Swimming Pool and Spa electrical installations are very complicated, especially the grounding and bonding portion of the work. So complicated that it is the only part of the swimming pool/spa that requires anywhere from 3-5 electrical inspections, while the rest of the entire construction requires only 1. The most important part of the electrical installation is the BONDING of the swimming pool grid. This requires Direct Burial Rated Ground Clamps with the letters “DB” (Direct Burial) stamped into the ground clamp from the manufacturer. Plus, they must have brass screws as well. Any other type of screw (including Stainless Steel) will eventually fail and is not allowed. The Bonding of the structure loops around the entire pool and spa, connecting a very large #8 solid copper wire to 4-5 points around the inner wall of the pool before the concrete gunite has been installed that forms the shape of the pool. This must be inspected before gunite. Then, when the deck or paver stones around the pool are ready, at least 4-5 more of the same ground clamps must be installed with an additional #8 bare copper wire around the perimeter of the pool/spa so all concrete being walked on with bare feet is properly grounded. This requires another inspection before pouring concrete decks. Using improper ground clamps is rampant in the pool industry and inspectors fail the jobs when others use them.
