First, you need to know how much power your camera communications and switching consumes and how long it needs to run per day. You need to know three things in determining this power you need to know the voltage of each devise, the Wattage and the amperage. If you have two of the three you can determine the third with Oms law calculator.
What size solar kit do you need? This is determined by your usage. To figure out is add the following information together so that you know your usage at each voltage. 12,24 or 48 volts.
- Wattage of the camera.
- How many cameras are you going to use.
- Voltage of the camera’s.
- If you have more than 1 camera are you using a switch to manage the data from the camera to the network? How many watts does it use and what is its voltage. Is that switch acting as a POE or are you using a POE?
- How are you getting your video to the internet or to your network? Point to point or Cellular modem.
- What is the wattage voltage and amperage of each?
- Are you remoting monitoring your Solar system?
All of these are used to come up with the voltage of each device and the wattage and amperage.
Second, you need to know where you will install the solar panel and how much sunlight it will receive. Where is in the country is your installation, this helps to determine the size and capacity of the solar panel and battery. Southern Florida ( zone 5) does not get the same power from the sun than Seattle ( Zone 1) This will affect the efficiency and performance of the solar power kit.
Third, you need to know what kind of weather conditions your solar power kit will face and how durable it is. This will ensure that your solar power kit can withstand rain, snow, wind, dust and other elements. Also, your battery is sensitive to temperature so if you are in zone 1 or 2 you need to make sure that your battery box is insulated to extend the life of your batteries. By knowing these factors, you can pick a solar power kit that suits your security camera needs.