Waterfall Lighting: Warm, White or RGB? The LED Guide for Water Features

Lighting is half the waterfall

By day a waterfall is a beautiful piece of stone. At night the lighting is what brings it to life: light passes through the water sheet and makes it sparkle, picks out the stone texture and reflects on the ceiling. That's why we always recommend adding lighting from the start rather than retrofitting it.

The four colours and where they belong

• Warm LED (3000K): the most popular. Candle-and-sunset light that flatters Galala, travertine, sandstone and onyx. Best for living rooms and lounges.
• Cool white LED (6000K): a clean light that shows off white marble (Carrara, quartzite) and very modern schemes. Can feel cold in bedrooms.
• Aqua blue LED: a swimming-pool feel, ideal for garden and pool waterfalls and grey granite.
• RGB colour-changing: controlled by a remote or your phone; change the colour for the occasion. Fun on terraces and for events, but in a living room it can look commercial if left cycling. Keep it on one colour most of the time.

Where the strips go

Our waterfalls have two main positions:

1. Under the spillway blade (the water shelf): a hidden strip inside an aluminium profile lights the water sheet from the top so the whole curtain glows.
2. Inside the basin rim: a submersible strip lights the water and pebbles from below and reflects onto the stone.

Onyx gets a third option: backlighting that makes the stone itself glow. See the backlit onyx panel.

Electrical safety first

• 24 V strips only, rated IP68 wherever they are submerged.
• The driver sits outside the water zone in a ventilated box.
• The whole circuit runs on a 30 mA RCD breaker, with the socket at least 30 cm above the floor.
• Cables run in their own conduit, separate from the water hose.

This isn't a luxury; it's the installation standard in every one of our shop drawings.

How much power does it use?

An LED strip draws about 14 W per metre. A waterfall with two metres of strip uses less than a single old bulb. See our waterfall running-cost guide.

Cost

In our catalogue, warm or white lighting adds from EGP 1,800 and RGB from EGP 3,200, including strips, driver and installation. On every product page, click a lighting option to see the night preview instantly, for example on the ribbed black foyer panel.