Continuous Battery Charging

[hem2525]

I have 4 Essential Spotlight cameras with solar panels attached to each camera. I've positioned the solar panels to get maximum sun exposure.  Here are my concerns:

1.)  Will the cameras continue to charge if I turn them off?

2.)  What is an acceptable power level for the batteries?

3.)  Does turning off the cameras and making adjustments to the camera's view conserve battery usage?

4.)  How does the siren option work  ( I only want it to work in emergency situations)?

[StephenB]

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@hem2525 wrote:

1.)  Will the cameras continue to charge if I turn them off?

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Yes.   Though normally I suggest disarming them instead of turning them off.  Power usage is pretty similar (the wifi is still enabled even if the camera is "off").

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@hem2525 wrote:

2.)  What is an acceptable power level for the batteries?

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There isn't a strict threshold, but I suggest keeping them above 15%.

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@hem2525 wrote:

3.)  Does turning off the cameras and making adjustments to the camera's view conserve battery usage?

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The main power draws are

1. maintaining the wifi connection
2. streaming video (whether livestreaming or motion detected)
3. running the spotlight

You can't do anything about the power use in (1).  

With (2) you can set the motion thresholds and position the camera to control the amount of motion detection.  Of course you want to be careful not to set the motion thresholds too low (as then they won't record what you want them to).  You can also limit the length of the recordings if you wish.  Note that activity zones do NOT affect power use.

• https://kb.arlo.com/41/How-do-I-change-the-motion-sensitivity-on-my-Arlo-camera

With (3) if you get a lot of motion detection at night, you can turn off the spotlight on a schedule, and just use nightvision.  But I wouldn't start out doing that - wait and see how often the cameras need to be recharged first.

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@hem2525 wrote:

4.)  How does the siren option work  ( I only want it to work in emergency situations)?

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You could set it to go off when the camera detects motion - which of course isn't usually an "emergency situation".

Probably your best option is to engage it from the app when you see something you think merits that. 

FWIW, the siren isn't that loud.  Personally, I don't bother with it.