Do the Solar panels keep the camera's battery charged constantly?

[chiggyboom]

I have the Arlo Pro 2 security system. Does the Solar panel keep you camers battery charged constantly. once you have the battery charged?

[brh]

@chiggyboom,

Yes they do in normal use. If for some reason, such as very cold weather, cameras communications with the base stations, etc., the battery might discharge so that it takes a few days to charge back up, but normally it is simply connect and forget.

Brian

[TomMac]

Mind that the batteries will NOT charge if the camera is below 32F reguardless of the solar panel for safety reasons.

[Polly95]

@chiggyboom  It depends on your geographic area and the amount of sun the solar panel gets.  On nice days with at least four hours of sun it will keep it charged unless you are streaming constantly or in a high motion area.  However, it WILL NOT charge AT ALL  if the battery is too cold no matter how much sun is on the panel. You will get a message stating the battery won't charge because it is too cold.  This means it will not charge in a northeast or Canadian winter with lots of overcast days or even a sunny mountain winter day.   Arlo should consider an insulated camera body for cold climates.  The form factor would be larger but that would be a small trade off for a camera you can rely on.  If you have power in your eaves, you could always plug it in but climbing on a stepladder to change out the batteries isn't practical at all.

[Polly95]

@brh   The utility of a solar panel is very geography dependent.  It diminishes greatly in the inter-mountain west, the northeast and anywhere with low temperatures or extended  overcast days.   If you live in a place where warm winters are the norm, it is no doubt very useful.  If you live anywhere with frequent freezing temperatures or a week of overcast, much less so.  In this case, one must manage the camera so that it is on only during critical times otherwise, the battery will run down and the whole thing will be inop.

[jguerdat]

Or recharge indoors when needed. 

[Polly95]

@jguerdat   Of course that is an option but perhaps not very practical.  If you've mounted it outside and installed the solar panel, it requires a step ladder (most likely), then removing the skin (if you've put one on), and unscrewing the solar power cord and stabilizing bracket to access the battery panel.  Then swapping batteries and either leaving the solar power disconnected or accomplishing the above in reverse.  Depending on whether there is snow and ice on the ground and how cold it is, not a pleasant or risk free task.  In a temperate climate with sun they are no doubt fabulous.  In a climate with many cold and or overcast days, much less so.

[brh]

@Polly95,

you are absolutely correct about the freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, this is a limitation of battery technology. This is one of the reasons I replaced most of my outdoor cameras with Ultras. Yes, in cold weather the solar panel won't charge the battery, and one still will need to climb the ladder to put in fresh batteries, but with the Ultra, it is a piece of cake. The solar panel connects magnetically and the camera comes out the front of the shell. Simply pop off the solar panel connector, press the button under the camera shell, slide out the camera part, replace the battery, slide the camera back in and pop on the connector. No need to re-adjust the camera position. Takes about 1 minute.

Brian

[jguerdat]

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@Polly95 wrote:

@jguerdat   Of course that is an option but perhaps not very practical.  If you've mounted it outside and installed the solar panel, it requires a step ladder (most likely), then removing the skin (if you've put one on), and unscrewing the solar power cord and stabilizing bracket to access the battery panel.

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I live in Rochester, NY. Not the most inhospitible environment (depends on who you talk to) but plenty of cold weather and cloudy days. I have solar panels and no way to use AC power on any outdoor cameras. There are 7 cameras and 2 lights currently in operation, many on screw-in mounts. Battery charges are rather irregular but require ladders to access most. Can it be a PITA? Absolutely but if you have cameras reasonably mounted and properly configured in your modes and rules, it's not a daily basis.