I have a Wyze camera system installed at my customers home Using V2 outdoor camera. I’m using one of the recommended 5 volt, 2 watt solar panels to power it as there are no nearby outlets and the cameras are located out of reach. I used the Wyze V2 outdoor cameras because at the time they were the only cameras that Wyze was recommending be used with solar panels.
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One of the cameras is on the North side of the house and is not getting enough sunlight to keep the camera battery charged
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MY QUESTION IS: Is it possible for me to splice two or more solar panels together in parallel to obtain a higher current output at the same voltage to keep the battery charged?
I don’t see why not but I thought it best to ask first.
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If the answer is no, please give me a detailed explanation as to why it can not be done or please recommend another panel that will provide more power. I can readily splice wires and change the connector at the end of the cable to be compatible with the Wyze V2 outdoor camera.
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If it can not be done with a V2 camera is there another combination of a Wyze camera and solar panel that would work?
Yes, you could either merge 2 panels or get a different larger one, though there is a risk (I’ll explain).
If you merge 2 panels, make sure you water-proof the connection. I have considered doing this myself, and if I do/did, I would probably use a splitter. I don’t know of any splitters that have 2 female Micro USB ports to 1 female USB-A port, so it will likely require another converting adapter for whichever one I bought. Then I’d wrap all 3 connections in Silicone tape to weatherproof it. Then I wouldn’t be cutting into wires to merge them.
Be careful though, if you merge too many separate panels together you risk damaging your camera with too many volts/amps during peak sunlight times since you’ll be making it send more power than the camera is rated to sustain. That is a risk. For that reason it might be better to instead look for a bigger solar panel that still limits how many volts/amps it sends at a time. That is your main constraint here is being careful to limit the power output to the camera to not damage it.
An alternative option to still be able to capture much more sunlight and power without risking damaging the camera with too much power, is you could find some kind of battery to charge up instead. So you can get much more powerful solar panels to collect a lot more power, then feed that into a battery that supports “Pass through Charging” (ie: it can charge up and send out power at the same time…some batteries can’t send out power while they are charging, so you have to be careful of this). Then the solar panels can pump tons of energy into a battery that can support getting more energy, and the Wyze cam can then draw on the power from that battery which only puts out the right amount of Volts/amps for the Wyze cam. Power concerns solved. Just make sure you have the Battery weatherproofed. You can buy some cheap weatherproof junction boxes to hold the battery for as little as $10, Then the battery sits in there with 1 wire going to the solar panel(s), and another going to the camera.
Thank you so much. I had done some research before posting but was looking for some confirmation that I had understood everything. And yes, I know how to make a water proof splice. Much more expedient then looking for a special connector.
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Information for you is that Wasserstien has solar panels with outdoor power supplies combined. The problem is that the only way I can find to communicate with them is by Email. And that’s not an easy way to obtain technical support when looking for detailed spec’s on their products. They advertise which panels can be used for which make cameras but don’t have much info on the output wattage, voltage and current produced by the panels or combination panels and power supplies. Also, I don’t feel much confidence in the expertise of the Wyze telephone tech support people either. I haven’t been able to find spec’s on the charging requirements for the V2 outdoor cameras either. Without that information and the output information from Wasserstien it’s just a hit or miss cluge of panels, power supplies and camera batteries and charging circuits.
But anyway, again, thanks for the input. At least I know I’m following the right rabbit hole.
When/if you do it, come back and post a picture along with whatever specs you decide to go with. I’d love to see it since I have considered doing this as well.
I have a variation on this question. Has anyone tried to charge two Wyze V2 outdoor cameras from one solar panel using a splitter?
I want to move two cameras to the same corner of the house, so the cable run would be minimal.
