How to Power source Wyze Cameras outside the house (newbee alert)

Sealed Gel Cell manufactured in April 2007, I amazed it still works! Alpha Cell Gel 210 GXL

I probably should replace, I bet I would have better storage but the controller still shows it in the green as far as battery health

 

Edit:

Just bought a 100Ah Gell cell to replace the 11 year old battery, was curious if I would see better storage. (LOL Likely will !!)

Had a good amount of Amazon rewards so the battery only costed me $60 including shipping (60 Lbs) :slight_smile:

More like $40-60 depending on environment and time of year. I don’t know where you got your figures or how much power testing you’ve done on the Wyze cameras.

Matt3: So you plugged the micro usb into the camera. What did you do with the Cat5 split end? Just tucked away?

The Cat5 RJ45 plugged into the Micro USB adapter and I have it tucked into the siding.

-M

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Wow! 40-60 dollars to provide 48hrs backup with battery discharge down to 50% under continuous use? Those are my requirements.

If a hurricane comes through and I am not providing a charge for 48hrs, I’d like my camera to remain running and my battery to still be healthy at 50% when the clouds clear.

I would absolutely love it if you could provide me a parts list. We are either talking entirely different scenarios or I am being price guaged.

Thanks!

What hurricane-proof enclosure are you using?

 

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Haven’t fabricated one yet. I just received my Wyze yesterday. I am currently using two Nest Outdoor cams. One is affixed to my house under a porch and is very well protected. The other is in a custom enclosure I fabricated which is attached to a 4x4 fence post (solar powered). The main component is a small pelican case. They both made it through Irma with no issues.

I’ll most likely fabricate another similar enclosure for the Wyze cams. At $25 vs $200, these are no brainers.
<p style=“text-align: center;”>I checked today and during the day, I’m pulling .31A at 5.01V. I’ll be checking tonight to see how the IR lamps affect the load. Then I’ll run my kill a watt on it for 48hrs to verify my findings and design the system according to my data and my requirements. Did you have a parts list for me? I’d really appreciate it if I could do it for that cost.</p>
 

 

I’ll ask the guy who built it, I don’t know what the parts are. Probably a Harbor Freight sale. These only use 1.6 watts, so it’s not a huge amount of power.

I was close, Ali Express. He said it’s a dual-USB-out power controller for $8, 10w panel for $25, and a generic SLA “alarm backup” battery that he had sitting around but thinks they cost $20. He only gave me the link for the controller, but I see a lot of panels on that site too.

I have used something similar to power a Ubiquiti radio in the middle of the desert to bring internet to a valley.

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Thanks! So, I just checked it in blackout (night) conditions and it’s pulling 2.12 Watts. I did some back of the envelope calculations and came up with the following if I want to be able to go 48hrs with no charging and not run my battery down below 50%.

2.12 watts was the highest with it actively streaming (radio on), and IR’s lit up. I add in a fudge factor and plan for 2.5 watts worst case. At 2.5 for 48 hours we’re talking 120 watt hours… I need to double that to size my power supply (battery) so it doesn’t discharge under 50%. I now need 240 watt hours minimum. If I get a 12v deep cycle AGM battery at 18AH ($35) I’m at 216 Watt hours max. That’s a bit low considering a few peak solar hours with clouds here and there, loss from electronic components, wire, etc. You’d be surprised how much you have to over design to account for passing clouds, angle of your panels costing you efficiency, etc.

So, I upsize to a 35AH ($60) which gives me 420 watt hours. I like this better because it accounts for these losses I can and can’t can’t plan for. Now I need to ensure I have a panel big enough to provide a healthy charge rate for my battery so it lasts a few years (probably 2 with a cheap deep cycle AGM from amazon). If I shoot for a c/10 charge rate I need to size my solar panel so it provides 3.5 amps . I could get a 75 watt pushing about 4 amps under IDEAL conditions for $80-$90. This should be OK, but I can get 100 watt pushing 6 amps for an extra $20. Throw in a charge controller ($10 PWM) or ($50 mppt), and we’re between $150 and $200.

This design gives me a very good comfort level that I won’t have to worry about it for at least a year (probably 2) unless a squirrel or bird roughs it up (which has happened). I will confirm my load calcs with my kill a watt for that 48 hours to get a truer number under normal use and adjust as necessary. I will check those links for pricing though. I appreciate it!

 

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My testing showed 1.65 watts (there’s another thread here about it). So far, his setup hasn’t let him down, but we are in AZ with plenty of sun.

 

hey, if it’s working…keep on keepin’ on brother!

 

I’ll post more once I get mine up and running.

 

 

It will certainly be location dependent. A few years ago I went to a mountain telecom site to figure out why some equipment was shutting down randomly in the middle of winter. The power levels showed full. Turns out, too full. In AZ we get so much sun that the panels are at full power, but then when it gets cold, they go OVER rated power. The 48v plant was making 60v, and the regulators couldn’t dump it all.

My solution was dirty but effective. I put an 1800w room heater on a remote IP switch, and a script turns it on if the voltage goes over 55. If it’s stupid but works…

 

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That is awesome. Love how you were able to “think outside of the box”

You have a link to this adapter? Are you saying turn your floodlight socket into basically an outlet or USB port?

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjf4_j8_9vfAhUV22QKHQsbACgYABAFGgJwag&sig=AOD64_3hQbBVrvb0Y4KzINJ6L8q-Y_0GbQ&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwihx_D8_9vfAhVky1QKHXWHDnQQ9aACCEY&adurl=

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I have these In outdoor light fixtures to power the cameras , They work good .
Power to the light fixture must always be on , I use Automatic dust to dawn LED light bulbs in mine
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EPC102A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I’ve fed my outdoor wyze through the weatherstripping on a tilt to clean window, in between the 2 sashes. Using those silicone “house shaped” camera wraps with a 12 foot long amazon brand usb cable and a zip tied drip loop to keep water from traveling into the camera from the power cable.

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I created a wireless, power bank/solar, setup for about $150 for individual cameras. Consists of basic power bank that powers the camera (plus a wifi dc solenoid to cut power off), a small solar panel outputting USB power, plus plastic containers to house electronics, misc cables and wires. With judicious, noncontinuous camera use, it operates continuously. Test unit is 200’ from house and responds to Ubiquiti outdoor router.

Hello - can you recommend a solar charging battery bank that is capable of discharging (powering the camera) while it also recharges (the battery bank) ?