Lighting Your Swim Spa
Once you have your swim spa installed, you are not going to want to be restricted regarding when you can use it. You want to make good use of it any time, day or night. When using it at night, you want to be cautious about your safety and you may want some lighting in the area to provide you with good visibility.
When you buy a quality swim spa, you should find that it does come with some lighting that is built into the unit. These are normally LED lights and will be installed properly by the professionals that are doing your installation. This may not be enough lighting for you, however, and you may like to have some exterior lighting installed around the swim spa area, not only for your enjoyment, but for guests that may want to sit around this area.
Having lighting near any form of water can be potentially dangerous and it is important that you follow all of the safety regulations for your outdoor lighting. There are in pool lights that you can buy, but these must be installed by professionals.
Many people are turning to the LED systems because of their safety and performance, but these lights must be made of quality components. It is tempting to go to your local store and buy some of the outdoor lighting packages that are available there. This is usually landscape lighting and is not the best choice for lighting in your swim spa area.
When looking at your lighting fixtures, you may want to focus on those that are made with non-rusting materials, such as non-ferrous metal alloy fixtures, which include copper or stainless steel. It is always recommended that any wiring that is going to be near any body of water should be installed in conduit. The goal here is to make sure that no part of the lighting system, which includes the fixtures, transformers, or wiring can come into contact with the water in any way, shape, or form.
When using any type of transformers, it is important to follow all of the manufacturer recommendations and that they are grounded. There are pool and spa rated transformers that can be purchased and it is highly recommended that the proper equipment is utilized.
When installing any of the fixtures they should be well back from the water's edge. There may be bylaws in your area, but in general they should be at least six feet back from the water's edge. The purpose here is that you don't want anybody that is in the water to be able to touch any part of the lighting fixture. You may want to discuss your lighting for your swim spa area with your swim spa provider who are the experts in this area.