In our local countries today majorly in Africa regions, light and security has become a major problem. It comes and goes and it's never steady. This enables criminals and other wrong activities to be carried out in such business places or even churches.
In this tutorial, I want to show you how to provide solar power for your IP Camera in areas like this where no power is available. And after this, I hope you will find it useful in your individual areas.
There are two primary ways/method of sending data from a Solar Powered IP Camera to an Access Point:
The first step in creating a solar IP camera kit would be to identify the Power Requirements of your surveillance equipment.
The Spec Sheet needs to identify the total power draw of the equipment in Watts, and if the equipment also runs on 12 Volt DC, 24 Volt DC, or Power over Ethernet (PoE).
PoE (Power over Ethernet)this is the name of a number of methods which allows for powering network devices through UTP/FTP cables. This also allows other devices like Security Cameras, Phones, Network Switches, or Antennas to send and receive data and power with the help of just one cable.
The two standard types of PoE are 802.3af and 802.3at.
transmission power and data through a single cable reduces wiring and installation costs at least 100 m range (with appropriate cabling)
high security and reliability • in typical conditions the risk of electric shock may not be high (the voltage is below 60 V) and the technology involves auto-testing procedures
protection of devices not compliant with the standard
there is ease of installation
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Wiring diagram for a PoE switch (endspan) and an 802.3af (802.3at type 1) powered device. Option A – violet colour, option B – yellow colour.
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Wiring diagram for a PoE switch (endspan) and an 802.3at type 2 (PoE+) powered device. Option A – violet color, option B – yellow color.
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Wiring diagram for a PoE injector (midspan) and an 802.3at type 2 (PoE+) powered device. Option A – violet color, option B – yellow color.
PoE standard as we all know has been optimized for safety. In addition, to acquire a safe voltage range, the devices must communicate according to established procedures. Before the supplying voltage is provided, the PoE Injector tests the connection.
The current is limited to mill amperes and is applied to determine the actual type of the PoE implemented in the powered device (with the help of characteristic resistance of about 25 kΩ used for this purpose in the device). In addition, this procedure allows for checking the continuity of the line.
Optional classification of equipment compliant with the 802.3af standard and also provides useful information about its power requirements. It is also based on the measurement of the current that flows when the connection is tested. The equipment is classified as follows:
class Output power of power sourcing equipment (PSE) Power consumed by the powered device (PD)
0 W 15,4 W 0,44 •12,95
1 4,0 0,44 • 3,84
2 7,0 3,84 • 6,49
3 15,4 6,49 • 12,95
4 30 12,95 • 25,5
Devices compliant with 802.3at also communicate with one another using Layer•2 power management protocol for enhanced power allocation, LLDP•MED (extended version of the protocol for auto•detection of devices). With such communication, it is possible to determine the actual power demand with accuracy to 1.11W. The PoE Injector forwards the information on the demand for power at regular time periods.
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The Passive PoE transmits power through selected conductors of UTP/FTP cable. The voltage supplied can also be connected directly to the powered device or converted by a special adapter. The power source and the powered device has no communication, but the power is provided continuously. The wiring is usually made according to option B of IEEE 802.3af (use of free pairs 4/5 (+) and 7/8 (•) in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet networks).
There are power devices that can also operate in Gigabit Ethernet networks. It uses transformers that enables it to transmit power along with the data (example like in 802.3af option A). Also, i want you to take note that passive PoE solutions are not compatible with the 802.3at standard and are also not recommended for use in professional networks.
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The Battery is always the heart of your solar powered IP Camera system and it provides consistent power day and night despite the bad weather conditions in some local areas. The Solar Panel serves to keep the Battery charged on a daily basis.
The type of Battery you will use for your Solar Powered IP Camera is a Deep Cycle AGM Sealed Lead Acid Battery.
If you operate on an equipment with 12 VDC you would have to use a 12V Battery. If your equipment operates on 24 VDC you would use a 24V Battery. But you can also create a 24 Volt Battery Array by using two 12 Volt Batteries Wired in Series as shown in the diagram below. if you operates on PoE most PoE Injectors convert both 12V and 24V DC to the appropriate PoE output.
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You may want to size your Battery Array for your solar IP Camera Kit so it may only operate on the top 50% of its cycle. Also, you will want to make reference to the equipment manufacturer’s Spec Sheet to see how many Amps your equipment draws.
If your IP Camera draws up to a total of 6 Watts and operates on 12 VDC, then it will draw 0.5 Amps (500 mA). Also If your Wireless Antenna draws up to 8 Watts and operates on 12 VDC it will draw .67 Amps (670 mA). this can be determined by using the formula Volts x Amps = Watts or in this example Watts ÷ Volts = Amps. If your aim is to power your solar IP Camera equipment with a 50 Amp hour Battery, then you would have to perform the following calculations:
50 ÷ 2 = 25: Dividing the Amp hours by 2 ensures that you are operating on the top 50% of the Battery’s cycle, giving you 25 Amp hours available to use.
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5 + .67 = 1.17: This is the combined Amperage of your two pieces of equipment.
25 ÷ 1.17 = 21.37: Dividing the available Amp hours by the total Amperage of the equipment tells you how many hours your Battery will be able to provide that output.
In the above examples, a 50 Amp hour Battery life will power your solar IP Camera equipment for 21.37 hours before becoming over-discharged. This scenario works because an appropriately sized Solar Panel will be recharging the battery daily.
Immediately you are able to identify the Power that is required from your IP Camera and the appropriate Battery size, your attention can be turned to sizing the Solar Panel for your solar IP Camera Kit. You will then need to identify the average Peak Sun Hours your area receives. This information can be found using Vorp Energy’s Solar Zone Radiation Map shown below.
This map shows the AVERAGE peak sun hours available in each “Zone”. If your goal is to provide year round power, your system should be sized based on the peak sun hours available during winter months.
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To charge your Battery Array adequately, you would have to make use of a Solar Panel with equal or greater Voltage output. If you have done that above process by creating a 24V Battery Array by wiring two 12V Batteries in Series, you would need a 24V Solar Panel. Using 12V Solar Panels wired in Series is another option.
If your aim was to charge the same 50 Amp hour Battery initially mentioned above, you would need to replace around 20 hours of Battery Life in the few short Peak Sun Hours your area receives. In the period of December, Zone 1 only receives an average of 2.93 Peak Sun Hours. This should be the number you need to use for your calculations unless you want to resize your solar IP Camera system at the change of each season.
This also means that for every 2.93 hours your Solar Array will keep producing close to its Maximum Power Voltage (Vpm) at close to its Max Power Current (Imp). A 12V, 100 Watt Solar Panel will send 13.8 Volts into your Battery at 5.75 Amps (Imp) and will replace 16.85 hours of Battery Life. (5.75 Amps x 2.93 Peak Sun Hours). There is an adequate consideration that the sun will only be down for 12 to 14 hours, and your Solar Panel will have to produce some amount of electricity during Non-Peak Sun Hours. You may want to provide Solar Power for your IP Camera but lived in Zone 4 which, in December only receives 1.4 Peak Sun Hours, therefore, you will need a larger system.
As said earlier, If your Battery is to be the heart of your solar IP Camera system, therefore, the Solar Charge Controller is the brains and ensures that your Battery is not over-charged or over discharged too.
In order for you to select the proper Charge Controller, you will need to use the voltage of your solar IP Camera system, just as the Short Circuit Current (Isc) of your Solar Panel. A 100 Watt Solar Panel will have an ISC of around 6.3 Amps. In this process, you would need a Solar Charge Controller which is able to handle the maximum current of 6.3 Amps. A 12 Volt, 10 Amp Solar Charge Controller would be preferable to the above example.
Finally, you may want to get a weatherproof Enclosure to house your Solar Charge Controller and your Battery array. So many Enclosures, as well as the Solar Panel Mounting Systems, are mainly designed to attach to a schedule 40 Pole along with your solar powered IP Camera equipment.
THANKS FOR READING