Edge Span S60 Series All in One Solar Power Supply Designed for Solar Panel for CCTV

Preface

The biggest problem in deploying video surveillance solutions in many underdeveloped countries and regions is how to obtain electricity. The traditional solution is to build a solar panel for CCTV solution and build a network and a subsystem to power the camera. Or use a solar powered CCTV camera. However, these two types of solutions have great problems in actual projects. This article attempts to analyze the pain points of solar panel for CCTV scenarios and explain the advantages of using Edgeware's Edge Span S60 seriesd all in one solar power supply system to build solar panel for CCTV.

1.Basic scenarios and components of Solar Panel for CCTV

The typical scene of Solar panel for CCTV is shown in the figure above. This scene generally has the following important components:

Solar Power Supply

In solar panel for CCTV solution, solar power supply is very important as the power source of the whole system. It generally contains solar controller, some protection circuits and solar battery.

Solar Panel

Solar panels will be configured according to the size of the project load. According to our experience, the solar panel should not be configured too large, which will put too high installation requirements on the entire scene. And because most solar panels for CCTV scenes are installed on poles, too large solar panels will affect the stability of the entire pole and thus affect the stability of the camera video.

PoE Switch or Router

CCTV Cameras are generally powered by POE. There may be three standards: PoE/PoE+/PoE++. In this scenario, it is best for PoE Switch to adapt to these three standards to provide wide adaptability for CCTV camera power supply.
PoE switch adapts the entire network to adopt layer 2 planning. However, in many scenarios, layer 3 routers are actually required. Or, for example, in 4G/5G scenarios, VPN channels such as IP SEC VPN need to be configured due to the need for IP address planning and site maintenance traffic accessibility. There are many subdivided scenarios worth discussing here.

Wireless Backhaul(Like Wireless P2P, Microwave) or 4G/5G

Generally speaking, Solar panel for CCTV scenarios do not have wired connections such as optical fiber, so wireless P2P or 4G/5G backhaul is needed. And it is more likely that technologies such as Wireless P2P will be used to build the backhaul network. 4G/5G generally has no base station signal in underdeveloped areas.

CCTV Camera

CCTV cameras are configured according to the needs of the scene. Generally, there are bullet cameras and PTZ cameras. It is important to note that some multi-function cameras have very high power consumption. For example, cameras using the 802.3bt PoE++ standard may require up to 90W of power. We recommend that in the scenario of solar panel for CCTV, as long as the customer needs are met, models with low power consumption should be selected as much as possible to reduce the configuration of the entire solar power supply, especially the battery configuration, thereby reducing the CAPEX of the entire solution and miniaturizing the entire system.

Smart Pole

Smart poles are used in different scenarios, and it is a relatively complicated matter for customers who use solar panels for CCTV to customize smart poles. In addition, the budget for transportation and installation of civil works is very high.

2.Main Challenges of Solar Panel for CCTV Solutions

The design and installation of solar panel for CCTV solution has practical challenges, which require a good understanding of these challenges and targeted design solutions. According to Edgeware’s experience, these challenges are mainly concentrated in the following aspects:

Environmental challenges

Solar panels for CCTV are mostly deployed outdoors, and the outdoor environment is relatively complex. For example, the temperature is changeable. In some areas, the ambient temperature is below -10℃ in winter, which will have a significant negative impact on the operation of the solar battery and requires targeted design. Another example is that the humidity in some areas is too high, which causes condensation inside the equipment. In addition, the overly humid and high-salinity air deployed in the seaside area will cause serious corrosion to the entire equipment and affect the stability of the entire system.

Challenges of remote site operation and debugging

Solar CCTV sites are often deployed in rural areas. These sites are very far away from the OAM team’s HQ. When problems arise, how to remotely debug them and how to remotely manage operations and maintenance have a great impact on the OPEX of the entire network. Good remote management and operation and maintenance software design is a very critical feature.

Challenges of on-site transportation and installation

Traditional solar panels for CCTV sites are designed to be relatively large. For example, a 19-inch rack-type outdoor cabinet is used as a carrier, and a lead-acid battery is used as a solar battery inside. This will cause great problems in transportation and installation. Because the entire system is too large, the cost of transporting it to the remote site is relatively high. What’s more troublesome is that installing such a large system on the pole will require the use of heavy equipment such as cranes. The cost of driving these heavy equipment to the remote site is very high, which in turn affects the commissioning cost of the entire project.

Lightning protection design and grounding design

Because solar panels for CCTV solution will be operated in outdoor environment for several years or even more than ten years, and it is inevitable to face the threat of lightning strike outdoors. Therefore, good lightning protection design and grounding design are crucial, but this will be ignored by many project designers.

3.Solar Panels for CCTV system Ideal simplified functional unit

The Wireless P2P backhaul scenario can be simplified into the model shown above. In this scenario, the wirelessd P2P is powered by POE and serves as the uplink device for the entire site.

The 4G/5G backhaul scenario can be simplified into the model shown above, where the wirelessd P2P is powered by POE and serves as the uplink device for the entire site.

Based on this functional model, we can actually find that to realize the solar panels for CCTV scenario, we need to integrate the following functions and features into one system:

Solar system with SPD protection
Solar Battery
PoE Switch and Router
4G/5G Module for backhaul
Compact Design and Miniaturization
Light and Easy Carry
No Rust IP65 Enclosure

Based on this concept, Edgeware designed the Edge Span S60 series to match solar power for CCTV scenarios.

4.Edge Span S60 Series All in One Solar Power Supply As Solar Panels for CCTV

Edge Span S60 is a product designed by Edgeware specifically for outdoor rugged solar power scenarios. It is very suitable for solar power for CCTV scenarios and has the following features:

All in One

As we have described in the previous article, the basic model of the solar panel for CCTV solution, Edge Span S60 integrates all functions of solar controller, battery, POE switch/router, monitoring and management into one system. Customers no longer need to integrate and connect various components during installation, which greatly simplifies site installation.

IP65 and rust proof provide strong rugged design for environmental adaptability

The entire system has IP65 protection capabilities and the rust-proof capabilities of the entire system built on cast aluminum make the Edge Span S60 series completely fearless of environmental challenges.

Customized based on customer scenarios

We will carry out customized design and configuration based on the actual network and energy needs of the customer’s scenario, so as to optimize the cost of the customer’s actual site deployment and achieve the goal of profitable rural area Internet deployment.

Complete remote management and monitoring software platform to reduce daily OPEX

The Edge Span S60 series has comprehensive remote monitoring and management capabilities, which can better help customers reduce site operation and maintenance OPEX after deployment.

Edge Span S60 has a large number of customized models. If you have detailed needs, please contact our sales staff. The following introduces two typical models of Edge Span S60 series.

Edge Span S60 LSP-3 solar system for rural WIFI is a solar power based outdoor maintenance-free all-in-one enclosure that integrates communications, solar power, lightning protection, and POE switch. The product is specially optimized according to the pain points of solar panel for CCTV solution outdoor deployment to achieve the following main functions:

Industrial grade layer2 POE+/POE++ switch(2 Ports 802.3at 30W, 1 Ports 802.3bt 110W)
Industrial grade 500W MPPT solar controller
48V55Ah lithium battery(48-72 hours system autonomy based on different load configuration)
Software system for remote management and monitoring
Solar Statistics
Surge protection design
Full aluminum IP65 enclosure for whole system natural heat dissipation ability.

You can refer to the following link for more details:
Edge Span S60-LSP-3

The difference between Edge Span S60-5GP and previous models is that it is based on a layer router. Its core unit is an industrial 4G/5G router. It has the ability of 4G/5G backhaul. You can also choose not to configure the 4G/5G backhaul module according to the customer scenario and use the WAN port as the uplink. Because the core of Edge Span S60-5GP is a 4G/5G router, it has the corresponding functions of routers such as IPSEC VPN.

IP65/NEMA4 Waterproof
W*H*D 295mm*355mm*214mm
22kg
Aluminum Cast Enclosure Rust-Proof
Operating Temperature:-20~+55°C
Working Humidity:5%~90%
Power Surge Protection:20Ka
Worldwide 5G/4G Band Supported
WIFI Optional
GPS Optional
RS485/RS232/DI/DO Optional
Industrial 5G/4G POE Router Module Embedded
1*1000Base-X/1000Base-T Combo WAN Port
4*1000Base-T LAN Ports
3 LAN Ports 802.3at POE+ ( Can configure 802.3bt POE++ one port as requested)
500W MPPT Solar Controller
2640Wh Lithium Battery(48V55AH)
Thingsboard Support Optional
Node-Red Optional

You can refer to the following link for more details:
Edge Span S60-5GP

Tagged Solar Panel for CCTV, solar power supply