Are Solar Powered Security Cameras a Viable Option? A Blogs & Little Things Review

I finally got my hands on one from Amazon for $50. Are we at the point where we can finally ditch the wireless and manual battery charges while also being reliable? Let’s find out.

The brand I picked up is the Allweviee PTZ 2K 3MP IP65 camera. It is feature-packed like many other cameras found on Amazon. I have seen plenty of cameras in my years of installing them for clients and most need a data feed and power source directly connected to them. Arlo cameras or battery-powered cameras in general have done away with the wires but have two weaknesses, they are expensive and require you to remove and charge the battery at least once every few months, plus they struggle with night vision since IR consumes a lot of power from the batteries.

In my home, I have been using Wi-Fi cameras from YI with a micro-USB power cable. They are easy to run with a power cable in the attic or anywhere else indoors and they are very cheap at around $20 a camera. However, they have one major weakness and that is they must have a power cable run to their location. Adding solar gets rid of that requirement and allows you to install them anywhere you have Wi-Fi and sunlight. I don’t want to get too caught up on the brand that I picked as there are many options, but I found the installation to be as simple as can be. The wires were all sealed to keep out dirt and water and the wire to the solar panel was about six feet giving you lots of mounting options for the solar panel.

So how did it hold up? I ran it for 30 days to see how well the solar panel kept the camera charged. I would expect to get at least 3-5 years of use out of this camera as that’s about what I can get out of a wired camera here in Florida. Wind, rain, and heat are all conditions that can cause a camera to fail, and sadly, it is commonplace. Keeping your cameras under an eave and away from direct sun and rain will help them last longer. The Allweviee performed well. The app is good for what it is, and I never had issues connecting to the camera. You won’t be reading license plates from 300 feet away, but for $50, having pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) and two-way voice is a great deal.

What features are important to look for in Amazon cameras? PTZ is nice to have but not always needed. Many fixed cameras have a fisheye lens that allows a wide view of the area. If you’re just looking to see your front door a fixed camera will do just fine. For a corner of your home, PTZ is a must, you can use one camera to see the same areas as three. With 270 degrees of rotation, you can look down both sides of your home and away from the corner. I have one corner of my home that is nearly impossible to run wires to, but I didn’t want to install a battery camera because the location I was going to install the camera is high up and inconvenient to access for battery changes. A solar camera is perfect for this scenario.

Is a random solar camera deal I found on Amazon worth it for $50? So far, every test I have tried is a pass. The quality was surprising, the Allweviee stayed charged during the day and barely dropped at night even with IR active. The resolution was acceptable, but of course, that is always a weak spot in less expensive cameras. You can spend $2,000 on a PTZ camera, and it will be awesome, but as tech always advances it gets cheaper and easier. Solar cameras are now at a point where for light, less critical security and surveillance they are a reasonable option. I can’t say I would recommend the brand Allweviee after just 30 days of use, but I can say that the reviews on Amazon are credible. It’s a solid solar PTZ camera that can cover areas where running a cable or changing a battery isn’t an option. I can’t wait to install more solar cameras and see what the future holds, thanks for reading!