, these are not waterproof.

IP68?= Waterproof “Protected against the events of permanent submersion up to 3 meters”??

12.Q: What are the top 4 comparing factors to look for before purchasing LED lights??

1. Make sure you know the requirements for your project, then when looking at options, compare lumen output, CCT, and CRI.

2. Compare LED size and number of chips on the reel.

3. Understand the wattage and voltage that the LED light uses.

4. Make sure that the products have verifiable quality.

13.Q: How long will the LED lights last??

Our lights have been rigorously tested and have an expected lifespan of 50,000 hours before dropping to 70% luminosity. This means that if you were to use your lights 12 hours a day, every day, the lights would be expected to last almost 7 years. Even after that time has elapsed, the lights will maintain a brightness of 70%. Higher-output strips require a heat sink to reach the expected lifespan.

14.Q: What’s the?operating temperature of LED lights?

The temperature will vary from strip to strip. Our lights are designed to be underpowered at the component levels to keep the strip cooler than its maximum operating thresholds. We have designed the LED lights to be able to operate in a temperature range of --22°F ~ 122°F / -30°C ~ 50°C.

15.Q: What sort of beam angle is produced by your LED?lights?

Different?LED lights have different?beam angles. 30°&?90°?are common.

16.Q: How do I choose which power supply I would need for my LED lights?

First, calculate the total watts consumed by the LEDs (Watts per foot) X (number of linear feet used. Then, take that number and add on additional 20%. We add the additional 20% to avoid overloading the power supply. Under-loading the power supply help increase lifespan of the power supply. As an example, a project that requires 10’ of a light that draws 3w per foot would require a power supply that can supply 36W or more.

The total linear footage of LEDs, voltage, power consumption and dimming method will determine which power supply is best for your project.

17.Q: What is a heat sink?

A part of the thermal system that conducts or convects heat away from sensitive components, such as LEDs and other electronics. The most common heat sinks are aluminum alloys.

Yes, we have a professional R&D team who can support customer design. If the products are not on our website, we will check the info and help develop the new product.

18.Q:Why is LED Lights?the next generation of lighting?

LED lights?are the next generation of lighting that save energy, reduce maintenance and replacement costs and help protect the environment. They also last much longer than traditional lighting.

19.Q:How energy-efficient are LED lights?

LED lighting can save up to?90%?of the electricity used by incandescent and halogen lights and up to?50%?of electricity used by fluorescent lights.

20.Q:Is LED lighting better than incandescent or halogen lighting?

Around?80-90% of the energy emitted from incandescent bulbs is converted to heat?instead of light.?LED lighting is about 85% more efficient?than incandescent lights and hence do not need as much energy to product the same amount of light. LED lights are also designed to last about 50 times longer than incandescent lighting.

21.Q:Aren’t LED lights too expensive?

The upfront cost of LED lights is higher than conventional lights but they?save a lot of money?over time from?reduced energy usage, low replacement and maintenance costs.?But how do you define expensive? Is it the up-front cost or is it the running cost of the light over time or the cost to change the light once it has failed? If it is a new building, installing LED lighting is sometimes the same cost as traditional technology which means you will start to save from the very beginning.

22.Q:Can LED lighting really save energy and money?

Figures released by the U.S Department of Energy estimate that embracing LED lighting on a large-scale by 2025 will:

·?See a?62% reduction in energy usage.

·?Result in?258 million metric tons?of carbon emissions wiped out.

·?Greatly reduce the amount of materials being put into landfills

·?Mean no need to build?133 new power plants.

·?Overall it would save the US over?$280 billion!

The?Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007?is designed to implement sweeping changes to energy policies in the United States. The stated mission of the act is “to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other purposes.” Section 321 of this act addresses new efficiency standards regarding “general service incandescent lights.”

We?strongly recommend that business, industrial and commercial lighting consumers choose to proactively adjust their lighting purchases in order to start saving on energy costs now.

23.Q: What is the difference between 2835LEDs v 5050 LEDs?

LED chips are all not all equal. The four digits represent the size of the chips in millimeters. For example, the 2835?chip is 3.5 mm X 2.8mm. Some chips are brighter than other and some have special uses and restrictions.

24.Q:?What Does RGB LED Mean?

RGB?comes from the colors?Red, Green,?and?Blue.?

And when it comes to lighting,?RGB LEDs often merge these colors to yield over 16 million different hues of light.However, there are a few limitations to this since?RGB LEDs cannot produce all colors.Basically, there are special colors that fall outside the RGB triangle. And also, some pigments are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve e.g. pink and brown.

25.Q:How much heat is generated by LED light bulbs?

Shoppers of LED light bulbs often ask how much heat is generated by LED bulbs in comparison with incandescent or halogen bulbs. Contrary to some marketing claims, LED bulbs do indeed generate heat as does anything that consumes electricity. The important thing to keep in mind is that LEDs consume a lot less energy than incandescent or halogen bulbs and are much more efficient in how they use that energy versus traditional bulb types.

Thus while LEDs will generate heat, it will be a fraction of that compared to a traditional technology bulb. The ultimate temperature at which the external housing of the LED will operate at is influenced by the temperature of the room and the fixture it is placed in.

LED bulbs have many components inside to change the high voltage electricity from your home or building to the lower voltage that the LED chips need to run. Because of this, they are much more sensitive to heat than incandescent or halogen sources. You will frequently find that many low cost LED bulbs carry a warning that they should not be placed in fully enclosed fixtures. The reason for this is that this heat build up can shorten the life of the components inside of the LED bulb. Only use fully enclosed rated LED bulbs in fixtures of this type or you may void the warranty.?

Overall though, the lower heat generated by LEDs makes them a great choice for applications such as task lighting and illumination of heat sensitive objects such as food or artwork that can be damaged by heat.

26.Q. Do LEDs attract insects?

No they do not. Insects see entirely different spectrums of light and are attracted to ultraviolet light. A side note - flowers create "nectar guides", invisible to the human eye and ultraviolet light attracts insects to flowers for reproductive purposes. This is not to say that all bugs aren't attracted to LED lights, but most can't see the light that LEDs produce.

Now here comes the question about led pool lights.

27.Q. How many ways are there to install a pool light?

Three. The embedded installation type, the wall-mounted installation type, and?the bush-type installation type.

28.Q. What are some common materials for pool lights?

PC,stainless steel,glass.

29.Q.What are the common LED lamp bead brands?

Osram, Epistar,samsung. Bridgelux, San’an,CREE, PHILIP. For us, we use Osram for single color and Epistar for RGB color. These are all famous brands.

30.Q.When Can the Pool Light be Installed??

The pool light niche, or wall bucket that holds the pool lamp, is ready to be installed once the pool has been dug and the pool walls have been erected. There is a special wall panel that has a hole cut-out, be sure to place this panel in the deep center wall of the pool, or wherever the light(s) will be located. Follow the wall panel markings, and avoid installing the pool light wall panel upside-down!

The pool light, or lamp that fits inside of the niche is installed during the filling of the pool. When the pool water level reaches the light, the light ring and gasket can be installed. Then the vinyl inside the light ring is cut out, and the lamp can be installed into the light niche, with the light cord running out the back of the niche, to the power junction box.

31.Q.How Deep should the Pool Light Conduit be Buried?

Make sure the electrical conduit is down far enough so that if you ever need to dig in that area of the yard you won’t hit them. I would recommend having the conduit about 2-3 feet down inside the trench.

32.Q.How many control ways are there for pool light?

Remote Control or power ON/OFF controlled; Wire Sycn.control;External control;DMX512 control;wifi control...etc

We will share a new post on detailed control way.

One of my customers from water treatment are so happy when I send him this Q&A list. He can get a quick learn.

We still keep collecting the questions and will keep updating. Hope this article will be helpful when you come to the pool lights business.

Anything you want to discuss with me, welcome to email me at [email protected] or just message me on Linkedin.