Whether you already have a swimming pool, or whether it’s still on your wish-list of things to do around your home and garden, making the best use of your space is key in getting the most out of your investment. You may even have toyed with the idea of having a swimming pool and discarded it with the usual arguments – it’s too cold for too much of the year, and it’s too dark to enjoy swimming by the time I get home at night.
Use Your Outdoor Space All Year Round
Although you may wish to close your pool for the late fall and winter if you live in a particularly leafy area, a good pool heater can make all the difference when it comes to using the space all year round. It’s a very European thing to continue to swim outside in a heated pool throughout the colder months, so embrace your inner Scandinavian, and do investigate whether a solar or electric heater might enable you to use your swim space for most of the year.
Get The Right Light
More crucial still, especially if you’re concerned about just being able to use your pool on the few warm weekends through the summer as you work so late, is to get the lighting right. If your garden and pool area is as much social as family space, it’s important to get this spot on both from a practical and an aesthetic point of view.
One form of lighting that covers both of these concerns in one is LED. Economical to run, these energy efficient lights have the advantage over other cost-effective methods through providing a brighter light altogether, and a considerably enhanced bulb life-span. Advances in LED technology also mean that you’re now looking at a softer ambient light available in red, green and blue as well as traditional white.
The savings on your energy bills are not to be disregarded either; even if you’re looking at an outlay to upgrade or even install poolside and underwater LED lighting, the savings over even a relatively short period of time will mean that your costs are covered and then some by the time you may be looking to upgrade again.
In terms of where to situate your lights, if you’re looking at regularly using your pool at night then you will want to consider underwater lighting as much as poolside visibility, if only because there’s something just a little creepy about stepping into a completely dark pool!
Additionally, although bulbs will need to be changed – and you will have to drain your pool to do this – the average lifespan of an LED bulb is so impressive that it’s better calculated in years rather than the 50,000 or so hours you’ll get from a single item on average. You could even schedule replacement every third winter or so as part of essential off-season maintenance if you wished to enjoy seamless and trouble-free lighting throughout the months your pool is in use.
Additional Things To Consider
Don’t neglect enhancing the rest of your poolside area with subtle lighting, especially if your plans include summer pool parties for friends and family. If you’re stuck for inspiration, blogs and photo streams can give you ideas about what you can achieve with lighting, or even how to design your own pool in your back yard prior to booking that contractor.
LED Lighting 