MV71 Solar Power options

[Peak_Insight_Au]

G'day! Has anyone paired up a MV71 with a solar panel and battery to provide 'off grid' capability? All suggestions welcomed.

[ngittins]

Hi there, 

There are several ways to do this. This really depends on your location and budget. Yes it can be achieved and it is very easy to do it. Do you have any hardware for this project?

Thanks

[Peak_Insight_Au]

Hi,

We are trying to do this as cost effectively as possible.

We will have some sites that we will be able to provide power to. Some of our sites will be Unpowered and will require a solar option.

All sites will have a 4G Meraki device that provides connectivity to the cloud. (we mentioned being Off Grid from a power perspective)

We were hoping that if it were 'very easy to do' that someone would be able to share their design or how they would architect this.

Any references for the appropriate solar panel and battery would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[ngittins]

Look into these switches if you are to run directly from a battery. Otherwise use an inverter, modified or pure sinewave. 200W or 400W will do it. You will need to factor in the load of the inverter for your power budget.

https://www.netonix.com/ws-12-250-dc.html
You'll need to setup 48V passive on the switch to support PoE+

[PhilipDAth]

Just remember that you must have an Internet connection for the camera to be useful (such as retrieving content).  When you say "off grid" I get worried.

[Peak_Insight_Au]

Thanks Philip.

"Off grid" refers to the power - fully understand that for a cloud solution to work it requires internet connectivity. 🙂

We are trying to do this as cost effectively as possible.

We will have some sites that we will be able to provide power to. Some of our sites will be Unpowered and will require a solar option.

All sites will have a 4G Meraki device that provides connectivity to the cloud. (we mentioned being Off Grid from a power perspective)

Any suggestions on how you would architect this?

Thanks!

[MaxMartini]

I have thought about an "off Grid" Meraki camera solution - But as it was pointed out Meraki NEEDS to be connected to the cloud (Internet) - So from a lowest costs solution - you could use a smaller Meraki MX  (Z) and a USB/Ethernet to cellular adapter - those would have to be in some weather-proof enclosure - perhaps with or without external Cellular antennas.  Depending on your selections the whole setup would have to have power, and that would come from a battery.    Since solar is needed, a battery/solar management device would also be needed.  Depending on the voltages an inverter may be needed.   All of that could be housed in the enclosure.   Depending on the environment - the weather-proof enclosure may or may not need a heater/cooler for the electronics and battery.  This is about as far as I got - the summers here in the Dallas Texas area are sweltering, and sometimes in the winter it really can dip down, my research continues.

[rachel]

Keep an eye out for an accessory that we'll be releasing in the next couple of months! It might be able to help you convert that solar power supply (along with low voltage analog camera power supplies) into POE.