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Solar for powering CCTV cameras

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  • Solar for powering CCTV cameras

    Hi All,

    I am in process of planning for a solar powered DC power source for CCTV and few LED lights.
    Following is the list of appliances i am planning to connect.
    1. 6 CCTV cameras, measured current draw from each camera is 0.25 Amps @12v DC
    Total consumption of 6 cameras - 12 * 0.25 * 6 = 18 VA

    2. DVR - 0.75A @12v - 12*0.75 = 9 VA

    3. 3 units of 18 W Led Lights - 18*2 = 36

    Total VA consumed for CCTV (24 hours operation) = 27*24 = 648 VA per day
    Total VA consumed for LED lights (8hr operation) = 36*8 = 288 VA per day

    Grand total = 936 VA.

    My plan for panels and battery

    Panels - 2 units of 12v 100W
    Battery - 1 unit of 12v 100Ah

    Charge controller to be a PWM based controller - on Arduiono

    Please let me know if the approach is correct.

    Thanks
    Matt

  • #2
    Hello Matt297 and welcome to Solar Panel Talk

    Your calculations for panel wattage and batteries is a little short for your daily load.

    First off lets round up and say your daily watt hours ( 936 VA) usage is around 1000 wh.

    A battery system should never be drained more than 25% and 20% is even better so you will need something between 4000 to 5000 watt hours.

    With a 12volt battery that calculates out to (4000wh / 12v = 333Ah, 5000wh / 12v = 416ah). Which is a pretty big battery.

    Now to keep that battery charged you will need panel wattage that can delivery about 1/10th the Ah rating or C/10 where C = Ah rating of the battery. So somewhere between 34 and 42 amps.

    With an MPPT charge controller and a 12 volt battery you will need a solar panel wattage around (12v * 34A = 408watts, 12v * 42a = 504watts). But you also need to know where this system is and what your shortest amount of solar insolation hours will be during the Winter. So if you estimate worse case at about 2 hours you should lean toward the 500 watts of solar panels.

    That means a 45amp MPPT charge controller.

    Hope that helps.

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    • #3
      I would not buy any 12 volt panels, you can get a 250 to 300 watt grid tie panel for about the same price and spend the difference on a good MPPT controller. Now, a single 100 AH battery will not keep those cameras and DVR up overnight, so you will need two of them and will need either 2 X 6 volts batteries wired in series for 12 volts, or 2 X 12 volt batteries wired in series for a 24 volt system, with step downs for your 12 volt loads. Most pwm CC are not designed to handle more than a moderate load, so you will need a quality relay or separate LVD=low voltage disconnect to protect your batteries from over discharge. You should also build in some autonomy to account for rainy and or overcast days. If this location already has grid power, plug in a smart AC powered Charger every week to insure battery health. If no grid you will need a generator for your periodic maintenance.

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