Standalone Solar Powered Mailbox

[buccscott]

So, here is my mailbox update… My WyzeCam died after nearly two years of punishment in FL weather. Pretty admirable considering it was not designed to be used outside. I had originally designed the solar electrical system to power a single camera with an AGM battery. When the camera died, I decided to upgrade the battery to LifePo4 to get nearly double the useable capacity. I had to change my charge controller to accommodate the new battery as well. Since I doubled my capacity, I decided to add an additional camera so I can see both directions up and down my street now. I also moved the cameras from the front to the back so it looks a bit better from the street view.

I am testing now to determine if I have enough capacity for a day or two of bad weather, etc. If not, I am contemplating surrounding it with a plant bed and integrating two additional ground mounted 25 watt panels hidden somewhat by small plants, etc… This will allow for a quicker charge/recovery time when I have bad weather for a few days. I just installed the new battery, etc. last night so i still have some wire routing from the cameras to clean up and I’m going to put a slat over them to protect them from the harsh FL

sun and rain.

It has been an experience and I have loved the capability to use the camera at street level. My neighbor even asked me to turn it on his house when he had a roof installed. I time lapsed a video for him so he could see the progress when he was working. As I continue to upgrade, Ill post here in case anyone is interested or has questions.

[buccscott]

As promised, here are the details of my new standalone solar powered WyzeCam Projects: These were obviously a LOT more ambitious. But well worth it for the functionalist and being able to power WyzeCams, all of my landscape lighting, floodlights, and have AC power available in the backyard to run fans, tools, TVs, etc. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

After building and posting about my solar powered WyzeCam mailbox, I decided to take on a few additional challenges to incorporate cameras into my yard without the need for conventional AC power. I decided to build two solar covered/powered pergolas. The first would cover my prized Weber BBQ grill, vent any smoke, power landscape and motion sensor lights, and (of course) power two WyzeCams covering the grill itself and the pool area. They were lengthy projects for sure, but now I can see if my steaks are burning, the kids are misbehaving in the pool, or my neighbor is dumping extra pool water into my lawn and killing my grass. First are the specs and photos of the BBQ Pergola. Below them will be the specs and photos of the Sitting Pergola. If anyone has any questions regarding parts, etc., please let me know. I’m here to help if I can.

BBQ Pergola
500 Watts Solar, 100 Amp Hour LifePo4 Battery, 1000 Watt pure sine Inverter (in case I want to run something on AC in my backyard), 2 x 12" 12v radiator fans to vent smoke, 2 x 12v motion detector floodlights, powers 8 x 5 watt landscape lights and 10x 12 watt deck lights. Of course, I have two WyzeCam v2 to watch everything.

Sitting Pergola
315 Watt Solar System, 100Amp Hour LifePo4 Battery, Multiple 1/2 Watt Deck Lights, Several 5 Watt 12v Landscape Lights, 12v Accessory Port (to charge phones and Bluetooth speakers), and one WyzeCam v2 to keep my neighbor in check BTW, the camera view is down the side of my house and does not peer into the neighbors yard. I am not invading anyone’s personal space/privacy, just protecting mine.

[angus.black]

@buccscott

or my neighbor is dumping extra pool water into my lawn and killing my grass.

@buccscott

WyzeCam v2 to keep my neighbor in check

The neighbor sounds interesting.

That’s another great setup, two actually.
I like the little cubby for the yard camera. (last pic)

I need something like this for our camp. It’s off-grid.
We currently use large automotive batteries (because they are free) and a generator. I want to be able to go in the winter without carrying in a generator and gas.
The camp is wired and plumbed like an RV. All lights are 12v.
I’ll be stealing some of your ideas.

Thanks for posting.

[buccscott]

Interesting is one way to put it. Before the mailbox camera, she used to put some (only some) of her trash into our trash can instead of hers. Its not stealing if I give it away. Take whatever you want and if you need some help, you know where to find me.

[angus.black]

A 100 Ah LifePo4 battery in Canada is about $500. There’s a good chance it will be getting Deep Cycle RV batteries, or a pair of 6V golf cart batteries.

[buccscott]

Everything I have attached to this which is used regularly is 12v (only use inverter on rare occasions to make a side dish or run a shop fan when working out there in 100 degrees). I designed a 12v fuse block into the system to run everything. Floodlights on one circuit, landscape lights on another, cams on their own, etc… All lights are LED. It’s more efficient to go direct 12v than invert to AC.

You can make a 100AH LifePo4 on your own (with battery management system) these days for about $400. That’s what I did and they should last me 10 years at a minimum with the load/cycling I have them working now. That’s 1200 Watt hours which will light up a lot of LED’s, or power modest loads for quite some time.

Have fun!

[buccscott]

My first thought was golf cart batteries as well. What made me go LifePo4 was the capacity issue, knowing I would have to maintain them (at least check them each month), and they would only last half as long before having to be replaced. They are a decent option if you can get them at a good price and are disciplined enough to watch them regularly (which I’m not - I can admit it).