NVR in freezing temperatures

Mar 22, 2017
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2
What are your thoughts on having and NVR in an unheated garage? I am located in North Dakota and it gets very cold here in the winter(-25 a multiple times a winter) My cameras are rated for -22 F but will the NVR have issues in the garage. The garage is not insulated and will get below zero as well. If there is an issue I would think it would be with the hard drives in the NVR. Has anyone tried this? I have a detached garage from my house and it all open so its much easier to install my cameras on the garage then on the house.
Thanks for your opinions.
 
Officially most hdd mfg's spec 0C/32F as the min operating temp. If you put it in an enclosed space you'll trap some heat.
 
What are your thoughts on having and NVR in an unheated garage?
I'd be more concerned about when the temperature falls below the dewpoint and the PCB beads with condensation than the effects of a much lower temperature.
These devices are intended for domestic, controlled environments and are not parylene conformal coated like military electronics.
 
Other components like electrolytic capacitors have temp ratings too.

Safest thing is to build a small enclosure with a heater that keeps the temp a bit above 32F
 
May not even need a heater. Put it in something that will retain some heat (old cooler, wood box with some insulation) and put a light fixture with a bulb in it. Same concept as the dehumidifying rods that go in a safe, the warm device dehumidifies the air and keeps your stuff warm enough.
 
If you do this, it might be worth your while to put one of those wireless weather transmitters that relays temp and humidity info next to your NVR.

Might be easier to install a switch in the garage to connect the cameras to, then run one cable back to the house for the NVR.
 
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It's probably easiest to put a PoE switch in the garage and use something like a point to point wifi link or HomePlug AV2 adapters to provide the link back to the house assuming you don't want to bury a cable. Then just put the NVR in the house.
 
I was thinking of doing it this way. I have a this in my garage now...LINKSYS RE6500HG Dual Band Wireless AC Range Extender - Newegg.com It has 4 gigabit ports on it.
I just was not sure how much traffic it could handle over the wireless network. Do you think it will be able to handle the traffic of 3 cameras?? I have this router in my house. Amazon.com: NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S - AC2600 4x4 MU-MIMO Smart WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Gaming Router (R7800-100NAS) Compatible with Amazon Echo/Alexa: Computers & Accessories
I tested it with one camera and it seemed to be ok.
 
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I was thinking of doing it this way. I have a this in my garage now...LINKSYS RE6500HG Dual Band Wireless AC Range Extender - Newegg.com It has 4 gigabit ports on it.
I just was not sure how much traffic it could handle over the wireless network. Do you think it will be able to handle the traffic of 3 cameras?? I have this router in my house. Amazon.com: NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S - AC2600 4x4 MU-MIMO Smart WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Gaming Router (R7800-100NAS) Compatible with Amazon Echo/Alexa: Computers & Accessories
I tested it with one camera and it seemed to be ok.
You'll be better off with a point to point wifi link that only goes from the house to the garage or some powerline adapters. Trying to use your main router will kill wifi performance for everything else you own.
 
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Did you check out the specks on my router? It can handle a lot of data WiFi—800+1733 Mbps speeds... Also has Multi User Multi in Multi out
 
From all I've read here, explore all options to go wired first. Wifi is not as reliable with cameras.
 
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Wired is not really an option... Its pretty much all cement between the garage and house. I think I will see how it performs with the current equipment I have and install the NVR inside. If it slows the rest of my network down I will pick this up....Amazon.com: The EZ-Bridge-Lite EZBR-0214+ High Power Outdoor Wireless Point to Point System: Computers & Accessories

This should be able to handle the traffic correct??
If you want point to point wifi you're better off with Ubiquiti Nano Stations.

Trying this would be easier: Amazon.com: TP-Link AV1000 1-Port Gigabit Powerline Adapter, Up to 1000Mbps (TL-PA7010 KIT): Computers & Accessories
 
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I don't know a lot about electricity but I recently had mine upgraded. The garage has its own fuse box. It ties back to the main house fuse box i assume so in theory those power line adapters should work correct?
 
$45 isn't that big of a gamble. I'd try them, but there's no guarantee they'll work for you. You won't get the full speed they claim, but hopefully it's fast enough.
 
**Update** The Powerline adapters worked great. Doing speed tests in my garage I get pretty much the same 60-70MB. I am going to shut the wireless off on my extender and just use it as a switch to plug the cameras in. Thanks for the suggestion.