How to choose right power supply for video surveillance camera?

It's undeniable that power supply is crucial important to your video security cameras. For ensuring the stability and reliability of your video surveillance system, installers and users should choose high quality power supply. Poor quality power supply can lead to image distortion, flickering, even damage of security camera hardware. Typically, outdoor security cameras utilize 12V DC power supply, and PTZ cameras use 24V AC power supply, some security cameras may use 220V AC power, 5V DC power supply is widely used in indoor security cameras. 

Power adapters or distribution boxes?

All security cameras require some sort of power source. Power distribution boxes and power adapters are used in most installations of security cameras. If installing 4 cameras or less, most installers will choose to use a power adapter and splitter whereas installations involving more cameras, they will use a power distribution box. When choosing a power adapter, be sure to get one that supports the voltage and amperage ratings for your cameras.

Security camera supports both DC12V/AC24V, how to choose power supply?

Selecting the AC24V power supply, because in the same transmission distance, the higher voltage, the lower of consumption. High voltage can allow camera to get sufficient power supply. Meanwhile, using AC 24V, when debugging security cameras, you can choose sync power supply, this can sync image vertical frequency across different devices.

How to provide sufficient power to security cameras?

This question is difficult to answer for those inexperienced installers, many of them find the power capacity isn't sufficient in real installation, they have to increase additional power supply. Actually, the security camera needs large current when it firstly boots, plus the transmission consumption, therefore, to calculate total required power supply, doesn't mean you simply add rated power of each cameras together. The correct method is adding the rated power, then multiply 1.3, the result is the real required power supply for security cameras, additionally you need to consider the cable power consumption and power budget.

An example:

If we install 100 units security cameras in a commercial building, the rated power consumption is 4W for the security camera. How to calculate the required power supply?

• Security camera power consumption: 4W x 100 units x 1.3 = 520W
• After the consumption, the needed power rating: 520W x 1.3 = 676W
• Cable consumption and power budget: 676W x 1.3 = 878W

What should be avoided when setting up power supply??

Users should avoid to use centralized or one power supply source. The reason as below:

1) When turn on/off power supply to repair video camera system. All security cameras start to boot, the required boot current is huge, this will has great impact to power supply, may lead to damage the power supply.

2) If all the security cameras use a single power supply. Once the power supply encounters problem, the whole video security cameras will turn off. Especially for some important entry-points where you can't monitor.

So, what's the correct method? Taking the above example, one commercial building requires 100 units security cameras, totally require 800W power supply, the correct setup is using 4 units power supplies, each power supply offers 200W power. So that, once one power supply breaks down, the rest of security cameras are still in operation.

What are other problems should pay attention to?

1) When connect security cameras to power supply, don't connect long distance connected security cameras and near distance connected security cameras to the same power supply. If connected to the same power supply, once power supply voltage is too high, will damage near distance connected security cameras, once power supply voltage is too low, long distance connected cameras will not work. All the near distance connected security cameras should connect to one power supply, and all the long distance connected security cameras should connect to another power supply.

2) If the installation distance of security cameras is too far, users may use higher voltage power supply, such as 30V, 36V, 48V etc, even use 220V AC power supply.