Pool Lighting Ideas and Tips to Illuminate Your Outdoor Space

Swimming pools may conjure images of fun in the sun, but they aren’t used exclusively during daytime. Many pool owners also enjoy a nighttime swim, throwing late-night pool parties, or treating the pool area as an aesthetic outdoor space. Pool lighting expands your pool enjoyment opportunities, even after the sun goes down.

Adding poolside lighting grants greater pool-area visibility, a must-have for homes with kids, pets, or accident-prone individuals to avoid dangerous pool mistakes. Additionally, the right lights around a pool make a space more inviting, more festive, and can show off your favorite home features at night.

These swimming pool lighting ideas can help you transform your poolside into a more practical and aesthetically pleasing space.

Benefits of Pool Lighting

Pool lights and lighting around pool areas have advantages beyond aesthetics. With the right lighting choices, homeowners can relax and enjoy the backyard after dark. Benefits of pool lighting include:

• Additional swim time: Many pool owners enjoy nighttime swimming, but pool lighting also allows owners to swim in the early morning before the sun has risen.
• Safety for family and guests: It’s tough to relax fully if everyone is worried that a guest might fall into the pool. Worse, if a child lives in the home, they could stumble into the pool at night without realizing how close they were to the edge. Lighting in the pool as well as lighting overhead, around pool decks, and the adjacent yard can provide peace of mind to homeowners with pools.
• Property safety: Illuminating the outside of your home dissuades criminals, so why stop at the porch light? A well-lit pool and deck will warn potential thieves that someone could be watching them.
• Lighting sets a mood: Whether planning a romantic evening poolside or a festive family gathering, color-changing pool lighting can set the right mood for the occasion. For holidays, select traditional colors, such as purple and orange for Halloween or red and green for Christmas.
• Highlights pool features: Some homeowners have rocks, waterfalls, and fountains as features around the pool, and the right lighting can enhance these features. Swimming pool lighting ideas might include lights inside the fountain or behind a waterfall for a dazzling effect.
• Can highlight the home’s architectural features: Pool lighting that is placed on the deck or overhead on pergolas can serve to illuminate other backyard structures, including raised seating areas or adjacent barbecue grilling setups.

Types of Pool Lighting

There are seemingly endless variations on where and how to place your pool lighting, but there are fortunately just five main types of light bulbs that are used to illuminate pools:

• LED: To save money in the long run, investing up front in pool lamps LED lighting is the way to go. According to the Department of Energy, LEDs use up to 90 percent less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional bulbs. While they cost more initially than other types of light bulbs, LEDs last longer and come in a variety of color-changing options. Features include pre-programmed color light shows, low-cost battery-operated lights, and floating LED lights for topside.
• Halogen: Halogen lights are brighter than LEDs, which makes them a good choice for large pools or areas that require more illumination. While they operate with a filament, like incandescent bulbs, halogen pool lights are longer lasting and produce a light similar to daylight, making them among the best outdoor light bulbs. On the downside, halogen lights run hotter than incandescent and LED light bulbs.
• Incandescent: Fewer and fewer homes are incorporating the incandescent light bulb into their pool lighting ideas. In many places, the ban on certain sizes of these bulbs makes them impractical to install. 
• Fiber Optic: For lighting that is housed outside of the pool, fiber optic lighting is a convenient option since pool owners don’t have to change bulbs in the water. The power box holds all the equipment for the lighting setup, and a fiber optic cable carries the power to the lights around the edge of the pool. However, along with this convenience comes a couple of drawbacks: Fiber optic lights are dimmer and tend not to last as long as other types of pool lighting.
• Solar: Solar lights that float in the pool are fun accents and can also be stationed around the deck. Pool lighting designs won’t exclusively use solar lights, but they are a good way to save energy and bring colorful, mood-setting illumination to the pool area.

What to Consider When Choosing Pool Lighting

Before choosing pool lighting, owners should consider several factors that might impact the success or failure of any setup. Things to consider include:

• Budget: Pool lighting can be as elaborate as the design of a pool. However, there are cost-effective options. Taking budget into account might limit the number of lights or the type of bulbs that are feasible. Halogen lights tend to be the least expensive up front. However, also take into account the ongoing cost of lighting, where LED bulbs will be the most cost-effective options. 
• Pool size: Larger pools require a lot of light, so going with LED swimming pool light might get costly. To get the same amount of light with LEDs that would be produced by halogen lights, the number of fixtures would need to be greater. In contrast, small pools can go with low-cost options, such as battery-operated pool lamp LEDs.
• Pool finish: If the interior of your pool is a light hue, it will reflect light better than a darker interior finish. If the pool finish is too dark, colored lights may not display accurately or brightly enough.
• Pool type: Requirements for above-ground pool lighting ideas will differ from those for in-ground pools. Above-ground pools can accommodate magnetic light fixtures and even setups that use the pool’s vented return line. In-ground pools usually include wall-mounted lights and accent lighting for special features.
• Smart Features: Integrating swimming pool lighting with smartphones or home smart hubs like Alexa is a fun way to automate and control outdoor lighting and mood. From dimmer switches to pre-programmed color light shows, the options for smart features offer pool owners ways to express their personality and style with outdoor pool lighting ideas.
• Colors: If standard white or amber light color is sufficient, pool lighting choice is simplified. However, if color shows or mood lighting are desired, owners will want to go with LED or fiber optic lighting. Solar floating ball lights are also a festive option for a colorful addition to the pool’s surface.
• Sustainability: If making eco-friendly choices are a priority for you, energy-saving LED bulbs are a great choice.

Pool Lighting Ideas

With all the basics in mind, pool owners can get expressive with pool lighting ideas. The choices should include lighting for safety, but they can also include fun features or highlight other areas of the backyard. Always consult with a pool lighting professional before making a final decision. 

1. Underwater Lights

Outside pool lights can go on or around the water, as well as in the water. Installing LED swimming pool lights below the pool surface helps illuminate the hue of the liner, giving water a soft blue glow. Nighttime swimmers will also likely feel more comfortable diving underwater when they can see where they’re going.

Of course, given the location of these outside pool lights, they are best installed during new pool construction or while renovating an existing one. 

2. String Lights

Outdoor string lights are simple, fast to set up, and a type of pool deck lighting that adds some easygoing charm to an outdoor area. With bulbs ranging in size from small twinkle lights to large Edison light bulbs, there are string lights to suit many tastes. 

Whether strung around the perimeter of the pool or draped along a nearby fence, string lights look nice wherever you hang them—but that doesn’t mean they can go anywhere. As nice as it looks to string lights over your pool, it can be dangerous, or even lethal, if live string lights fall into a pool with a swimmer. Hang string lights thoughtfully and securely near a pool (not directly over it) to avoid any risk of them ending up in the water. 

3. Colorful Floating Lights

Add some flair to your pool with a convenient underwater light that doesn’t need to be hung up or installed at all. Intex’s floating pool light is solar-powered and charges throughout the day. By night, it rotates through five different LED colors or can be set to a steady white. Even if you forget to turn the light off, these outside pool lights automatically shut off after 2 or 5 hours, depending on whether it’s in static or color-change mode.

4. In-Ground Lights

Create long, dramatic shadows with upward-facing lights mounted directly in the deck or ground. As amazing as it looks, there are a few things to consider before installing in-ground lights around a pool. Unless you’re a skilled electrician, this one is best left to the professionals, who can connect outside pool lights to power and protect them from moisture exposure. 

Be sure to choose locations with nearby surface(s) to reflect this pool deck lighting idea, otherwise it won’t have much effect. Position your outdoor-rated  lights on a flat or higher surface off a walking path, but close enough to an outside wall, tree, or accent so you can actually see the light. 

5. Inflatable Moon Lights

Bring moonlight to the pool even on moonless nights. Each globe in Tially’s 4-pack of inflatable pool lights is printed to look like the moon and offers cool or warm light, or can cycle between the two. Hang these 14-inch moons from a pergola or nearby trees, or let them float in the pool—weighted bases keep them from turning over. Best of all, they’re solar-powered and will glow for up to 8 hours at night on a full charge.

6. Motion Sensor Lights

Outdoor pool lighting ideas don’t always have to be full of whimsy or purely decorative. On the contrary, these highly rated waterproof solar motion-sensor lights available at Amazon can add safety to a pool area within 26 feet, as well as extra security to a home, with no frills. The solar lights, which come in bundles of two or four, have three settings. They turn on and off when motion is detected, stay on all night, or can be set to smart mode, which keeps the lights on all night, but they shine brighter when sensors detect movement.

7. Up Lighting

Simple solar spotlights go a long way in highlighting plants and flowers, yard art, or structures like decks or gazebos near your water feature. The effect is even more striking when the outdoor lighting around a pool doesn’t compete with additional bright lights floating on top of it. Placing small lights below plants and angling them upward shines light through the foliage, bringing attention to particular plants or trees after dark. Switch from elegant to fun by using spotlights with extra color modes.

8. Above-Ground Pool Lights

Approximately 41 percent of pools in the U.S. are above-ground pools, and they need to be lit, too. Since these pools often lack deck space, above-ground pool lighting ideas are a bit more limited, but there are still good solutions. This 6-pack of solar pool lights from Higemz for framed above-ground pools easily strap to the sides of the structure, no drilling or draining required. The rechargeable lights are waterproof and will turn on at dusk automatically, then off at dawn.

9. Party Decoration Lights

Guests of all ages will find it hard not to smile when they see a flock of 19-inch inflatable flamingo lights brightening your pool zone. They’ll appeal to anyone’s inner child and set the party mood with their bright-pink solar light. 

Inflate these vinyl birds, let their LED lights charge in the sun, and then watch them glow pink after dark. These flamingos are a great time, especially with a slight breeze to push them around on the water—just make sure to take them out of the pool if the wind kicks up, since they may try to fly away!

10. Floating Globe Lights

Have a ball—or four—with these colorful globe lights from Rukars. Recharge the outside pool lights in the sun and they will float and glow for up to 8 hours. They don’t get boring either, changing color every 15 seconds. These colorful pool lights are fabulously festive and suit virtually all occasions, from weddings to holiday parties. 

These balls don’t necessarily have to be lights that float in the pool, however. They can also be used for poolside lighting when hung from a tree branch, wall hook, or pole. Though they may look like fragile decorations, these lights are durable enough to play with in the pool.

11. Perimeter or Path Lighting

Keep your pool deck lighting classy with minimalist pathway lights spaced 6 to 8 feet apart. Sophisticated, timeless, and practical, pool perimeter lights offer enough illumination to see without being too bright. 

Solar-powered path lights relieve homeowners of the daunting task of finding ways to hide power cords, which can create a tripping hazard. The trade-off for having cordless solar path lights is that they are often not as bright as electric path lights, so you may need to use more of them to achieve a similar effect.

12. Modern Lanterns

Pool lights aren’t just for parties; they can enhance your everyday backyard style too. Choose modern deck lighting ideas, such as lantern-shaped outdoor lamps, to add a comfortable, intimate glow to the space. 

This type of filtered glow makes for great mood lighting, lending just the right atmosphere for romance, conversations, or listening to music poolside. Just don’t go overboard with accent lights, since they can introduce too much brightness to an outdoor space. Instead, spread these outside pool lights along with string lights out over a pool’s perimeter, on deck stairs, or beside patio furniture. The best above-ground pools are surrounded by decks, the perfect spot for lanterns.