POE Floodlight/Camera Recommendation?

[staind204]

I have been planning to replace an old floodlight with a LED floodlight with Camera. I already have a camera in the nearby area hooked up to my BI PC, so I was just going to do a Eufy Cam using the existing power and wifi connection to make this as easy as possible. Unfortunately when I got the old light down, I found that the idiot who put it up just drilled a hole in the soffit, made the electrical connections, and shoved them up behind the camera (there is no electrical box!!). I have no practical way to install an electrical box to make this work and don't feel safe hooking this up without one so I just pulled the wiring up into the attic and will properly disconnect it.

I think my best option now is to run an ethernet cable and do a POE floodlight/camera. Theres already a hole in the soffit they used to feed the electrical through and I can easily fish an ethernet wire to this location. I might as well just get a good camera and use BI to manage it given my situation. What floodlight/camera combo do you recommend that will work well in Blue Iris? Also any idea how much more power consumption a light/camera combo is vs. just a camera? My BI PC is running at about 50-60% CPU and memory right now so I hope I can add a light/camera without taxing the system to the max.

Thanks

 

[fenderman]

I have been planning to replace an old floodlight with a LED floodlight with Camera. I already have a camera in the nearby area hooked up to my BI PC, so I was just going to do a Eufy Cam using the existing power and wifi connection to make this as easy as possible. Unfortunately when I got the old light down, I found that the idiot who put it up just drilled a hole in the soffit, made the electrical connections, and shoved them up behind the camera (there is no electrical box!!). I have no practical way to install an electrical box to make this work and don't feel safe hooking this up without one so I just pulled the wiring up into the attic and will properly disconnect it.

I think my best option now is to run an ethernet cable and do a POE floodlight/camera. Theres already a hole in the soffit they used to feed the electrical through and I can easily fish an ethernet wire to this location. I might as well just get a good camera and use BI to manage it given my situation. What floodlight/camera combo do you recommend that will work well in Blue Iris? Also any idea how much more power consumption a light/camera combo is vs. just a camera? My BI PC is running at about 50-60% CPU and memory right now so I hope I can add a light/camera without taxing the system to the max.

Thanks

There is no good combo. Buy a poe floodlight and a separate camera.

 

[staind204]

At this point I guess I'd even settle for just a POE floodlight. However I'm not seeing any that can be mounted to the soffit. Do they exist?

 

[Keizer]

At this point I guess I'd even settle for just a POE floodlight. However I'm not seeing any that can be mounted to the soffit. Do they exist?

You could also just install a regular LED flood light and connect a smart switch or timer switch. I have various lighting circuits around my home and out buildings to allow ambient light for my 4k T cams. Two circuits come on automatically with photo cells. Another circuit comes on with a smart switch on a schedule. And another circuit comes on automatically with a digital Hardwired on/off timer. I have low watt LED's in all the fixtures. Almost forgot......I have three LED light fixtures on my shop that come on automatically using smart bulbs on a schedule.

I really like my 4K t cams but decided not to use the built in LED's because of bugs.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

IPC-Color4K-T use this one, can turn the cam's LED light always on at night.

 

[staind204]

IPC-Color4K-T use this one, can turn the cam's LED light always on at night.

Hey Andy. That's not a bad idea..it seems the few poe floodlights out there are only wall mount. I need soffit mount. I know the IPC-Color4K-T, I actually already have one installed now and it works well. I haven't messed with the LED lights on mine though. In theory could I set up BI to only trigger the LED on motion for a few minutes and then turn back off? If so, this might meet my needs! Thank you.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

In theory could I set up BI to only trigger the LED on motion for a few minutes and then turn back off? ------------The activate may not work if the place has poor light, so we don't add activate function to this camera, so i don't think can set up like that, but if BI has such function you can try one.

 

[staind204]

Thanks for the quick response. Given there's no good soffit mount light/camera combo and I can't do motion only light on the IPC-Color4K-T, I'm going to have to use the existing electrical wiring.

I believe I can purchase something like and just mount it right to the soffit (has a wood backing). This atleast gives me a box to put the electrical wiring in so it should be much safer than how they had it before.

Sigma Engineered Solutions 143854WH Weatherproof Box New Work 16 cu in Round Metallic White White

Buy Sigma Engineered Solutions 143854WH Weatherproof Box New Work 16 cu in Round Metallic White White online at DKHardware.com. Our Electrical & Gas category offers a great selection of Weather-Resistant Outlet Covers products at the best price!

www.dkhardware.com

Hopefully someday options for POE lighting/cams get better. I incorrectly assumed there would be many options. Best I could find is this Reolink but I'm sure cam quality isn't good and it's wall mount only so I couldn't use it even if I wanted to.
REOLINK Floodlight Camera, 4K Dual-Lens Wired WiFi Outdoor Security Camera 180 FOV, Smart Human/Vehicle/Pet Detection Siren Alarm, Color Night Vision, 2.4G/5GHz Dual-Band WiFi, Duo Floodlight WiFi

https://a.co/d/3ynjFVA

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Can check our IPC-T5241H-AS-PV or IPC-T5541H-AS-PV it has IR and led illumination

Illuminator Number

1 (IR LED) 1 (Warm light)

 

[TonyR]

For controlling the floodlight consider the Shelly1 UL: Switch devices over your Wi-Fi, no hub needed, no cloud or app needed although both are available. Operates on 12VDC, 24 – 60V DC or 110-240VAC, switches up to 15A with a dry contact, UL-listed model available. Fits in a junction box under the floodlight.

Uses HTTP, MQTT and more.

Simple Blue Iris I/O using Shelly1 Wi-Fi Devices

 

[staind204]

I ended up just using a surface mount box and pulling my electrical wire back into it. Since I really only needed a floodlight I just went with a Eufycam Floodlight with Wifi in this situation.

But all my "real" cameras are from Andy. I plan to pick up a few more eventually..definitely night and day vs. a cheap Eufy. Andy - Hopefully someday you can come up with a floodlight/camera combo that is powered by POE and soffit mountable. That would be a game changer for me. Thanks for all the support you provide this community, you rock!

 

[TonyR]

Regarding mounting a floodlight cam on a soffit, under an eave and not on a wall:

• Andy said here that the IPC-WL46A floodlight fits a PFA-139 box.
• The PFA-139 specs show that it has four M4 threaded holes @ 90 degrees in a 69mm radius.
• The PFB-204W wall bracket specs state that it also has four M4 threaded holes @ 90 degrees but they're in a 68.5mm radius.
• If both spec sheets are correct, the wall bracket's radius is only .5mm / .019 inches smaller than the box which I think could be easily overcome.

So I'm wondering if the wall bracket could be mounted over an existing circular, flush-mounted electrical box (as many of those on soffits are) and then the floodlight cam mounted to the wall bracket, as in the below image.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Floodlight camera need bit more power, POE not easy to cover.

 

[msecure]

Floodlight camera need bit more power, POE not easy to cover.

Not really, there is customised 12V 15W Led light with a night sensor that can used a POE splitter for the 12VDC which does not consume much power. Currently using it in conjunction with my Solar/battery for ip camera.

 

[fenderman]

Hey Andy. That's not a bad idea..it seems the few poe floodlights out there are only wall mount. I need soffit mount. I know the IPC-Color4K-T, I actually already have one installed now and it works well. I haven't messed with the LED lights on mine though. In theory could I set up BI to only trigger the LED on motion for a few minutes and then turn back off? If so, this might meet my needs! Thank you.

Keep in mind that's the power of the LEDs in the camera are nowhere near as bright as a proper flight light.... It is not going to give you the lighting you are after.... As far as triggering It would Blue Iris It's not a native function.. You would need to know how to set it up.

 

[fenderman]

There are several different POE flood lights out there....even reolink has a cheap one that is a standalone unit not connected to a camera.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Yes, flood light is much much stronger than the current LED cameras.

 

[staind204]

There are several different POE flood lights out there....even reolink has a cheap one that is a standalone unit not connected to a camera.

Sadly if they are the ones I have seen, they are wall mount only.

I should clarify in my earlier comments that I assumed POE+ (not regular POE). I did find a company called "POEWIT" that makes a POE++ light that's very bright at 5000K... but it's nearly $400. Waaaay too expensive for a light IMO.
PoeWit Outdoor POE Flood Light - OS-1-PT-5K-WH | Flare Communications

 

[fenderman]

Sadly if they are the ones I have seen, they are wall mount only.

I should clarify in my earlier comments that I assumed POE+ (not regular POE). I did find a company called "POEWIT" that makes a POE++ light that's very bright at 5000K... but it's nearly $400. Waaaay too expensive for a light IMO.
PoeWit Outdoor POE Flood Light - OS-1-PT-5K-WH | Flare Communications

They are crazy overpriced. Why dont you just put a box in the soffit for a flood and run ethernet for a poe camera?

 

[CCTVCam]

Personally I'd use a separate flood light and a PIR. I'd also put a low level wall light on just to reduce the amount of light shock ad increase detection ability (if it can see the trip wires, it can't trip!).

My neighbour has put several of these up - LePro and they appear to be quite good from what I can tell.:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lepro-Floodlight-Incandescent-Equivalent-Waterproof/dp/B07T9J8ZGT/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1Z6WCM6UHONER&keywords=led+floodlight&qid=1683864803&sprefix=led+floodlight%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-5

Personally, I use a:

1. 5w led wall light as a background light (normal light + separate LED bulb)

2. Dawn to dusk sensor: Electronic IP44 Photocell Kit | Toolstation (not special 4 conductor cable length required to wire these)

3. LED flood light to reinforce: LAP Weyburn Outdoor LED Floodlight White 30W 3000lm - Screwfix

4. PIR sensor: Zinc DION Outdoor Black PIR Sensor 180° - Screwfix

Having everything separate ensures easy and cheap replacement of anything that wears out.

Stictly speaking with the 4kt, the 5w wall light alone is sufficient to get a decent picture. I use the fill in flood simply to ensure the best picture possible.