Anyone running a security camera via solar power?

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Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
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London
I have a Reolink doorbell and think it’s fab. I’m interested in getting a camera over the back door just to cover our very small garden and rear access (we have a locked gate out into an access alleyway which is secure to be fair).

I’ve read a lot on the Reolink FB group and get differing opinions on whether it would last ok during the winter.

Our kitchen/first floor roof is very accessible and south facing, and slopes nicely so it would be very hidden and pick up as much sunshine as it could in this country. So you reckon it’s worth a go? It’s be easy to fit myself (compared to drilling through for power) and our pipes would hide the cables nicely too. I’m just worried it’ll die in winter, even if it’s not triggered much…
 
I have/had a few reolinks. Couple of things regarding the battery/ solar panels.

1) When the solar panel is connected, they can give a false reading as to the battery level, I've seen one where the battery was showing 100% right up until the battery was completly dead.
2) Reolink says the cameras won't charge at all below 0c, and it's my understanding that the solar panels are not very efficient when it gets below 5-6c, or indeed with a low angle sun.
3) Even if you set a schedule, i.e. only want to record between say 5pm and 8am, the camera gets powered up by the PIR regardless of the schedule, checks the schedule and determines it doesn't need to record anything. The upshot is, if you are pointing at a scene that has a lot of movement, setting a schedule doesn't saving the camera from constant power-ups and power-downs, affecting the battery life. If you are pointing to a mostly static scene, ie an enclosed back garden, then it's not such an issue.
4) There is a 3W panel and a 6W panel, I think most of them ship with the 6W panel these days.

I have two facing pretty static scenes, and one of them I've had over a year and the battery hasn't died. The other one lasted about a year. I have one that faces a side-road that has cars/people traffic a bit, and it dies a lot more often.

Also, when a camera battery does die, I tend NOT to bring the camera inside, but rather charge it up whilst still outside. I had an issue on a couple of cameras that the change in temp/humidity resulted in the lens getting covered in mosture that screwed up the picture. Although it is possible to open these up, the length of wiring on the connections inside makes it quite tricky to dismantle enough to get at the lens.
 
Thanks @tangey good info there. We're in a terraced house, so it'd be covering a tiny enclosed garden (most people would call it a courtyard garden :) ) that has a rear access alleyway with a secure locked gate at the end. So even if there's foot traffic behind (rare) we've got new high fences so it wouldn't pick anyone up until they jump the fence or bust through our gate or something. So I guess it'd be a case of making sure it's not picking up animals etc. Guessing the options are the same as the doorbell? What do you do if you're out in the garden? I guess that'd be in summer when it charges more easily anyway.. ?

We could run a powered camera, there is a socket near the back door. But I'd either have to drill through the back wall and make good (not a job for me, so more cost). Or maaaaaybe we could pull up some of our flooring (laminate on top of suspended floorboards) and possibly get the cable out through the brick vent. But I'm really not sure if running the cable under there is doable..
 
The static scene cameras do of course have triggers when we are out and about in those areas, but it's not like 40-50 triggers per 24hrs like we are having with the one facing a side-road. Also some triggers at times when plants blow about. Animals will power up the camera. The camera powers up on the PIR. It then checks if you have set it to exclude animals and if so it goes back to sleep. Funny enough we've tarted up the back a bit and put a pergola in etc, so in the summer this will likely be used much more often, so it will be interesting to see how the battery/solar panel survives.

Like you, it was just far handier for us not to run power
 
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