By Pool Nation News Staff

In the swimming pool industry, conversations around safety often revolve around visible hazards broken tiles, chemical imbalances, faulty equipment. But there’s a quiet danger that can be far more lethal: improper or missing equipotential bonding.

This month on the Pool Nation Podcast, we brought together two industry experts Dallas Thiesen, Chief Government Relations Officer for the Florida Swimming Pool Association (FSPA), and John Ritenour, VP of Engineering at SunSmart Engineering to unpack a topic that affects every pool professional, whether you’re building, renovating, or servicing pools: equipotential bonding.

What they shared isn’t just technical it’s critical. A recent landmark study, conducted by the Pool Industry Council in partnership with the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA), has the potential to shape future pool codes and change how we approach bonding for years to come.

And Pool Nation is proud to be the platform helping deliver this knowledge to the professionals who need it most.

💡 What Is Equipotential Bonding — And Why Should You Care?

Equipotential bonding is a safety system that connects all conductive materials and electrical components in and around a swimming pool. Its purpose is to ensure that everything stays at the same voltage potential reducing the risk of stray voltage shocking a swimmer.

In simple terms: bonding keeps people safe from electrocution.

Whether it’s a pool ladder, railing, light niche, automation panel, or even the water itself, everything conductive in a pool environment must be bonded. But how we bond those elements matters and that’s where the current debate begins.

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🔄 Two Methods, One Goal: Single Wire vs. Copper Grid

The National Electric Code (NEC) currently allows two bonding methods:

• Single Copper Wire Method: A #8 bare copper wire is looped around the perimeter of the pool and clamped to rebar or other conductive points.
• Copper Grid Method: A mesh of #8 copper wire laid in 12-inch squares under the decking, creating a larger bonding surface.

Until recently, both were accepted methods. But a proposed amendment to the 2026 NEC could eliminate the single wire method under conductive decks leaving the copper grid as the only option.

That could be a costly mistake.

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🔬 The Study That’s Changing the Conversation

In response to the proposed code change, the Pool Industry Council commissioned a groundbreaking engineering study. Nine newly built pools across Florida — with either single wire, copper grid, or fiberglass bonding systems were tested under simulated fault conditions.

The goal? Determine if the single wire method performs as effectively as the grid method in reducing dangerous voltage differentials.

🧪 Key Findings:

• All methods successfully reduced voltage to under 1 volt the industry-accepted threshold for perceptible electric shock.
• The copper grid performed best by a narrow margin due to greater surface area.
• Single wire bonding still met all safety requirements and showed no failures.
• No documented deaths in the U.S. have been linked to bonded pools using the single wire method in the last 20 years.
• Retrofitting existing pools with grids could add $30,000–$35,000 in cost due to deck removal making safety upgrades cost-prohibitive.

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” said Thiesen. “The data shows single wire bonding works — and eliminating it would do more harm than good.”

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⚠️ What This Means for Pool Pros

For builders, inspectors, and service professionals, this study is a must-read. If adopted, the NEC change would impact how pools are bonded across the country potentially adding thousands to every new build or renovation.

Even more important: it could make it financially impossible for homeowners to bring older pools up to modern safety standards.

Here’s what you can do:

• ✅ Educate yourself — read the full study at PoolBondingStudy.com
• ✅ Talk to your local inspector — ask which bonding methods are currently approved in your area
• ✅ Get involved — support FSPA, PHTA, and other advocacy groups working to preserve both bonding methods in future codes

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🔧 How to Test Bonding in the Field

If you’re a service pro or technician, here’s a quick way to check bonding during your equipment inspection:

1. Use a multimeter to test continuity between the pump, heater, panel, and pool water.
2. If there’s no continuity, there may be a break in the bonding system and it could pose a serious risk.
3. Bonding issues most commonly occur when landscapers or contractors accidentally cut wires while trenching or installing irrigation.

Remember: bonding is not the same as grounding and it doesn’t carry a current unless something goes wrong. But when it does, bonding is your life-saving system.

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🛡️ Pool Nation: Your Source for Industry Truth

At Pool Nation, we believe information is power especially when it comes to protecting lives and livelihoods. We’re proud to lead the conversation on safety, advocacy, and business growth in the pool industry.

Whether you’re a route tech, service manager, pool builder, or inspector Pool Nation News is your source for trusted, real-world education.

Bookmark us. Share with your team. And join the movement to elevate the pool industry from the inside out.

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📚 Learn More & Get Involved

• 📄 Download the Study: PoolBondingStudy.com
• 🧠 Listen to the Full Podcast: Pool Nation Podcast – Equipotential Bonding
• 💬 Contact FSPA for Florida Advocacy: dallas@fspa.com
• 🧰 Training & Education: PoolManUniversity.com

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🙏 Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

This coverage is made possible by the support of our trusted sponsors:

SPPA, BluRay XL, AquaStar, Natural Chemistry, Raypak, Heritage Pool Supply, Hayward, Poolside Tech, Pool Brain, and US Motors.

Because of them, we can keep pushing the pool industry forward — together.