About 1 in 10 posts in this thread are telling users that the camera is both wired and battery powered.
Hey Wyze. I know that the camera will be battery or wired but, nobody wants to climb a ladder to change batteries but what if you don’t have the option to plug it in?? This is why we need a solar panel option. Now I know everyone will reply with off-brand solar panels that “will work with Wyze” but, wouldn’t it be nice to have a solar panel from Wyze?
Will the outdoor camera be able to rotate just like the Wyze cam pan?
No, the outdoor camera will not be motorized PTZ. At least not for the initial iteration.
Is there a solar panel that someone can recommend that will work with the Wyze cam outdoor. Assuming it gets charged by Micro usb cable
Since the outdoor Wyze cam has not been officially released yet, it would be difficult to answer and say for sure. We will need to know the exact specifications for it first.
Solar panels are always an option. It doesn’t need to be Wyze-branded. There are tons of them. I don’t use one, but anything with USB should work, assuming the camera is USB-powered (which I assume will be the case.) You’ll find some that are intended for use with Blink cameras on Amazon which will work just fine.
And I am sure there are tons that are not worth anything. Look on the forum underneath Tips & Tricks.
A lot depends on your local micro-climate conditions - are you in the Washington State temperate rainforest or in the sunny Arizona desert?
To be honest, I think almost anything would work for this purpose. I believe they’ve said the outdoor cameras will plug in to recharge, which means the panel doesn’t need to have a battery or anything. It’s just a power supply. And by design, I’m sure the cameras are using very little power. Let’s assume one charge lasts a month. (Most likely it will be more than that, but I’m trying to aim on the low-end) That means your solar panel just needs to supply enough power to charge the battery ONCE over 30 days. (Or 2 months or 6 months or a year, or however long the camera lasts in a real-world scenario) That shouldn’t take much at all.
If you needed to power a camera continuously, you’d definitely want to make sure your panel packs enough punch. But I don’t think much would be necessary to run it in its normal “battery mode” without needing to recharge it.
Please don’t believe me…
This is the one it will look like in my dream last night…
or this
will I get banned? LOL
There’s obviously a ton of heated debate to the battery situation and I am also disappointed, but not for reasons others have mentioned. My issue is cost, unless I can purchase without the battery and hub for a lower cost. I am making my camera ecosystem WYZE because it is so affordable. I was hoping for the same camera, but just weather-proof (to avoid having to buy the aftermarket housings). I assumed it would only be a few bucks more than the current $25 cam.
But if the standard outdoor camera is going to be battery powered, require a hub and be much more tech advanced, I can only assume this will be a pricey camera… not in line with the affordable WYZE brand. But if I can buy a version with no battery, no hub required… essentially just a weather-proof version of the current cam, I’m game.
They have said it will have battery power and an option of plugging it in, I do not think there will be a way to not run it through the hub as the hub is probably doing some of the processing to save power
I imagine that’s exactly what the hub should do … but if you’re not using battery there’s no need to save power so the hub shouldn’t be required. Hence @jpnelson35 s question!
Yes because of the option for battery they would have to move some processing to the hub, so even if powered some processing will be done on the hub
Battery power alone has inherent limitations:
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The Run time before some kind of plug in recharging becomes necessary
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Continuous recording or software analysis for eg person detection becomes all but impossible due to power draw considerations
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Batteries don’t like temperature extremes with the cold in particular reducing capacity massively and the heat posing a risk of combustion with some types.
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Batteries are fussy about how they are charged. The exact parameter differ according to battery type but LiOn for example from memory trypically like to be kept with a range of 40-80% charge. Outside of the ideal range, battery life is shortened. This precludes continuous trickle charging or allowing batteries to fully discharge before recharging if maximum life cycles are to be maintained
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Battery life gets shorter over time until eventually they need replacement
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Solar isn’t as simple as it seems. There are posts on it above. However, location is a big factor as is panel size and charge regulator cost.
good to know, thanks for your reply. Where did they call that out?
I believe in one of the long outdoor cam threads, I will see if I can track down the source.
Battery is great BUT for remote security (vacation home, etc) its not practical. Just saying…
They have yet to make a camera for security