For centuries, bocce ball has been enjoyed by royalty all the way through everyday individuals. It’s an easy game that has a deep appreciation for Italian tradition. Often a bocce ball game can go on for hours and often late into the night. For this, you’ll need nighttime light for your bocce ball court. Thanks to LED technology, outdoor court lights can now enjoy solar-powered light fixtures.
This saves you a lot on energy and you won’t have to use any from an electrical source since these are solar-powered. Solar panels collect energy from the sun so you can keep playing at night. But there are some things about solar-powered LED lights that you should know beforehand. Let’s get started on everything you need to know about these outdoor lights.
Why use solar lights in a bocce court?
1. Hassle-free installation
The first thing you need to know about solar-powered bocce court LED lights is there’s no need to have underground wiring. It’s totally powered by the sunlight that uses solar panels to collect free electricity. This electricity is then stored on special lithium-ion batteries. There’s not much to adjust when you install this kind of lighting set-up. After you position the lights downward and angle your solar panels upward, you’re essentially ready to go.
There will be some wires to connect and obviously mounting these lights onto wooden posts, but that about it. Not much work will go into a standard lighting bocce court or for any competitive field. In all, it can take just a single afternoon to set-up everything. After that, you just need to wait for the batteries to charge so they can be used at night.
2. Energy-saving
Solar bocce court lights are indeed energy-saving as the solar panel can charge on its own time in the day. Most of the basic 12V low-voltage models are especially energy-efficient since they use less wattage than other solar light fixtures. LED is also highly recommended as a light source for solar lights because of such low power consumption. Since there is no electrical hook-up, your lights can rely on sunlight for collecting free energy.
This is a continual saving that is worth the amount you put into a lighting system. And with proper maintenance and cleaning, the solar panels will give you plenty of bocce court lighting at night for years. It’s a step into using renewable green energy that doesn’t rely on a power supply to illuminate your lights.
3. Smart lighting control
With older LED light fixtures you needed to attach a power switch to outdoor lights to make them work. The latest systems combine dusk to dawn functions and let you program the on/off switch schedule with your smartphone. These systems are all connected through a mobile app so you won’t have to touch the switch in-person physically anymore. The best part is that you have more control of your lights using this hands-free control.
Your lights can also be adjusted using a dimmer function if you are playing bocce at dusk. The intensity can begin softly and gradually increase as it gets darker. Further settings will allow the lights to be on a timer. This way, lights can turn on at select times and turn-off upon your command. You also get updates on how much battery power you have left.
4. Almost maintenance-free
Not everything in this world will last forever, yet LEDs can last for years or up to 150,000 hours! This is a significant amount of time that gives you more value for your lighting setup. There is still going to be minor cleaning that you need to provide so your solar panels work effectively. Dust and dirt in the air can collect on the solar photovoltaic cells and prevent it from being 100% effective.
Using a wet rag or cloth to clean it off is a must if you live in an area that is more prone to dust. Checking under the LED bocce light and cleaning the surface regularly is a good idea too. It’s not uncommon that spiders will like to spin a web under your LED light, hoping to cash-in on insects that could be trapped.
How many solar lights do I need in a bocce court?
Lighting a bocce ball court is not a complicated matter since the length of the court is the only major difference. Recreational courts are shorter, whereas competition courts are longer. It only makes sense that a recreational court needs 200 Lux with 2 fixtures spaced along the courtside. These fixtures each provide 100 Watts of LED solar-powered light. When it comes to competitive gaming, you’ll need a minimum of 500 Lux.
In all, each LED fixture runs off 250 Watts worth of LED solar-powered light. There is no rule that you can have three lights running parallel to the bocce ball court either. If spaced evenly enough along with the court, two lights can be adequate for the job unless you have more need for light uniformity. It will depend on how tall your wooden lights posts are, and the wattage you decide to use.
How much does it cost to buy solar floodlights for the bocce court?
Cost is always going to be the determining factor for any kind of outdoor bocce court lighting. But the attractive cost of cheaper incandescent lights will often influence rational thinking. There is the continual radiant heat that causes filament bulbs to die faster and of course, they consume more electricity. Solar-powered LED fixtures for a recreational court using 200 Watts light (100 Watts each) will cost $120-300 per unit.
For the high-end competition setup running on 500 watts (250 Watts each) this will cost $300-750 per fixture. As the cost is estimated higher, you have to consider added functions that are part of the lighting controls. Not to exclude lighting control apps, mounting brackets, and the type of solar panel or battery that’s used for charging.
Solar bocce court lighting FAQ
1. How to clean the solar panel?
I’m a big fan of wet wipes since they are so portable for nearly everything you need to clean up in a hurry. Most people don’t know that a baby wet wipe is compostable if you’re into backyard composting. It’s also gentle enough to use on a solar-powered photovoltaic panel if it has dust and dirt build-up. You’ll need to clean these surfaces regularly because they don’t charge effectively otherwise.
Solar power is a great free-energy but does require responsibility on your behalf. With proper care, the panels can collect the sun’s energy and give you continued battery power for years. If you leave the lights to the elements, your lights won’t function as they should and likely could break down faster from neglect. This is a costly mistake that can be prevented with regularly scheduled fixtures and panel cleaning.
2. How long does the solar battery of bocce court lights last?
This all depends on some important factors that should also be considered. Battery life can last 4-8 hours depending on the watts and battery capacity. There are larger batteries that hold more charged power allowing the bocce court lights to last for longer periods. But it will also depend on the number of hours that your battery and solar panel has collected sunlight. The moment that the lights go on starts a countdown.
Each battery can run for a certain amount of time, so when the battery is empty, the lights will not run anymore. It’s better to have a battery that collects more power if you like playing bocce longer at night. You might consider a back-up power system if you play more than 8 hours in an evening. Perhaps you should consider buying secondary back-up batteries just in case.
3. How long does it take to charge the solar bocce court lights?
The one thing that affects solar-powered bocce court light panels is the availability of the sun. Normally you need 3-6 hours on a sunny day with little or no cloud cover. With that being said, you’ll need 5-12 hours on a cloudy day for a good battery charge. The positioning of your photovoltaic panels is equally important so they should always catch as much direct sunlight as possible.
Determine beforehand the highest point of light that’s yielding the optimal amount in each day. This is often 11am to 2pm but will drastically change throughout each season. Winter months have a sun that’s lower on the horizon. Setting the angle so your panels get light during colder seasons is just paying attention to where sunlight is the strongest. The solar panel will do the rest at collecting this light as it was designed to do.
4. How long does the solar lighting system last?
Just as you would consider your lighting setup like a car, many components can have a different lifespan. This means the entire set-up must be thought of as a collective of specific parts. It’s not just the LED light fixture or solar panels and batteries but can include the whole package that is connected together. Rechargeable batteries are often the first to fail because they are rated for a certain number of charges.
After that, they’ll need replacing with a new battery. This is typically 5 years or more. Solar panels can last up to 20 years along with LED light fixtures if they are taken care of properly. If anything fails before that time, the warranty should cover anything faulty and is replaced with no question. If warranty items fail after the warranty is expired, the unit can be repaired or replaced according to what failed internally.
