Pool Lighting Design Q & A Series II
In part two of our Lighting Design Q & A Series we talk with Zofia Dombrowski, S.R.Smith Lighting Specialist for the East. As a 23-year veteran of the industry, Zofia knows her stuff when it comes to pool and spa lighting. She was with Fiberstars for 15 years before S.R.Smith acquired Fiberstars in 2013, and she continues to be a highly respected lighting specialist at S.R.Smith. Her favorite hobbies besides pool lighting, include camping and fishing.
We asked Zofia to share some of the most common lighting questions she gets from customers.
Q: I have a customer with a new construction gunite pool being built. It is a medium size pool and they would like to add LED stars to the pool. How many Star Floor Kits would they need?
A: However small or large the size of the pool there is no formula on how many Star Floor Kits to use. It really depends on the imagination of the customer and what the expectations are for the end result. Some people just like a few stars scattered about the bottom and or sides of the pool which would require 1 or 2 kits to achieve the effect they are looking for. Others envision a pool that looks like they are jumping into a sea of stars which would require more kits to scatter about more stars.
Q: If I am using more than one Star Floor Kit do I need multiple transformers to connect them to?
A: You would only need one transformer system to connect the LED star kits to. The system choice is based on the number of kits installed which determines the total wattage that will be connected to the transformer/control system.
Our CLSSFK25-50 kits have 25 “stars” per kit and are 5 Watts each.
Our CLSSFK50-50 kits have 50 “stars” per kit and are 10 Watts each.
For example, if your customer wants 300 stars in the pool, you will need (6) of the CLSSFK50-50 (50 stars per kit) and (6 Kits X 50 stars each = 300 stars). Each 50-fixture star kit counts for 10 Watts each so we need 6 kits at 10 Watts each which equals 60 Watts in total that will be connected to a transformer/control system.
We do not recommend that you utilize more than 90% of a transformer's capacity. Since in the example 60 Watts is needed for Star Floor Kits, a higher wattage transformer such as our 100 Watt poolLUX Plus transformer/control system (plX-PL100) would be needed to connect all kits and operate all on the same color mode.
Another option would be our poolLUX PLUS2 with dual transformer which has (2) 60 Watt transformers. You could then connect (3) on one transformer and (3) on the second transformer and choose to keep all stars on the same color OR you can have one side set to one color and the second side to a different color to have different colored stars throughout the pool.
Q: Does a higher wattage transformer make the stars brighter?
A: No, the wattage of the transformer only dictates how many watts the unit can handle in total, i.e., how many Star Floor Kits can be connected. You can however make the stars appear brighter by “polishing” the tip of the each acrylic star point with sandpaper. The rougher the tip is made the heavier the light output which achieves a brighter glow. You can do this with just a few of random points creating a dimensional effect of stars being closer and farther away.
Have questions or want to learn more about Star Floor Kits? srsmith.com/getSTARted