Pool lights are very pleasing to the eyes. Aside from keeping your swimming pool area bright at night, it is also installed to add beauty and personality to your swimming pool. If your current LED pool light does not fit your style and personality, then maybe it is time to make some improvements. Consider upgrading your ordinary LED pool lights to a color LED pool light.
Here are some useful tips we want to share with you to help you successfully upgrade your old and ordinary LED pool light into a new and pretty color LED pool light on your own.
Turn Off the Circuit Breaker
Every time you handle electrical works, the number of things you should do and not forget is to turn off the power supply. Swimming pools have their own circuit breaker sub-panel connected to the main panel inside your house.
All swimming pool equipment and accessories that need electricity are connected to the pool’s circuit breaker sub-panel. So, for this project, you will have to shut off the circuit breaker of your swimming pool. This way you can be safe and avoid electric shock.
The sub-panel of a swimming pool is usually installed near your swimming pool pump. First, check your pump area and figure out which circuit breaker is for your swimming pool. If you do not know which breaker to turn off, it is best to turn all circuit breakers off. Do this to ensure your safety.
Identify the Correct Voltage
When you shut off your circuit breaker sub-panel, you should also inspect it. See what voltage are your swimming pool lights are operating on.
Swimming pool lights are designed to operate on either 12V or 120V. However, some states only allow the use of 12V pool lights, while other states permit pool lights operated in 120V. Therefore, it is best to check your locality to find out what is allowed and not.
If your swimming pool is controlled via remote control, you can check the remote control. Check if the Swimming pool light system handles low-power LED lights such as 14W and less. Some pool light system only handles large powers lights like 40W to 500W light bulbs.
Purchase the Correct LED Pool Light Bulbs
Although it is advised to purchase LED pool lights ahead of time and just store them in your storage space, in this project, the chances are that you do not have colored LED lights yet. Therefore, to successfully upgrade your lights and make them colorful, you must have colored LED pool light bulbs.
Choose the LED pool light bulbs with your preferred colors. Also, make sure that they have the correct wattage and voltage. If you have a sketch plan for installing the color LED pool lights, you should use them. Purchase light bulbs according to your plan.
If you go light bulb shopping, always purchase a spare light bulb. Store the spare bulbs at home in case you need to replace a light bulb in the future. Moreover, it is also best to identify the type of bulb used on your swimming pool light fixture before you rush into the hardware store.
Take out your swimming pool light fixture to know what bulb to buy. Bringing the old bulb with you when you go shopping will also help you know what bulb to buy.
Replace the Bulb on the Light Fixtures
Now that you already have the correct light bulb and the power was shut off, it is now time to replace the bulbs. You do not need to drain your swimming pool to replace your light bulbs. Draining your pool before you replace light bulbs can be done, but it would be more inconvenient.
Most commonly, swimming pool light fixtures are installed in the middle part of the swimming pool wall. If this is the case, the fixtures are mostly reachable even if you do not submerge into the water. Swimming pool light fixtures are usually screwed into a slot on the wall.
It only has one screw located at the top part of the light fixture. Unscrew the screw, and you will be able to remove the fixture.
If the light fixture of your swimming pool is placed way down below the pool, you will be going to need goggles and a snorkel to reach and remove the fixture.
Pull the Light Fixture Out of the Slot
Now that you have unsecured the light fixture, you can now be able to pull it out. Bring out of the water so that you can easily replace the bulb inside. You should be able to place the light fixture on the ground at the deck of your pool.
If you have enough excess wire on your light fixture, bringing it out of the water and placing it in the ground will not be a problem. However, if the excess wire will not allow you to bring the fixture far from the slot, then you will have to replace the bulb on the spot.
Dry the Fixture
Once the fixture is out of the slot, place it on a soft surface. For example, you can place old clothes on the ground and place the fixture on top. Next, dry the fixture using a towel, ensuring no water moisture is left before opening it.
Disassemble
Now that the fixture is dry, it is now time to disassemble the fixture. If your light fixture is the older version, it should have brass retainer clips around the perimeter of the light fixture that is secured with a screw. If this is your type of fixture, you can start disassembling it by removing the screws.
For a newer type of light fixture, you will notice that it has a uni-tension wire clamp with bolts and nuts to hold the light fixture together. Remove the bolts and nuts to start dismantling the newer light fixture version.
Remove the Lens
Now that you have removed the screws, bolts and nuts, the clamps, and the fixture clips, it is now time to remove the lense. Start by prying the lens and the gasket out of the face assembly ring.
Next, pry the lens and the gasket out of the housing itself. Once the lens is out, clean the lens to make it clear and shiny. If the lens needs to be replaced, it is best to purchase a new lens when you purchase the light bulbs.
Remove the gasket out of the lens and use a damp cloth to clean the gasket residue that is staining the lens if you are not going to replace it with a new one.
Replace the Bulb
After cleaning, it is now time to replace the old bulb with the new one. First, carefully remove the bulb from the fixture using a towel. Once the light bulb is out, clean the inside of the fixture housing with a dry cloth.
Place and secure the new bulb into the fixture by gently screwing it in. Make it snug but not too tight that it will break the bulb. Now that the bulb is secure, the next step is to reassemble the entire pool light fixture.
Reassemble the Fixture
Place the new gasket on the new lens of the pool light fixture. Place the lens on top of the fixture’s housing and secure it with the clamp or clip that you removed earlier. Secure the screw or bolts snugly to ensure that the light fixture is assembled properly.
Place the Fixture Back Into the Pool
Submerge the light fixture into the water. When you see bubbles coming out, do not be alarmed, as this is normal as long as the bubbles are not coming from the edges of the sealed fixture.
Place the light fixture back into the slot and secure it with the same screw you remove earlier. Make sure that you place all the wirings correctly by recoiling them. This is also why it is best to note how the wires were stored during the removal of the light fixture so that you will know how to put them back after.
Restore the Power and Give It a Try
Once you have successfully replaced all light bulbs in light fixtures in and around your swimming pool, it is now time to power up and give it a try. First, turn on the circuit breaker and test the lights you installed.
If you installed a single color LED light bulb, it should illuminate the color brightly, even underwater. However, if you purchased the color-changing LED pool light bulb, you should see the light sequencing from different colors as you turn it on.
Enjoy Your New LED Pool Light
Now that you have successfully replaced all your pool light bulbs with color LED pool light bulbs, you can now enjoy the new beauty of your swimming pool. Replacing your swimming pool’s light bulb might be time-consuming and inconvenient, but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.
