SAMs are NOT equivilent to Intellibrite, uses bulbs and are not LEDs. Intellibrites are far better.

Scott

Sam and Sal are bulbs. Intellibrites are LED. No comparison to technology. For what it's worth, his cost is equal or more for the Sam over the LED.

You say light, niche and installation but no electrical. I don't get it. Light, niche and install seems to be complete. Is he referring to the conduit to the junction box as being more? That should be in the entire electrical cost of the pool.

And, if he is referring to the actual pulling of the light through the niche, most of these are done by the plaster company as part of their job as you don't want a $500 light sitting on the deck.

Don'y settle for the lesser light.

LED intellibrite is the way to go. I upgraded and we love the various programs. Hope this helps

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! I got an e/mail from my PB this morning saying that he had done some research and can offer me the intelebrites for the same amount as the SAms/SAls. This is one of the many reasons I chose this PB, our sales person is so responsive, it's a blessing considering how stressful the process can be! Thanks again, Marta

Kind of strange reasoning for not using LEDs--I doubt Pentair themselves would recommend against using the Intellibrite in any pool. Glad it worked out, but I'd be wary of what the salesman tells me in the future.

Make sure they order the new Intellibrite 5g's. The 5g's lens can be rotated to give a narrower or wider beam depending on where they are placed in the pool.

Thanks Rice_Rocket, just checked the e/mail and ours will be the 5G (whew). I think it was an honest mistake - very few PBs in the Boston area use the LED lights and even the electrician that we went with tried to disuade us on the the colored LED - my only guess is that they are only familiar with the old technology. The great news is that I don't have to deal with this alone, all of the support and expertise on this forum has really empowered me as a pool buyer.

My PB (EPI) said they would do LED, but they don't typically do it. They were told they didn't work well with a pebble finish (PebbleTech/River Rok, etc).

I wanted LED for the low power usage (Instead of 2 x 500 Watt, I have 2 x 60 Watt). The normal lights would cost me .15/hour or just over $20/month to have on for several hours each night. The LED lights cost me $2.50/month to run. It is a no brainer.

The argument from the PB was that the colors don't look as nice with the pebble. I don't care about colors, when I could run the lights at such a low cost that I have them on a timer (which lights up my backyard in an awesome way when the pool is open), white is just find.

In the end, the colors do look great and I love to put the lights on a specific color depending on my mood (note: I don't have the specific controller for the LED lights that let me switch the colors, I have to rapidly turn the lights on and offsite..no big deal).

Now my PB wants to come over and see it so they can recommend LEDs to other customers.

So, moral of the story, go with the LEDs. Yeah, they may take several seasons to pay for themselves, but I have no worries about cost running them, frankly the cost is now in the noise compared to running the pool.

I started with sAMs, then after four years and the hassle of replacing bulbs, moved to the Intellibrites. The Intellibrites do a much better job of lighting up the pool, and I suspect much of that has to do with the lens. The lens sends a lot of the light down the sides of the pool, and it has the effect of producing a better glow.

I've got Blue Granite Pebble Sheen, and the colors all look great.

Jeff

Might I suggest the IntelliBrite white lights for those who have a concern over pebble applications but still want the electric savings.

Better yet, Halco now makes a compact flourescent in the same style as the standard 300w flooed. Virtually the same lumens but only 24 watts AND a 2 year bulb warranty versus 1 on the standard bulb.

I own a diamond dark blue pool had a 500w bulb light, changed it to Intellibrite LED light and I'm happy. Looks good, not every light thing looks ok, reds are really low, but blues, greens, and white look great. Pool is 34' x 14' I did change the light to narrow.

Thanks everyone for your input!

Pentair adds a caution to installing the lights in pools with dark plaster colors because it absorbs the light and less is reflected to the surface.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bottomless Pools