Minimizing NVR/camera power for a solar system

T

Tony Wright

n3wb
Jan 15, 2019
14
0
Waterloo Ontario
I am considering my first security system for our off-grid cabin so will have to use solar power. I have discovered that camera systems can consume a lot of watts mainly because you need to design for 24 hr operation. I would like to use an NVR but since I have never even seen one I have a couple of questions. I am currently looking at Lorex cameras and NVR. I don't want to use battery powered cameras.

It seems that POE cameras consume about 6 watts but I am getting conflicting information about NVR power - can any one help?
Can individual cameras connected to an NVR be shut down and restarted remotely?
If a camera is set to record motion only (which I assume I can do remotely) does this reduce the power consumption while there is no motion?
I could shut down the whole NVR and cameras remotely using a smart adapter in the AC outlet but would the NVR restart OK when I turn the power back on?

How else can I reduce power consumption?

Thank you
Tony
 
Tony Wright said:
I am considering my first security system for our off-grid cabin so will have to use solar power. I have discovered that camera systems can consume a lot of watts mainly because you need to design for 24 hr operation. I would like to use an NVR but since I have never even seen one I have a couple of questions. I am currently looking at Lorex cameras and NVR. I don't want to use battery powered cameras.

It seems that POE cameras consume about 6 watts but I am getting conflicting information about NVR power - can any one help?
Can individual cameras connected to an NVR be shut down and restarted remotely?
If a camera is set to record motion only (which I assume I can do remotely) does this reduce the power consumption while there is no motion?
I could shut down the whole NVR and cameras remotely using a smart adapter in the AC outlet but would the NVR restart OK when I turn the power back on?

How else can I reduce power consumption?

Thank you
Tony
Click to expand...
You will not save any power using motion detection vs continuous other than possible some hard drive activity. Many POE cameras only consume about 3w during the day. 5-7w with ir on at night.
You cannot shutdown individual cameras via the NVR.
Shutting down the NVR defeats the purpose.
 
Also, consider that the processing power to detect motion may increase power usage compared to a continuous dump to disc strategy.

If you give details about your needs... what are you trying to capture, how many cameras do you likely need, day versus night details, how long do you need to keep the recordings, and so on, we can probably steer you in the right direction. For modest needs a low power Intel system may suit the bill.
 
if you really needed to, a 'managed' PoE Switch could turn individual ports/cams on and off by disabling the power, but as f'man points out, that kinda defeats the purpose.

best bet is to add more solar and/or batteries to keep the system powered up. what are you working with now in terms of capacity?
 
I like the idea of a managed switch.

Although it is a security system with four cameras, there is only really one that is important for security. If I run into power problems I don't mind shutting cameras down to let the solar batteries catch up. It's a bit of a hobby project.

Thanks
Tony
 
K4KMG said:
I live off grid and am totally solar.
My Hikvision DS 7604NI-SE/P NVR with 3 HK IR cams, (forget the model), uses .33a and 28w when running.
Click to expand...

That's very useful info. I actually found the spec of your NVR and it says the power consumption is less than or equal to 15W plus the HDD which seems to fit. This is less than I thought

Thanks
Tony
 
Happy I could help. I did add a hard drive when I first set up the NVR. 500g if I remember correctly.
Probably explains some of the added wattage.
Although the NVR and cams work great, the provided software, ivms4200, is lousy and a PITA!
Fortunately, I rarely need to access the NVR.
Good luck
 
K4KMG said:
I live off grid and am totally solar.
My Hikvision DS 7604NI-SE/P NVR with 3 HK IR cams, (forget the model), uses .33a and 28w when running.
Click to expand...

Probably need to add 3-4 watts per cam if running IR at night as well, but certainly under 50w for 4 cam system...

Some example calculations to show how to go about sizing such a system:
48w = ~4A @ 12v x 24hrs = 96ah, which is about what one large-ish (big car size) 12v battery can provide from full charge to 'empty'...
to recharge it on 4 hours of full sunlight daily, you need at least 96/24 = 24A worth of solar panels (@ 12v - your system may run higher voltage.)
 
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@pozzello: Thanks for the math.

It should be pointed out that solar batteries should never be discharged completely. I normally only discharge around 30% daily. (70% remaining capacity) When designing a system, this needs to be taken into account.
Also, some autonomy needs to be considered when designing as not every day is sunny!

@Tony: Cost needs to be considered. For a completely autonomous system, I'd guess you'd need to spend at least 1.5k. Since you wont be there to monitor, quality equipment is a must. I have seen firsthand what crappy equipment can do when it fails. (FIRE!)
Could you do it cheaper? Probably/maybe but when it comes to solar, cheap isn't the way to go.

As an example, 220w panels here are $200 and up.
Trojan T105 RE 6v batteries are $160-$200. (2)
Solar Charge Controllers: Decent will be approx $300 and up. (for a small sys)
Inverter: My 1400w 24v 11a inverter/charger was $1400. You would not need such a large one, but finding smaller will often get you into the cheap Chinese versions, often with disastrous results.
Misc: Cabling, (not cheap), System monitor, Breakers, Connectors, etc.... adds quite a bit to the cost.

Some quality manufacturers: Trojan or Crown. Outback. Morningstar, (Tristars). Bogart Engineering, (Trimetric monitors), etc...There are others, but I'll only use equipment from these as my solar system is my lifeline.
 
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