Outdoor camera for house, WiFi / no powerline available

Hardware
1

Hi all,

We have a new built home and didn’t think about outdoor cameras at all. So now it’s time to “improvise”. I found that reolinks are kinda good, have a large portfolio with battery powered devices as well as Photovoltaic powered ones.

Those are not supported by Home Assistant, though, which is sad!

Are there good alternatives out there that are not too expensive? What I’m looking for is:

  • WiFi
  • solar powered if possible
  • night vision
  • possibly person/object recognition, but purely optional
  • saving to NAS would be nice to have
  • should have indoor cameras in portfolio, too, if possible
  • home assistant Integration of course

Directing me to suitable vendors would be great!

Thanks a lot in advance :heart::heart::heart:

2

Hi, have you conducted a search here on the forum?
There is A LOT of information available and this question has been asked numerous times.

You might have a look at: I tried all the camera platforms so you don’t have to

BTW any camera that has a RTSP stream wil work.

3

He wants a battery powered camera. Battery powered RTSP does not work (unless we’re talking about a car / truck battery with a large solar panel).

@mombro: avoid battery powered cameras at all cost. If there’s only the slightest possibility to run a wire, do this. It will save you a world of problems and limitations later down the road. If running line voltage is a problem due to code and deep ditch requirements, etc, then run a simple PoE CAT5/6 cable in a flexible conduit. That’s relatively inexpensive, doesn’t require a deep ditch (or no ditch at all) and takes care of both power and data. You also gain access to a wide selection of compatible local-only camera models.

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4

Why battery/solarcameras? Is running ethernet not possible? What country? How far from home is area of interest?

Most homes it is possible run cable after the fact.

5

I have a Ring Spotlight camera on my side door of my house where there is no power. I have their solar panel mounted on top of the awning (or porch roof if you have one). That would give you the camera, night vision, motion detection, light and siren if you use the Ring-MQTT add-on. Otherwise, you cannot use the light and siren in H/A.

I did buy the extra battery, so I am running dual batteries. It is insurance in case we have a long period of cloudy weather. I am going to be interested to see how things progress in winter. If I have to, it is nothing to pop open the bottom of the camera and remove a battery to plug it in. Knock on wood, I haven’t gone below 92% of one battery and the other stays at 100%.

With MQTT, I was able to add the siren to my group of siren for intrusion alerts and I do have the light turning on and off not only with the included motion control but also if the door sensor shows the door has been opened.

With the motion in H/A, I can use it to control other devices, like lights, in the general area. You can do that with or without MQTT.

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6

Uff, ok, I’ll check with my electrician if he can install some more cables. The house is new and shiny and I’m not Very happy to have cables running up and down the outside of the house :see_no_evil:

7

I would find home theatre or camera installer.

Electricians often do not understand correct methods for running ethernet or ipcam requirements

1 Like