LED Pool Lighting Knowledge Base

Lumens or Lux?
Lumens and Lux are often used interchangeably, but they are two different values. Lux is the number of Lumens per m2. A lamp with 1000 Lumens distributed over an area of 10m2 is equal to 100 Lux.

How many Lumens do I need?
For RGB lamps, a minimum of 450 Lumens per m2 is recommended. A swimming pool of 8 x 4 meters has a surface area of 32 m2. You would therefore need (450 x 32 =) 14,400 Lumens in total. If there are 4 lamps in the pool, that is a minimum of 3600 Lumens per lamp to achieve a nice RGB effect.

For single-color lamps (cool white, warm white, or blue), between 250 and 300 Lumens per m2 is recommended. Using the same calculation example, you would need 8,800 Lumens, or 2200 Lumens per lamp if using 4 lamps.

Where should we place the lamps?
Nowadays, we work exclusively with LED lamps because they are much more energy-efficient. However, LED lamps have more beam focus compared to the old 300-watt halogen lamps. Halogen lamps were usually placed only on one long side of the pool; with LED lamps, it is better to place them on both sides of the pool to prevent the effect shown below, where the pool is unevenly lit.

Replacing 300-watt PAR 56 halogen lamps with LED.
There are many possibilities for replacing your existing PAR 56 halogen lamps with LED lamps. Almost all manufacturers offer an option for this; in most cases, you can use the existing transformer (12 volt AC) and housing. If the housing is no longer usable, a renovation kit can be used. The better LED lamps use a 24-volt DC power supply, in which case you will need to replace the old power supply.