Can a 5W 2A phone battery pack (charger) safely power a Wyzecam ?
I meant 5V 2 amp , not 5W !
Yes, assuming it meets USB specs. The charger included with the WyzeCam is 1 amp and can power 2 or 3 cameras. So your battery pack will provide plenty of power.
Per the FAQ:
What are the power requirements and power consumption of the WyzeCam? Can it be used with a power bank?
The WyzeCam uses 5V 1A DC power through a micro USB port. Each WyzeCam comes with a 6-foot micro USB cable and 110V wall outlet plug to plug into a wall outlet. You can also use a power bank or 240V power converter to power your WyzeCam.
The power consumption is between 2-4 watts, depending on whether night vision is turned on.
How long will a 10000mAH or 20000mAH power bank power the WyzeCam?
A 10000mAh power bank will power the WyzeCam for ~16 hours. A 20000mAh power bank will power the WyzeCam for ~33 hours
I just tested my V1 WyzeCam and it draws 1.6 watts idle (with continuous recording turned on) and 2.1 watts when live streaming. This is without night vision turned on.
Edit: I just tested it live streaming with night vision on and it was around 2.5 watts.
This is interesting. I had thought about using a solar battery pack with a built in solar charger to be able to remote place a wyzecam on a pole facing my home from the street.( yes i understand they arent weather resistant but i plan on putting it in an enclosure.
The Key is finding one that will charge faster that the draw during the day in order to replenish the power drawn during the night.
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Did you ever find a solar pack that works? I’m running one now on a solar charging battery pack, doubt it’s gonna beat the draw, but guess we’ll see. I’m hoping that at least it extends the time to a couple days but would be nice if it kept up.
I haven’t, i just haven’t had the time to look yet but i still want to find something>
IF i do i will definitely post what i discovered.
My battery pack only lasted a few hours. Should have looked at the watt hours, 1-2 was way more than it could do. I looked around on Amazon and didn’t find any 2 watt solar with a battery pack. Most are way lower, trickle chargers,
They do have some cells that put out 2 watt but didn’t look close enough to see if you have to DIY or can just jack into a battery USB.
Thanks for the info. I never thought about a usb power tester, just ordered one from Amazon.
You all got me thinking, please check my calculations here.
All items are considered “Ideal” (no heat losses etc)
10 Amp hour gel cell battery like the kind used in a UPS
So 10A @12v =120Watts for one hour
The camera draws 2 watts so: 120/2 = 60 hours of run time?
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Solar question:
So if the camera is using 2 watts per hour x 24 hours = 48 watt hours.
Assume for a moment that a solar panel has rated output for 6 hours of the day
then 48/6 = 8 watts. So the charging panel would need to put out 8 watts.
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Since the camera runs on 5vdc,not sure what the run time would be due to the losses from a dc-dc converter(12v to 5v).
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I’m currently testing a power bank (RAV 22000mAH RP-PB052). I had estimated it to run almost two days, and it was able to power the camera for that long. I hope that, it with a solar panel with USB 10Watt output can recharge the battery within 12 hours. I’m planning on the solar panel to run the camera during daylight, the power bank handles night, and the excess solar recharges the bank. If the 10Watt solar panel isn’t the strong enough, then I’ll go to a bigger panel. The camera’s needs come first, then the power bank, then the solar panel. On most available solar power banks, the solar panel is woefully inadequate to recharge the battery.
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I did some additional testing using a usb power meter like the one shown in this thread.
I read .3 Amp Hours at 5V and with a meter read .13Ah at 12V
In theory it would run on a 10Ah 12v battery for 76 hours.
The difference of running the camera with or without the IR leds was negligible.
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This is a brilliant discussion! I setup my Wyze cameras today and so far I’m LOVING them.
The idea of using a USB batter bank is a great idea, but the ones that have a built-in solar panel are novelty more than anything. It usually takes 3-5 days of charging in the sun to top these off. A much bigger set of panels would be needed to recharge the battery bank.
samgrow had the right idea. A large panel that would power the Wyze by day while ALSO charging the power bank so it could run throughout the night.
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By the way, if you go outdoors there are specific cases you can get on Amazon for weatherproofing. I have a couple of these:
Wyze Camera Wall Mount Bracket, Weather Proof 360 Degree Protective Adjustable Indoor and Outdoor Mount Cover Case for WyzeCam 1080p Smart Camera and Spot Camera Anti-Sun Glare UV Protection (Black) … https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078RZNV16/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pzIMBbR9ZEXTW
I think that’s the right link and description for the ones I bought, I see there are a few more options now.
I’m the paranoid type, so I used clear packing tape around the bottom of the camera to seal off the edges of the foot for more waterproofing. So far, the cameras I have outside are hanging in there. I don’t really know what will happen when we get below freezing but the one on my porch from last year hung in there just fine. But it’s not directly in rain / snow either.
I have one camera that needs to get slapped around every now and then so it’s on an Alexa Power switch so you can cycle off/on remotely.
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I would think the time would be based on the maximum input charging voltage of the powerbank . My power bank is 10,000mAH input voltage(5v/2a) is the same as the output(5v/2a) voltage. I’m not sure how these power banks charging controllers work but i would assume each power bank input voltage is different so the size of the solar panel would not make a difference in charge time. I would need a batter powerbank to input more amps to run the cam and charge the battery during the day and fully recharge a powerbank from 20% to 100% everyday.
It hasn’t worked out the way I foresaw. The power bank drain is more than estimated, añd the solar panel cannot offset the drain. A WiFi DC switch has to be able to isolate the drain (without being a drain itself) in order to conserve the power bank energy. This can be done, and does work. Some restrictions apply, mainly WiFi range. I can get to 100 ft.
That’s as far as I gotten.
Sam
I looked at all my potable power banks they all have the same input(Charging) Voltage as the output 5V/2A .I say dump the portable power banks for usb devices and go strait with this.
I think would be the best solution for a standalone 24 hour self charging power station.
You could always spend more for Lithium Battery and a Solar Panel.