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:) thank you for the nice comment. We love to get good feedback like this. Please subscribe and share our videos to help our channel grow. Definitely let us know how your install goes. Plus, if you are installing your flood light cam on vinyl siding checkout our video on vinyl siding hangers too!
With regards to our eufy E cameras and usage scenarios, yes. We have not had to take them down to charge them since they were installed in fall of 2019.
It's surreal coz our backyard was facing north and it's perfect for solar system since got no way to plug in an electric outlet. Amazing accomplishment 😊
Excellent how to video. I recently purchased 2 guudgo/zosi a3 cameras. One with and one without solar panel. The solar panel is rated 5v 3.5 watt. I purchased 2 of the panels you recommended. I will test soon. Right now -5 to -10 C. Will test then install in March. (2 months from now)
@@FrakkingCreations The dashcam is attached to the car battery via fusebox for "parking mode". Generally the battery is strong enough during summer months for 24hr motion detection, but once winter hits I have to disable parking mode. I'm thinking of sticking the solar panel to the moonroof, which I hardly use, and leave it there. But I'm guessing I probably can't run the car with the solar panel still attached to the battery? Would that damage it you think?
Hello, this video inspired me months ago to plan my setup, Eufy Doorbell to one panel. Then 2 Eufy L20’s connected to one panel. Thank you so much for posting the video it was my guiding light and inspiration. Could I possibly send photos? many thanks again for all your help :)
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting and letting us know. We're happy it was a successful project for you. You can send pictures to frakkingcreations email at Gmail.
I did this same exact setup. Installed on my Eufy Camera 1 (from Kickstarter). Solar panel is installed on south facing of the house. It shows its charging but battery still depletes. Not sure the solar panel is strong enough to charge the battery.
Few questions ... Does the panel get enough sunlight? Are you located in northern hemisphere? The panel should be enough as long as you get enough direct sunlight. You may have to put in a better location on the south wall if you are in northern hemisphere.
How long does the Eufy 1 last on a single charge? Did you test the panel before installing? And does your camera charge with a 400mAh USB charger? If it charges with a 400mAh charger it should work with the panel if it is not defective. Also, if the camera is detecting a lot of activity, it may use up more power than the panel can keep up with.
@@FrakkingCreations Eufy 1 last 365 days on a full charge. This is installed in my backyard and there's barely any activity. Not sure what it uses for charging since I just plug into outlet or Anker 5 port USB to charge.
I have a uniden solo pro camera, i put a aftermarket solor panel on it and work well for about 2 weeks, then stopped working. The uniden solor panel output is 2.5w output power, and the aftermarket one i use is 5w . Do you think the battery was over charged ?
just thought of it but wouldn't it be cool to just install a light in front of the panel for days where there is not enough sunlight to manually charge the camera without actually having to charge it through AC Adapter? i wonder if that would work.
Thank's a lot for sharing your experience. I have a different question: I have: a 12V volt car battery, a 12V Poly solar panel 10Watt, a 12V PWM LED CMP charger 05Ah, a 12 V Power strip: out put 12V 10A connected to the car battery and a car charger,12V-24V. Output: DC 5.0V - 1000mA with one USB for mobile phone/others 1A and one USB for iPad 2,1A. Can I connect my Escam QF218 12V (works now with 230V via the mother installation) to the the car charger via a USB cabel?
Great Video and thanks for sharing. I have also installed 2 of them on my 2c pro cams and they work better than the Eufy solar panel that is 5 X the price.
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting to let us know it works on your 2C pro cameras. So far these panels have been working well for us over several winters. We've also added more cameras and a larger panel as shown in our vinyl siding hangers video. Please subscribe, like and share our video to help others too. We appreciate it.
Thanks for letting me know about the eufy solar panel. I checked it out quickly and noticed that it's only a 2.6W solar panel. It's going to charge very slow... It's probably outputting about 500mAh. The panel I show is about 800 to 1000mAh. In my video description there is also a link to a panel that's twice as big. That one should output closer to 2000mAh.
Hello Great Video I have on order from Amazon the housings for Eufy Motion Detectors. Question: I have Eufy 2C cams need a link for the proper wattage Solar Panel to Buy? Again Thank You Bill TOG
Thanks for the comment. The solar panel you get would depend on your usage scenario. I know that the Eufy brand solar panel is a low output wattage of around 400 - 500 mAh. The 5W one I showed is around 1000 mAh and the 10W one I have a link for is around 2000 mAh. If you find that your cameras are lasting much shorter than the specs then you are probably getting more detections than the standard used by Eufy to gauge battery life. In that case, you might want to go with a larger panel to make sure that it is able to charge up faster. If like us, you use it in winter, there may be times where it cannot charge ... temp below 0 degress Celsius. So a larger panel may be more appropriate. Note that a larger output panel may also affect battery lifespan since slow charging is typically less harsh on batteries. The 5W panels we are using have been good so far for our Eufycam E cameras for 3 years now going into it's 3rd winter. This year we added 2 more cameras but this time using the 10W panels I linked to. So far no issues. Hope that helps.
@@FrakkingCreations Thank you for the quick Reply. Will do some more research based on your reply. I live in AZ and the summers here really get cooking 100 to 120+, I think for me all I want to do is just charge my 2C cams when needed and move the Solar Panel to the next set of cams to charge. Been here 21 years any rubber, plastic has a shorter life span, the sun is brutal but that's why we are here for the sun. Thanks Bill
This is perfect for me ! I am also in Canada. I just little worry that the harsh winter making the panel not functioning properly because its cheap material. Did your solar panel work fine this winter?
I feel that the panel is not cheaply made. It is quite sturdy and well made. So far we've used it for 2 winters and it has held up perfectly. Checkout our first winter update video here... ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html Note that in order for the panel to be able to charge the camera the temperature needs to be above 0°C. I go over this in the update video. We're in AB and our winters do have few days where the temperature is above zero thereby allowing the camera to charge. Also, you want to make sure you don't have too many motion detections as it will drain the batteries faster. Lastly, make sure to position the panel as efficiently as possible. Hope that helps.
It really depends how much power your camera draws. If you want to use a solar panel for a non battery powered camera you will need a bigger panel as these cameras typically draw more than the cameras like Eufycam. You will also probably need to add a battery system to it too or your camera will stop working when the sun isn't bright enough to power the panel.
Both the camera and solar panel have held up very well. It's been almost 4 years now and both are still performing well. We haven't had to take the cameras down once. Since this video, we have installed 2 other cameras with larger solar panels and so far so good! Someone else commented that these solar panels are causing the cameras to drain overnight, but that is not what we have experienced at all. It doesn't seem to affect it. Maybe they were getting too many motion detections causing the camera to drain itself.
@@FrakkingCreations damn.those are some quality cameras.and by having them charged by the solar panels it keeps the battery topped up thus increasing it's life span.about the draining issue,the solar panel will not drain because the circuit board In the camera has been made to make sure in doesn't drain any battery when plugged into anything.those people might have not researched about it.ok I'm gonna buy one set of them cameras now.thank you for giving me the assurance.one more question tho,do u live in a place which get very direct and hot sunlight and rain.and are those cameras exposed to the elements.i actually wanted to get the newest eufycam 3 where there's a solar panel integrated on top of it.but I live in a place where the sun will destroy everything,so I'm not so sure whether to get the eufycam 3.logically speaking leaving it under sun and rain will obviously Degrade the camera and battery faster
We get snow and heat. Temperature ranges from -30°C to 30°C (Winter to Summer). And we also get rain. Our cameras are in some shade so that may have helped with the longevity. I think that it would be important to keep the camera out of direct sunlight, as the manuals for our cameras say to. Heat is bad for the lithium ion batteries. So, I'm not sure why they put the solar panel together with the camera in the Eufycam 3 since the heat from the direct sunlight would be an issue for the batteries and electronics long term. This is especially true for hotter climates.
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I would think that you would also be concerned about having proper voltage to the equipment too. Which would be something an inverter would do. Plus you might want to consider having backup battery power too... For example when night time there's no sun.
@@FrakkingCreations iv installed a 150 W solar panel and I’m going to put a 140ah battery with a 800 W inverter just not sure how much the inverter is going to swallow up
I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to run your security cameras that don't have a battery by using solar power. In the times when there are clouds or reduced sunlight the camera may not get enough power and will shut down.
Hello, i have a Eufy Cam 2C and i want to know if it's dangerous to leave the solar panel connected to the camera because i read that the battery can overcharge and make damage. What do you think if a buy a Mini-USB power switch so i can charge the battery only when is needed?
Where did you read that the battery can overcharge? I can't say that the charging system in eufy will not overcharge the batteries. But as I know Lithium-ion batteries need to have a charging system that monitors the batteries temperature and charge. Whenever the temperature gets too high or too low it will stop charging the batteries. This is what I see with the eufy system. I talked about this in the winter update video. If eufy designed then system properly, I would think it will also stop the charging of the batteries when they are fully charged. This is similar to what cell phones do. So if anything, I don't think the batteries will be overcharged by using the solar panel. As for the USB power switch, I'm not familiar with this. Are you able to point me to some?
@@FrakkingCreations Thank you for the answer! I read some comment about the overcharge in other videos and on reddit, but they were more preventive comments and not actual experiences ( obviously reading them had raised the doubt of this risk ). One guy on reddit said: "Cant vouch for all the other cameras but my battery doorbell is connected to mains power and it seems to cycle the battery from about 60-90% to prevent battery damage." Reading this I thought I'd consider using a switch. This is the power switch i found: www.amazon.it/MakerSpot-Raspberry-Pi-Alimentatore-Interruttore/dp/B01HEXFQTU/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=interruttore%2Bmicro%2Busb&qid=1597135903&sr=8-2&th=1 It's possible connect the solar panel or the charger too. :) What do you think? It's a good idea to try this?
I suppose keeping the 100% all the time could potentially affect the life of the battery and that's why it keeps the charge between 60 - 90%. The cable looks ok but I won't know for sure since I haven't tried it. Just note that if you do try it you will have to waterproof that cable and switch or put it in a waterproof junction box.
Hi would you have any recommendations of what solar panel to get for the Eufy L20 (13,400mAh battery capacity). I know it’s not eufy supported but heard it charges with a usb-c cable fine, just unsure which V solar panel to get, many thanks
For the voltage of solar panel to get it would be based on the charger you got with the camera. Typically it should be around 5V but best to check the charger. Is that what you are asking?
Good question. I can't say if it has a noticeable difference or not. But in my experience and also by best practices, it is not good to use Lithium-ion batteries lower than 20% as that will do more harm long term. I've always kept my cell phones above 20% and usually at work I keep it plugged in even if at 100%. Lithium-ion batteries don't charge once they are full so when plugged in the phone will use wall power and not battery. You will hear that it is not good to keep Lithium-ion batteries at 100% when storing for a long time (without usage), but the batteries here are not being stored. I guess time will tell for our Eufy batteries. I would think Eufy/Anker is ok with it since they have their own solar panel too.
I believe it should work on the eufycam 2c too but we don't have one to try with. One way to test would be to use a usb charger that outputs 5V at around 400 to 500 mAh. If this is able to charge the camera then it probably will work. One thing to note is that the batteries on the 2C have half the capacity of the eufycam 2 and E so you may want to consider a larger output solar panel. This will charge the camera faster. The one in this video outputs 800 mAh at 5V when in full sunlight. Though if you can install the solar panel some where in direct sunlight most the day I would think that the panel in the video would work too.
Thanks! I can't say 100% since I don't have an Arlo. But if Arlo's solar panels are just plain micro-USB solar panels that output at least 500mAh and up, I would think it should work. The higher the better. Hope that helps.
Frakking Creations One last question please since I’m no hope with electrical stuff. 😊 Will continuous charging to cam with solar be shorten the life of battery? Saw in blog that battery will last up to 300 charge cycles. Thanks again!
I can't say it will definitely work since I don't have one to test with. Though if it has a micro USB port for charging it could work. If it can charge using a 400 - 500mAh USB charger then it is a good sign it will work with the solar panel. Hope that helps.
The most important part should be how to do the cabling from panel to camera, using that USB power regulator and connector types, for some reasons it was edited out
Not sure what you mean that it was edited out. There really isn't any connectors needed for the panel since it already has standard USB A ports available. Just using a long enough USB cable is all you need to connect the camera to the solar panel. Didn't I show connecting the cable to the panel and also to the camera?
Thanks for commenting. Much appreciated. The links are in the description of the video somewhere further down. But here they are for you... Note that these are our affiliate links so we may make a small commission if you buy from them. USB Cable used in video: bit.ly/2U0jTZQ Alternative cable: amzn.to/2pWxzti Solar panel: bit.ly/2oQyD1W
If you are referring to the solar panel then you can get it here. This is a larger panel than the one used in the video... bit.ly/36qB2SK For the panel used in the video check our video description.
Yes. You will have to use this with a camera that has a battery. Since the sun does not shine consistently throughout the day or at night at all, a camera that does not have a battery may shut off when it does not get enough power from the panel.
There may be a way to daisy chain an external power bank to get a camera without battery to work but you would have to experiment or know how much power draw the camera takes, how much storage the power bank has and how much power the panel can provide in a day. You would also need a power bank that does not need you to turn it on to power things and also that allows supplying power while recharging at the same time.
All the solar panels I’ve seen say how many Watts the output, not milli amps. I’ve just ordered a couple 20w 5v panels from China, should be plenty big enough! 😎
Yeah. More than enough. Generally, to calculate the mAh... Power = Current x Voltage Or Current = Power / Voltage 20W / 5 V = 4 A These panels should be around 4000 mAh not taking into account efficiency and other losses.
It cost around $20 - $30 CAD and has been working through 2 winters (almost 2 years now) without any issues. Find the links to the solar panel and materials used in the video description.
It is possible it can work IF the Arlo you have in mind has a micro USB port for charging. Also, the Arlo would need to be able to charge with USB chargers that output 500 to 800 mAh.
I found some more info on Arlo usb port here: community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo/Camera-USB-Port/td-p/1274954 Not sure if you have the same model or not but you can look for more info there. I noticed that some arlos are not meant to be used with rechargeable batteries. Hope that helps.
I mentioned that my choice to install where I did was for easier maintenance and installation. The fact that the batteries last so long is also another reason why this is not a huge issue. For us, it would not make sense to install on the roof of the house because in the winter we get snow that will cover the panel. There was enough information in the video for most people to do this DIY or starting point to research for more info. In the end everyone needs to decide which factors are most important for their own install.
I think most li-ion circuitry are made to stop charging li-ion batteries once they are fully charged. It's similar to cell phones. The electronics is supposed.to protect the batteries. Same reason the eufycam won't charge the batteries when the temperature of the battery is higher than 45 degrees C or lower than 0 degrees C. Though, keeping the li-ion batteries at 100% all the time could affect the batteries.
@@FrakkingCreations do you ever experience "Charging Error" in eufycam from the solar panel because other brand like arlo cannot do like this.If it has no problem,i might try eufycam.Thank you for your experiment.
Sorry. I missed your comment. We haven't had any errors with charging yet other than not charging when temperatures are outside acceptable ranges like I mentioned in previous comment. Here's our latest eufy winter update video if you're interested: ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html I talk about our experience with eufy in winter and also about the 2 charging solutions.
Actually, it does and did work. Checkout our 1st winter update video where I go over how the external power and solar power solutions work out with the battery powered EufyCams... ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html Like I mentioned in the video, I choose to install on the wall of the house since it was easier to access for any maintenance reasons and also because here in Canada, we get snow on the roof in the winter. The snow will cover the panel and definitely prevent sun light from getting to the panel. We have used this solution for about 9 months now and it's fine. Though, as a result of what we learned over this time, I will likely move the panel from the East facing wall to the South facing wall since it is best for Northern hemisphere installations.
Solar has worked well. The thing to note is the temperature. If it gets below 0°C then the system won't charge the batteries. Otherwise when it's sunny it can charge the camera pretty good. Note that it's not a fast charger as it has max output of 800mAh.
Strange that this is the case. How much current/amps does the reolink need? I believe the solar panel in the video is close to 1A so it should work unless there is some other issue or not enough sunlight. Later this year I will be doing another video installing a larger panel that is supposed to be almost 2A. Maybe that is something that will work for you. It's the 10W panel linked in the video description.
I'm not sure why you think the whole video is not helpful or works considering our solar install has worked well for us for over 1 year now and through 1 winter, heading into the next winter. The batteries for our Solar Eufy install is currently at 87% and we have not had to take it down to recharge. Checkout our 1st winter update from earlier this year: ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html Please give us some insight into what you know about the solar panel draining the eufy batteries at night.
@@FrakkingCreations In my experience, most third party solar panels will need some kind of regulator to control the power. At night the solar panel will draw power from the battery camera. It can reduce the capacity by 10-15%
Thanks for sharing your experience! It's good to know this. Do you think that the circuitry of the usb charge controller on the camera would prevent this?
@@FrakkingCreations That's what I would have expected, but it doesn't seem to be the case in my situation. I'm not sure if this is an issue with the solar panel, the eufycam or that the 2 items not being compatible with one another. I also don't understand why the solar panel would be extracting power from the camera battery at night. I would have thought that these solar panels were designed with this in mind. But it just might be a cheap and faulty Chinese panel. I've contacted the seller for a replacement
Not a stupid question at all. This solar panel does not have batteries. The camera does have a battery though and that is why this setup works. Plus the fact that the battery lasts about 1 year when used per the specifications.
I understand where you're coming from and normally that is not the way it should be done. But because the Eufycam lasts almost 365 days on a charge I am not concerned about it not getting ideal sunlight. I mentioned that I did that for ease of maintenance and installation since it will still get enough sun to charge the camera before the batteries run out.
![SOLAR POWER ☀️ for your HOMEKIT Cameras! [EufyCam Solar Panel + Battery Life Update]](/img/n.gif)
Thanks for the video. I tried it and it works. From 2pm to 5:30pm, the solar panel charged my eufy from 16% to 31%.
We're happy it is working as well for you as it is for us! Thanks for commenting to let us know. Much appreciated.
Please feel free to share our videos to help us grow our channel. And checkout our other videos that may be useful to you too!
This is awesome man, I hope to try this for the doorbell + flood light cam. Hidden gem of a channel here really good stuff!
:) thank you for the nice comment. We love to get good feedback like this.
Please subscribe and share our videos to help our channel grow.
Definitely let us know how your install goes. Plus, if you are installing your flood light cam on vinyl siding checkout our video on vinyl siding hangers too!
*The solar **Generater.Systems** E300 is a great product . It does everything well. Great job, Jackery.*
With regards to our eufy E cameras and usage scenarios, yes. We have not had to take them down to charge them since they were installed in fall of 2019.
It's surreal coz our backyard was facing north and it's perfect for solar system since got no way to plug in an electric outlet. Amazing accomplishment 😊
Thank you!
Great video! Really helped me for an area of my house that didn't have an easy way to hook a security cam up to direct power.
Thank you.
Excellent how to video. I recently purchased 2 guudgo/zosi a3 cameras. One with and one without solar panel. The solar panel is rated 5v 3.5 watt. I purchased 2 of the panels you recommended. I will test soon. Right now -5 to -10 C. Will test then install in March. (2 months from now)
Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure you will be happy with those panels. They've been great for us.
Please let me know how it goes with your install.
Nice! Will be doing this for my dashcam for 24hr 2K video at 60fps plus audio monitoring without the vampire drain😍. Clean energy is boss!
Gotta love clean energy!
Are you installing a solar panel to charge your car battery or does you dashcam run off an external battery?
@@FrakkingCreations The dashcam is attached to the car battery via fusebox for "parking mode". Generally the battery is strong enough during summer months for 24hr motion detection, but once winter hits I have to disable parking mode.
I'm thinking of sticking the solar panel to the moonroof, which I hardly use, and leave it there.
But I'm guessing I probably can't run the car with the solar panel still attached to the battery? Would that damage it you think?
Hello, this video inspired me months ago to plan my setup, Eufy Doorbell to one panel. Then 2 Eufy L20’s connected to one panel. Thank you so much for posting the video it was my guiding light and inspiration. Could I possibly send photos? many thanks again for all your help :)
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting and letting us know. We're happy it was a successful project for you. You can send pictures to frakkingcreations email at Gmail.
👍
I did this same exact setup. Installed on my Eufy Camera 1 (from Kickstarter). Solar panel is installed on south facing of the house. It shows its charging but battery still depletes. Not sure the solar panel is strong enough to charge the battery.
Few questions ...
Does the panel get enough sunlight?
Are you located in northern hemisphere?
The panel should be enough as long as you get enough direct sunlight. You may have to put in a better location on the south wall if you are in northern hemisphere.
@@FrakkingCreations I'm in the US (NY). No shading and in direct sunlight at all times.
@@FrakkingCreations I'm in the US (NY). No shading and in direct sunlight at all times.
How long does the Eufy 1 last on a single charge?
Did you test the panel before installing?
And does your camera charge with a 400mAh USB charger?
If it charges with a 400mAh charger it should work with the panel if it is not defective.
Also, if the camera is detecting a lot of activity, it may use up more power than the panel can keep up with.
@@FrakkingCreations Eufy 1 last 365 days on a full charge. This is installed in my backyard and there's barely any activity. Not sure what it uses for charging since I just plug into outlet or Anker 5 port USB to charge.
You guys must come from the 12 colonies of Kobol from the Battlestar Galactica universe. Impressive creations
Nice! You're the first one to figure this out.
Thanks for watching our videos and commenting your discovery.
I have a uniden solo pro camera, i put a aftermarket solor panel on it and work well for about 2 weeks, then stopped working. The uniden solor panel output is 2.5w output power, and the aftermarket one i use is 5w . Do you think the battery was over charged ?
just thought of it but wouldn't it be cool to just install a light in front of the panel for days where there is not enough sunlight to manually charge the camera without actually having to charge it through AC Adapter? i wonder if that would work.
Thank's a lot for sharing your experience.
I have a different question:
I have: a 12V volt car battery, a 12V Poly solar panel 10Watt, a 12V PWM LED CMP charger 05Ah, a 12 V Power strip: out put 12V 10A connected to the car battery and a car charger,12V-24V. Output: DC 5.0V - 1000mA with one USB for mobile phone/others 1A and one USB for iPad 2,1A.
Can I connect my Escam QF218 12V (works now with 230V via the mother installation) to the the car charger via a USB cabel?
Great Video and thanks for sharing. I have also installed 2 of them on my 2c pro cams and they work better than the Eufy solar panel that is 5 X the price.
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting to let us know it works on your 2C pro cameras. So far these panels have been working well for us over several winters. We've also added more cameras and a larger panel as shown in our vinyl siding hangers video.
Please subscribe, like and share our video to help others too. We appreciate it.
Wow this is great, thanks! They just released their own version but it's $50.
Thank you. I agree about pricing too. The solar panels that are made from the same manufacturers as the cameras often seem way overpriced.
Thanks for letting me know about the eufy solar panel. I checked it out quickly and noticed that it's only a 2.6W solar panel. It's going to charge very slow... It's probably outputting about 500mAh.
The panel I show is about 800 to 1000mAh.
In my video description there is also a link to a panel that's twice as big. That one should output closer to 2000mAh.
Hello Great Video I have on order from Amazon the housings for Eufy Motion Detectors.
Question: I have Eufy 2C cams need a link for the proper wattage Solar Panel to Buy?
Again Thank You Bill TOG
Thanks for the comment.
The solar panel you get would depend on your usage scenario. I know that the Eufy brand solar panel is a low output wattage of around 400 - 500 mAh. The 5W one I showed is around 1000 mAh and the 10W one I have a link for is around 2000 mAh.
If you find that your cameras are lasting much shorter than the specs then you are probably getting more detections than the standard used by Eufy to gauge battery life. In that case, you might want to go with a larger panel to make sure that it is able to charge up faster. If like us, you use it in winter, there may be times where it cannot charge ... temp below 0 degress Celsius. So a larger panel may be more appropriate.
Note that a larger output panel may also affect battery lifespan since slow charging is typically less harsh on batteries.
The 5W panels we are using have been good so far for our Eufycam E cameras for 3 years now going into it's 3rd winter. This year we added 2 more cameras but this time using the 10W panels I linked to. So far no issues.
Hope that helps.
@@FrakkingCreations Thank you for the quick Reply. Will do some more research based on your reply. I live in AZ and the summers here really get cooking 100 to 120+, I think for me all I want to do is just charge my 2C cams when needed and move the Solar Panel to the next set of cams to charge. Been here 21 years any rubber, plastic has a shorter life span, the sun is brutal but that's why we are here for the sun. Thanks Bill
This is perfect for me ! I am also in Canada. I just little worry that the harsh winter making the panel not functioning properly because its cheap material. Did your solar panel work fine this winter?
I feel that the panel is not cheaply made. It is quite sturdy and well made. So far we've used it for 2 winters and it has held up perfectly. Checkout our first winter update video here... ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html
Note that in order for the panel to be able to charge the camera the temperature needs to be above 0°C. I go over this in the update video. We're in AB and our winters do have few days where the temperature is above zero thereby allowing the camera to charge. Also, you want to make sure you don't have too many motion detections as it will drain the batteries faster. Lastly, make sure to position the panel as efficiently as possible.
Hope that helps.
@@FrakkingCreations thanks for your response. I ordered and received the solar panels and cables. Now i will install them !
I wish you as good results as we have had!
Can I use that solar panel with my Arlo Pro (I respectfully understand it would be at my own risk)
If the Arlo pro uses normal USB adapters to charge then I would think the solar panel I showed would also work for charging.
Can you suggest an alternative set up for cameras that don't have a rechargeable battery?
It really depends how much power your camera draws. If you want to use a solar panel for a non battery powered camera you will need a bigger panel as these cameras typically draw more than the cameras like Eufycam. You will also probably need to add a battery system to it too or your camera will stop working when the sun isn't bright enough to power the panel.
Hi,how has it held up after all these years for both camera and solar panel
Both the camera and solar panel have held up very well. It's been almost 4 years now and both are still performing well. We haven't had to take the cameras down once. Since this video, we have installed 2 other cameras with larger solar panels and so far so good!
Someone else commented that these solar panels are causing the cameras to drain overnight, but that is not what we have experienced at all. It doesn't seem to affect it. Maybe they were getting too many motion detections causing the camera to drain itself.
@@FrakkingCreations damn.those are some quality cameras.and by having them charged by the solar panels it keeps the battery topped up thus increasing it's life span.about the draining issue,the solar panel will not drain because the circuit board In the camera has been made to make sure in doesn't drain any battery when plugged into anything.those people might have not researched about it.ok I'm gonna buy one set of them cameras now.thank you for giving me the assurance.one more question tho,do u live in a place which get very direct and hot sunlight and rain.and are those cameras exposed to the elements.i actually wanted to get the newest eufycam 3 where there's a solar panel integrated on top of it.but I live in a place where the sun will destroy everything,so I'm not so sure whether to get the eufycam 3.logically speaking leaving it under sun and rain will obviously Degrade the camera and battery faster
@@FrakkingCreations btw I love how u take your time to make sure our questions are answered.keep up the good work
We get snow and heat. Temperature ranges from -30°C to 30°C (Winter to Summer). And we also get rain. Our cameras are in some shade so that may have helped with the longevity. I think that it would be important to keep the camera out of direct sunlight, as the manuals for our cameras say to. Heat is bad for the lithium ion batteries. So, I'm not sure why they put the solar panel together with the camera in the Eufycam 3 since the heat from the direct sunlight would be an issue for the batteries and electronics long term. This is especially true for hotter climates.
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I’m looking to power the home hub but I’m trying to not use a inverter any help would be great
Question... Why don't you want to use an inverter?
Not sure how much the inverter will take
I would think that you would also be concerned about having proper voltage to the equipment too. Which would be something an inverter would do. Plus you might want to consider having backup battery power too... For example when night time there's no sun.
@@FrakkingCreations iv installed a 150 W solar panel and I’m going to put a 140ah battery with a 800 W inverter just not sure how much the inverter is going to swallow up
Can you do this with a Wyze Cam V3??
I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to run your security cameras that don't have a battery by using solar power. In the times when there are clouds or reduced sunlight the camera may not get enough power and will shut down.
@@FrakkingCreations even if you attached a battery pack to it possibly? I'm not sure how it works just theorizing
Hello, i have a Eufy Cam 2C and i want to know if it's dangerous to leave the solar panel connected to the camera because i read that the battery can overcharge and make damage.
What do you think if a buy a Mini-USB power switch so i can charge the battery only when is needed?
Where did you read that the battery can overcharge?
I can't say that the charging system in eufy will not overcharge the batteries. But as I know Lithium-ion batteries need to have a charging system that monitors the batteries temperature and charge. Whenever the temperature gets too high or too low it will stop charging the batteries. This is what I see with the eufy system. I talked about this in the winter update video. If eufy designed then system properly, I would think it will also stop the charging of the batteries when they are fully charged. This is similar to what cell phones do. So if anything, I don't think the batteries will be overcharged by using the solar panel.
As for the USB power switch, I'm not familiar with this. Are you able to point me to some?
@@FrakkingCreations Thank you for the answer! I read some comment about the overcharge in other videos and on reddit, but they were more preventive comments and not actual experiences ( obviously reading them had raised the doubt of this risk ).
One guy on reddit said: "Cant vouch for all the other cameras but my battery doorbell is connected to mains power and it seems to cycle the battery from about 60-90% to prevent battery damage."
Reading this I thought I'd consider using a switch.
This is the power switch i found:
www.amazon.it/MakerSpot-Raspberry-Pi-Alimentatore-Interruttore/dp/B01HEXFQTU/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=interruttore%2Bmicro%2Busb&qid=1597135903&sr=8-2&th=1
It's possible connect the solar panel or the charger too. :)
What do you think? It's a good idea to try this?
I suppose keeping the 100% all the time could potentially affect the life of the battery and that's why it keeps the charge between 60 - 90%.
The cable looks ok but I won't know for sure since I haven't tried it. Just note that if you do try it you will have to waterproof that cable and switch or put it in a waterproof junction box.
Also note that the MICRO USB plug is not 90 degrees. Is that going to be an issue for your camera install?
@@FrakkingCreations Thank you for your advices! I will buy the 90 degrees Micro Usb cable! :D
Hi would you have any recommendations of what solar panel to get for the Eufy L20 (13,400mAh battery capacity). I know it’s not eufy supported but heard it charges with a usb-c cable fine, just unsure which V solar panel to get, many thanks
For the voltage of solar panel to get it would be based on the charger you got with the camera. Typically it should be around 5V but best to check the charger. Is that what you are asking?
@@FrakkingCreations Oh yes thank you for the help
You're welcome. Let us know how it goes.
Will the battery get damaged if its plugged in all the time? I am considering getting the eufy made solar panel.
Good question. I can't say if it has a noticeable difference or not. But in my experience and also by best practices, it is not good to use Lithium-ion batteries lower than 20% as that will do more harm long term.
I've always kept my cell phones above 20% and usually at work I keep it plugged in even if at 100%. Lithium-ion batteries don't charge once they are full so when plugged in the phone will use wall power and not battery.
You will hear that it is not good to keep Lithium-ion batteries at 100% when storing for a long time (without usage), but the batteries here are not being stored.
I guess time will tell for our Eufy batteries. I would think Eufy/Anker is ok with it since they have their own solar panel too.
Will this work with a eufy 2c cam
I believe it should work on the eufycam 2c too but we don't have one to try with. One way to test would be to use a usb charger that outputs 5V at around 400 to 500 mAh. If this is able to charge the camera then it probably will work.
One thing to note is that the batteries on the 2C have half the capacity of the eufycam 2 and E so you may want to consider a larger output solar panel. This will charge the camera faster. The one in this video outputs 800 mAh at 5V when in full sunlight.
Though if you can install the solar panel some where in direct sunlight most the day I would think that the panel in the video would work too.
@@FrakkingCreations if 2C is half the capacity then the of the 2 then the battery will charge faster not slow with the same solar panal
Great stuff! Can you please advise if I can use Arlo solar panel on Eufy since it uses micro usb? Thanks heaps! 😊
Thanks!
I can't say 100% since I don't have an Arlo. But if Arlo's solar panels are just plain micro-USB solar panels that output at least 500mAh and up, I would think it should work. The higher the better.
Hope that helps.
Frakking Creations Thank you so much for information. Much appreciated!
You're welcome!
Frakking Creations One last question please since I’m no hope with electrical stuff. 😊
Will continuous charging to cam with solar be shorten the life of battery? Saw in blog that battery will last up to 300 charge cycles.
Thanks again!
Will the solar panel definitely work with the Eufycam 2 (not the E or C version) , just the Eufycam 2?
I can't say it will definitely work since I don't have one to test with. Though if it has a micro USB port for charging it could work. If it can charge using a 400 - 500mAh USB charger then it is a good sign it will work with the solar panel.
Hope that helps.
Is this compatible with eufy cam pro 2?
I believe this should work with the eufycam 2 pro though i don't have one to test with. I don't have any reason to suspect it won't work.
The most important part should be how to do the cabling from panel to camera, using that USB power regulator and connector types, for some reasons it was edited out
Not sure what you mean that it was edited out. There really isn't any connectors needed for the panel since it already has standard USB A ports available. Just using a long enough USB cable is all you need to connect the camera to the solar panel. Didn't I show connecting the cable to the panel and also to the camera?
thanks for the video
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting.
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Do not see link for rt angle cable or solar panels.
Please repeat
Thanks
LIKE your vids - simple solutions that work.
Thanks for commenting. Much appreciated.
The links are in the description of the video somewhere further down.
But here they are for you...
Note that these are our affiliate links so we may make a small commission if you buy from them.
USB Cable used in video: bit.ly/2U0jTZQ
Alternative cable: amzn.to/2pWxzti
Solar panel: bit.ly/2oQyD1W
Your amazon page for the cable is no longer there
Where do u get the module?
If you are referring to the solar panel then you can get it here. This is a larger panel than the one used in the video... bit.ly/36qB2SK
For the panel used in the video check our video description.
Does it have to be a camera that has a battery or does it work with one that has to be plugged in to work?
Wheee do u get the usb module ?
Yes. You will have to use this with a camera that has a battery. Since the sun does not shine consistently throughout the day or at night at all, a camera that does not have a battery may shut off when it does not get enough power from the panel.
There may be a way to daisy chain an external power bank to get a camera without battery to work but you would have to experiment or know how much power draw the camera takes, how much storage the power bank has and how much power the panel can provide in a day. You would also need a power bank that does not need you to turn it on to power things and also that allows supplying power while recharging at the same time.
All the solar panels I’ve seen say how many Watts the output, not milli amps.
I’ve just ordered a couple 20w 5v panels from China, should be plenty big enough! 😎
Yeah. More than enough.
Generally, to calculate the mAh...
Power = Current x Voltage
Or Current = Power / Voltage
20W / 5 V = 4 A
These panels should be around 4000 mAh not taking into account efficiency and other losses.
How did cost?
It cost around $20 - $30 CAD and has been working through 2 winters (almost 2 years now) without any issues. Find the links to the solar panel and materials used in the video description.
very nice!
Thank you. Do you have a eufyCam too?
@@FrakkingCreations nope, I didnt know about this until now. I have an reolink argus 2
Here's our latest eufy winter update video if you're interested:
ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html
Our latest video is out now. If you're interested, it's a DIY hack for 150 ft long USB Power cable for smart security cameras.
Hi, will this work on Arlo?
It is possible it can work IF the Arlo you have in mind has a micro USB port for charging. Also, the Arlo would need to be able to charge with USB chargers that output 500 to 800 mAh.
@@FrakkingCreations Thank you for the quick reply!
You're welcome. Let us know how it goes if you try this out.
I found some more info on Arlo usb port here:
community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo/Camera-USB-Port/td-p/1274954
Not sure if you have the same model or not but you can look for more info there.
I noticed that some arlos are not meant to be used with rechargeable batteries.
Hope that helps.
I’m here for arlo too!!! All
Other solar panel for arlo is less than 13 feet long, I need to make one that’s about 20 feet long.
Location location location then mounts it on the wall
I mentioned that my choice to install where I did was for easier maintenance and installation. The fact that the batteries last so long is also another reason why this is not a huge issue. For us, it would not make sense to install on the roof of the house because in the winter we get snow that will cover the panel. There was enough information in the video for most people to do this DIY or starting point to research for more info. In the end everyone needs to decide which factors are most important for their own install.
I think most li-ion circuitry are made to stop charging li-ion batteries once they are fully charged. It's similar to cell phones. The electronics is supposed.to protect the batteries. Same reason the eufycam won't charge the batteries when the temperature of the battery is higher than 45 degrees C or lower than 0 degrees C.
Though, keeping the li-ion batteries at 100% all the time could affect the batteries.
@@FrakkingCreations do you ever experience "Charging Error" in eufycam from the solar panel because other brand like arlo cannot do like this.If it has no problem,i might try eufycam.Thank you for your experiment.
Can l find better brand of solar panel for my eufy cam ?
Like waterproof panel?
Sorry. I missed your comment. We haven't had any errors with charging yet other than not charging when temperatures are outside acceptable ranges like I mentioned in previous comment.
Here's our latest eufy winter update video if you're interested:
ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html
I talk about our experience with eufy in winter and also about the 2 charging solutions.
Why you installin Solar panel under roof??? there is no direct sun light.. it will not work or work very bad
Actually, it does and did work. Checkout our 1st winter update video where I go over how the external power and solar power solutions work out with the battery powered EufyCams... ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html
Like I mentioned in the video, I choose to install on the wall of the house since it was easier to access for any maintenance reasons and also because here in Canada, we get snow on the roof in the winter. The snow will cover the panel and definitely prevent sun light from getting to the panel.
We have used this solution for about 9 months now and it's fine. Though, as a result of what we learned over this time, I will likely move the panel from the East facing wall to the South facing wall since it is best for Northern hemisphere installations.
If you're interested, our latest video - DIY hack for 150 ft long USB Power cable for smart security cameras, is out
How’s your solar going? Has it been able to sustain the battery level ?
Solar has worked well. The thing to note is the temperature. If it gets below 0°C then the system won't charge the batteries. Otherwise when it's sunny it can charge the camera pretty good. Note that it's not a fast charger as it has max output of 800mAh.
Frakking Creations does the voltage output of the solar need to be specific volt? or it will just charge slower?
I believe a little under 5V and up it seems to start to charge. 5V is best for it to be faster.
Here's our latest eufy winter update video if you're interested:
ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html
@@FrakkingCreations does the blue charging light stay on all the time when its sunny?
Ooooh the flat earthers will blow a gasket on this one
NOTE: this idea does not work with reolink's argus 2e system. the 5 volt solar panel used here isn't powerful enough. very disappointing.
Strange that this is the case. How much current/amps does the reolink need? I believe the solar panel in the video is close to 1A so it should work unless there is some other issue or not enough sunlight.
Later this year I will be doing another video installing a larger panel that is supposed to be almost 2A. Maybe that is something that will work for you. It's the 10W panel linked in the video description.
This doesn't work.
Its fine during the day, but what you failed to mention is that the solar panel will drain the eufy battery at night.
Not helpful.
I'm not sure why you think the whole video is not helpful or works considering our solar install has worked well for us for over 1 year now and through 1 winter, heading into the next winter. The batteries for our Solar Eufy install is currently at 87% and we have not had to take it down to recharge.
Checkout our 1st winter update from earlier this year: ua-cam.com/video/8Rr11ZC6ow4/v-deo.html
Please give us some insight into what you know about the solar panel draining the eufy batteries at night.
@@FrakkingCreations In my experience, most third party solar panels will need some kind of regulator to control the power.
At night the solar panel will draw power from the battery camera. It can reduce the capacity by 10-15%
Thanks for sharing your experience! It's good to know this. Do you think that the circuitry of the usb charge controller on the camera would prevent this?
@@FrakkingCreations That's what I would have expected, but it doesn't seem to be the case in my situation.
I'm not sure if this is an issue with the solar panel, the eufycam or that the 2 items not being compatible with one another.
I also don't understand why the solar panel would be extracting power from the camera battery at night.
I would have thought that these solar panels were designed with this in mind.
But it just might be a cheap and faulty Chinese panel.
I've contacted the seller for a replacement
@@StopTheLies12 did your panel have a blocking diode? It needs one to stop the reverse drain.
Does it have a battery? How does it work at night I must sound stupid lol
Not a stupid question at all. This solar panel does not have batteries. The camera does have a battery though and that is why this setup works. Plus the fact that the battery lasts about 1 year when used per the specifications.
I don't mean to be rude, but mounting the solar panel at a 90 degree angle to the ground is idiocy !
I understand where you're coming from and normally that is not the way it should be done. But because the Eufycam lasts almost 365 days on a charge I am not concerned about it not getting ideal sunlight. I mentioned that I did that for ease of maintenance and installation since it will still get enough sun to charge the camera before the batteries run out.
Instructions from the Avasva site are perfect for beginners.
What a crappy confusing post.
What was confusing about it?
Would this work on eufy doorbell?
If the doorbell uses micro USB to charge and can run while charging, then I would suspect that it could work. I haven't tried it though.