Why do pool lights cost so much?

Have you ever bothered to hire a pool lightning specialist to replace your pool lights bulbs? Have you failed to properly locate someone? You’re not the only one who feels this way.

Pool maintenance companies that change pool light bulbs are few and far between. Do you have any idea why? I do, and I’ll tell you why:

I used to repair pool bulbs for everyone when I was a young pool boy, and I quickly discovered that no matter how careful I was, how much time I took, or what tricks of the trade I tried, light fixtures would still occasionally absorb water to leak into the lighting socket. I estimated that one out of every five-pool lights I replaced would leak water into the fixture within a year. In addition, if water enters the pool light housing, the entire fixture should be replaced for safety reasons.

“Gosh Peter, I’m so sorry that the pool lights leaked again,” they’d say, “but I know you warranty your work, and I know the fixture should be changed for safety reasons, so I think we’ll need a new fixture…” And, because we’re a stand-up firm, we’d replace the complete pool light fixture at no additional expense to the client, even if it meant losing money.

A pool light bulb costs around $30-40. The cost of a replacement pool lights cover for the fixture is around $25. The repair would cost between $100 and $150 in labor. A successful job would provide roughly $120 in profit. A new fixture will set you back around $200. (wholesale). So I’d make $600 for every five bulb replacements and then have to eat $200 plus my call-back labor on the leaking light fixture. So far, I’ve visited a pool six times and earned $400 in addition to the extra warranty labor. Overall, that’s around $50 profit per job, which isn’t quite enough to justify light bulb replacement.

Even the finest engineers can’t ensure that the light won’t leak, therefore pool light bulb replacement engineers are hard to come by. Pool techs refuse to replace a pool light bulb because the call-back rate is too high, with one out of every five lights leaking. The entire fixture will be replaced by the pool guy. A standard halogen white light fixture costs around $500 after mark-up and labor (LED lights are MUCH more expensive). The difference between $500 and $150 is significant! It’s not fair to the consumer to have to pay $500 for a burned-out bulb, but it’s also poor business to have to guarantee lights with new fixtures all the time.

It’s a difficult issue, but because pool light fittings leak so frequently, most pool care firms refuse to replace pool light bulbs.

FAQs

How much do swimming pool lights cost?

At the time of this writing, full-size LED pool lights, like what is typically installed in vinyl liner or concrete pools, usually cost between $1,000 and $1,500 installed. The smaller LED lights like the Pentair Globrite or PAL 2000 typically cost between $700 and $900 installed.

Can a pool light electrocute you?

You can get electrocuted by a pool light in a swimming pool. It can cause serious injury and even death. An experienced electrocution lawyer can help victims and families recover the pain and suffering compensation or wrongful death damages they are entitled to under the law.