Looking to Power Security Cameras

If you have a few cloudy or rainy days in a row, you expect the system to run off batteries that whole time. So to size the batteries, you need to know how long you will go without sun. If worst case is 8 days and your load is 12W+24W=36W, then you need a bit more than 36W*24*8hours or 7kWh of batteries. That's a lot of batteries.

I just randomly searched Amazon and found a Renogy Deep Cycle AGM Battery 12V 100Ah (1.2kWh) for $200. You would need 6 of them for my hypothetical calculation. So budget more than $1K for batteries.

Assuming when that random day of full sun comes, you will have 7 hours of good strong sun and need to get 7kWh during that time. (I picked 7 hours to make the math easy.) Then you need at least 1kW of panels. 330 watt panels are roughly $250 so budget something like $750 for panels.

You're going to need a 1kW charger for those batteries. You also need a way to go from the batteries to the low-voltage loads.

Before I go further, are you prepared to pay >$2K for this system?

If it is possible to spend extra to get a low-power access point and a low-power camera, you'll cut your system cost and size dramatically. For example, perhaps you can get by with a camera that samples 7.5 times per second rather than 30 times per second.

Does this help?

This may not be the solution you need, but there are security cameras that contain solar panels, batteries, and Wifi in one. For example, this one is $92. There are many others available which seem to be clones of this model:

They don't promise you that you'll always have enough power to run the camera, but claim that "A day's sunshine keeps the camera running for 5-6 days." This is billed as a "...1080P HD WiFi Low Power IP Camera Wireless Surveillance IR Camera..."

Bob-n,

Thanks for your reply, I work for a franchise car dealer and we recently lost a $60,000 vehicle due to theft and a couple of weeks prior to that someone stole the driver door off of another vehicle parked on the front row. So the owner isn't going to object to getting this done, I don't really do electrical stuff as an IT person and I just need to know what it's going to take.

Something else to consider is some of those trail cameras, which see/project infrared and
record when there is motion. Dry batteries have a life of weeks or months, download to
your computer. I have seen some interesting stuff out back by my solar. Bruce Roe

I have a couple of those trail cameras and they can record for a long time even in the dead of night. I have just changed out their batteries (8 x AA) which lasted over a year.

My CCTV cameras can barely see 60 feet at night so you have to spend some $$ for high end infrared cameras to get good pictures or they are almost a complete waste after dark. Unfortunately the high end cameras consume a lot of power which almost begs for them to be grid powered.

I will probably just get more of those trail cameras instead of more CCTV type.

Have you considered running a long POE cable from the main property to each security location? The safety requirements for CAT6 are much less than 120VAC cable and the wire is much cheaper. If the buildings are >1000 feet from civilization, that may not be realistic. Ethernet is technically restricted to 100 meters, although you can go farther with up to three POE repeaters.

While walking by Walmart in Orlando, Florida, in the middle of the parking lot, at the top of a tall pole was a large, omni security camera. Also on the pole were two 60-cell PV panels (roughly 700W with full sun). At the base of the pole were a few deep discharge lead-acid batteries and a pile of electronics. Lots of cool stuff in one commercial device! The store also had security cameras on the outside walls, with the same brand name, but hard wired. Sorry, I can't recall the brand. If you prefer to be wireless, that may be the turn-key solution you're looking for.

Come to think of it, if I were a thief, I'd steal that thing rather than trying to steal cars.

OK I am a bit confused. OP you say you have PoE cameras right? That implies you have Ethernet cable in place between your LAN and Camera for power and signal.The Power Injector is located in the same equipment room as the Router, Bridges, and Hubs are located in. You should have AC power there to plug the 48 VDC wall wort into.

Did you mean you have a wireless a WiFi camera requiring power? Cameras being located on Light Poles should illuminate the light bulb in your head where to get power from.

What did I miss?

I have a 9 camera Lorex system and it pulls 50 watts continuously (no monitor on, just DVR and POE running). They leave the night vision on 24/7 for these cameras and that is what pulls the power. These suck power because they can and most don't care, but bugs the hell out of me. Calculates out to 1.2 kwh usage per day.

No Sir not because they can, because that what it takes. 50 watts / 9 Cameras is 5 to 6 watts per camera. They care as power use is a selling point. Or did you buy them because the use the most power?

Turn off the Night Vision and they use half the power. So turn it off.

PoE cameras get power over the ethernet cable. Power is either from a PoE switch or via a power injector. Depending on your distance from a location you could install an ethernet switch(s), this may be a viable way to go. I use PoE cameras at my home -- longest run is ~250 ft. They work really well, simple install as there is only one cable (cat 5e/6 -- I would run cat6, power and data traverse that one cable). PoE switches are < $100 today or power injectors are $15-30 a piece. Here is an intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf_8p0_HVawhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf_8p0_HVaw

Bird that was my point and source of confusion. If the OP is using PoE, answered his own question and does not need any power Well unless it is a wireless camera using WiFi as the data link. .

Ironic huh? Wireless does not mean wireless.

You can't turn it off... the power that is sent over the ethernet cable powers both camera and the IR leds. At least on lorex...

Interesting, not in the Security Cam biz. Would think you could turn them off like during daylight hours. Regardless a moot point IMO with PoE using commercial power. Not sure why the OP would use Solar power when there is no need for it.