Wireless cameras have some obvious advantages. One of the biggest is they’re less expensive to install. Especially when you need to stretch wire over a long distance.
These cameras are powered by a battery. But how long do these battery-operated surveillance cameras last? You certainly don’t want your cameras to shut down unexpectedly due to running out of power. This could leave your business vulnerable to criminal mischief.
Are there any power-saving measures that will help the batteries last longer? We have some pro tips to help you maximize the life of your battery-operated surveillance cameras.
Why Would You Choose a Battery-Powered Camera Over a Wired Unit?
The answer to this question is simple: cost and convenience. Battery-operated surveillance cameras allow for flexible placement. You can literally place these cameras anywhere. They don’t need access to an electrical outlet. There are no cables to run. You simply recharge them when the battery is low, similar to a home security system. With that said, commercial batteries are much more powerful than a home unit.
How Long Does the Battery on a Business Security Camera Last?
The answer depends on usage. Some battery-operated surveillance cameras can last months or even years. Generally, these cameras are powered by lithium-ion cells, which become more efficient every year. Over time, however, even the best battery-powered surveillance camera can die out. That’s why we highly recommend a service to monitor the health of your battery-operated surveillance camera.
Supplement Your Battery-Powered Surveillance Camera with Health Monitoring
If you have battery-operated surveillance cameras, it’s important to frequently check these security tools. Monitoring the health of your security cameras is a service that companies like Pro-Vigil offer. The goal is to ensure 100% operation at all times.
Surveillance cameras are designed for prevention. They’re like a fire alarm; you don’t need them until the day you do. When and if that day happens, the last thing you want is to find that the equipment you trusted didn’t function. Battery-powered surveillance cameras or even wired units should be constantly monitored to ensure they are always there when you need them. The last thing you want is to walk into your business and find that your camera battery died over the weekend—right before a break-in occurred.
What Makes Your Battery-Operated Surveillance Cameras Last Longer?
To extend the life of your battery, we recommend motion-activated cameras. These units turn on the recording feature when they detect motion. They can even connect wirelessly through the cell network. As the camera records the activity, it pings your security team’s phone with video footage. Or, if your cameras are monitored by a 24/7 service like Pro-Vigil, we can triage the risk as it happens. Motion activation is a smart way to save the life of your battery. But it’s the extra features that transmit data to the cloud that really help these cameras pay for themselves. Motion detection can:
This may not always be appropriate though. What if you need the camera to stay on all the time, but the location is inaccessible to a power main? That’s when you should consider a solar-powered camera.
Benefits of Solar Power to Supplement Your Battery-Powered Surveillance Cameras
If you’re worried about how long your battery-powered surveillance camera lasts, add solar power to the unit. Solar security cameras use the power of the sun to keep the video surveillance going. Extra power is stored in the battery to extend the life of the unit. These cameras can function even on a cloudy day.
Allowing nature to power your cameras in places where you don’t have access to electricity is a great workaround. Great security companies, like Pro-Vigil, will install these high-tech systems as part of a full business security architecture. We’ve found them to be highly effective in even the most rural or rugged conditions.
The benefits of adding solar to your battery operated surveillance cameras include:
Pro Tips for Designing the Perfect Battery-Operated Surveillance Camera Set Up
The first tip we’d like to share is a simple one: When designing the perfect video surveillance set up, ask for help from experts, like the security professionals at Pro-Vigil. The reality is that there are varying conditions on your property. Will you know the right questions to ask to design the proper system, such as:
