When people search for “best solar panel for security camera”, they usually don’t want a long lecture on photovoltaics. They want a clear answer to three questions:
- How many watts do I actually need for my camera?
- What should I look for in a good small solar panel kit?
- When is it worth going beyond off-the-shelf panels to a custom solution?
This guide answers those questions from a power engineer’s perspective, not from a product catalog.
1. What “best” really means for solar camera panels
For solar-powered security cameras, “best” doesn’t mean “biggest”. It means the system:
- Stays online through winter and long cloudy spells.
- Survives outdoors for years without falling apart.
- Is practical to install and move when needed.
- Makes economic sense for your project or product line.
To get there, you need to look at six things:
- Power rating – watts (W) and daily energy in Wh/day.
- Voltage and compatibility with your camera and controller.
- Low-light performance – how it behaves in winter and partial shade.
- Durability – construction, encapsulation, and weather resistance.
- Mounting options – brackets, tilt, and orientation.
- Cables and connectors – length, gauge, and sealing.
A panel that scores well on all six is “best” for your use case, even if its wattage is not the biggest on the shelf.
2. Sizing: how many watts does your camera really need?
Most top-ranking buying guides for solar camera panels include some version of a sizing table. Here we’ll build one from first principles so you can justify the numbers.
Start with your camera’s daily energy use in Wh/day. If you don’t have measurements, you can use rough bands:
- Light-use Wi-Fi camera (few events, short clips): 2–4 Wh/day.
- Typical 4G/LTE camera (moderate traffic): 5–10 Wh/day.
- Heavy-use camera (many events, long recordings, IR at night): 10–20+ Wh/day.
Then connect that to your solar resource. For many mid-latitude locations, a conservative design rule for off-grid systems is:
- 2–4 effective sun hours per day in winter (the “peak sun hours” concept used in PV design; see general background on solar panels).
- 50–70% total system efficiency (controller, battery, cables, dirt, temperature).
Estimated daily solar energy:
Panel_Wh/day ≈ Panel_Watts × Sun_Hours × Efficiency
Example – typical Wi-Fi camera
Energy use: 4 Wh/day.
Sun hours: 3 h/day (winter).
Efficiency: 60%.
Required panel watts:
4 ÷ (3 × 0.6) ≈ 2.2 W
On paper, a 3 W panel is enough. In practice you want margin for shade, dirt and poor weather, so 5–8 W is a much safer choice.
Example – typical 4G camera
Energy use: 8 Wh/day.
Sun hours: 3 h/day.
Efficiency: 60%.
Required panel watts:
8 ÷ (3 × 0.6) ≈ 4.4 W
Here a 5 W panel is marginal. For real-world deployments, especially where you need 24/7 uptime and night recording, 8–15 W is a more realistic range, depending on climate and uptime requirements.
This is why in most serious systems, a “small solar panel for security cameras” means something in the 5–15 W class rather than 2–3 W, especially when 4G or high activity is involved. For OEM work and DIY prototypes, that’s exactly the range covered by LinkSolar’s mini solar panels for IoT and cameras.
3. Voltage, connectors and controller compatibility
A panel is only “best” if it plays nicely with your electronics. Many field issues come from voltage and wiring, not from the panel itself.
3.1 Common voltage configurations
Security camera systems usually fall into three buckets:
- 5 V systems – many USB-powered or compact Wi-Fi cameras; the panel feeds a small controller or USB charger (often via a DC-DC converter).
- 12 V systems – common in multi-camera and CCTV setups; panels output ~18 V and charge a 12 V battery, which then feeds the camera/regulator at 12 V or 5 V.
- Integrated battery + panel kits – some consumer cameras use proprietary inputs; the panel is part of a vendor-specific ecosystem.
Check that:
- Panel open-circuit voltage (Voc) and operating voltage (Vmp) are within the controller’s limits (basic definitions in open-circuit voltage).
- Controller output matches the camera’s required input voltage (5 V USB, 9–12 V barrel, PoE, etc.).
- You’re not running right at the edge of minimum voltage, which causes random reboots and SD-card corruption.
3.2 Cables and connectors
Look at:
- Connector type – DC barrel, USB-A/USB-C, MC4, sealed gland, proprietary plugs.
- Length and gauge – long thin cables cause voltage drop; oversizing wire is cheap insurance compared to truck rolls.
- Sealing and strain relief – outdoor connectors need proper weather protection and mechanical support, especially on poles.
For OEM work, LinkSolar often supplies mini and small solar panels with custom cable length and connector type so integrators don’t have to fix incompatibilities on site. For wiring basics on our mini modules, see our step-by-step guide on connecting mini solar panels in series and parallel.
4. Construction and durability
Small panels for security cameras live on walls, poles and roofs for years. Materials and construction matter just as much as the nominal wattage.
- Glass-front modules – rigid, good optical performance, robust; slightly heavier. A square 2.3 W/5.5 V format like our 113×113 mm glass mini solar panel is typical for compact camera kits and test fixtures.
- ETFE-front modules – excellent UV and weather resistance, good for harsh climates and marine use. ETFE encapsulation is a common choice when you need a small, very rugged panel glued or screwed to an enclosure.
- PET-front modules – cheaper and lighter, but more prone to yellowing and cracking in long-term outdoor exposure.
- Flexible laminates – for curved or vibration-rich mounting surfaces, a thin amorphous or crystalline flexible module can be the safest option (for example, LinkSolar’s flexible amorphous silicon mini panels for low-voltage devices).
Frames, junction boxes and backsheets should be UV-stable and weather-proof. For multi-year projects, it’s worth paying slightly more for better encapsulation instead of replacing panels every few seasons. General background on panel construction and environmental effects is covered in the solar panel article.
This is where an experienced OEM like LinkSolar can help specify the right combination for your climate and mechanical constraints instead of guessing.
5. Mounting: brackets are half of the system
Even a well-sized, well-built panel will under-perform if it is mounted badly. Shading, poor tilt and weak hardware are some of the most common failure modes we see on remote cameras.
Look for kits or OEM panels that ship with purpose-built brackets for:
- Wall and eave mounting (brick, concrete, metal cladding).
- Pole mounting (round and square poles, traffic posts, fence posts).
- Independent tilt and rotation so you can aim panel and camera separately.
Best practices:
- Mount the camera where it has the best view and detection zone.
- Mount the panel where it has the best sky view, even if that is a different point on the same wall or pole.
- Keep panels accessible enough for occasional cleaning and inspection.
For 5–50 W panels on poles, a small adjustable bracket like our universal solar panel pole mount kit makes it much easier to get both tilt and azimuth right without improvised U-bolts and strut.
LinkSolar’s mini and small panels can be paired with adjustable security camera solar mounting brackets or custom pole-mount hardware, making it easier for installers to get both the view and the sunlight right.
6. Off-the-shelf panel kits vs custom mini panels
If you are powering one or two cameras at home or on a small site, a good off-the-shelf kit is often the most efficient choice:
- 5–10 W panel for Wi-Fi cameras in decent climates.
- 8–15 W panel for 4G or higher-usage cameras.
- Matched battery and controller from the same vendor.
In this case, “best” often means a kit where the vendor has already matched the camera, panel, battery and firmware so you don’t have to think about it. Make sure the datasheet includes real winter runtimes and not just “up to X days” marketing claims.
You should start thinking about custom mini solar panels or complete OEM power kits when:
- You are building your own camera product line and need a repeatable, brand-consistent power solution.
- You deploy cameras in harsh or remote locations where site visits are expensive (pipelines, substations, borders, farms, mines).
- You want the panel to integrate cleanly into your housing or pole structure rather than living on improvised brackets.
- You already sell non-solar camera systems and want a drop-in solar option without redesigning the enclosure.
Customisation can include:
- Exact wattage and voltage window tuned to your electronics and duty cycle.
- Form factor and mounting holes that match your bracket, pole banding or enclosure face.
- Encapsulation choices (glass vs ETFE vs flexible laminates) matched to your environment and price point.
- Pre-terminated cables and connectors in the right length and gauge, with strain relief and grommets that fit your housing.
LinkSolar’s role in these projects is to act as a quiet power partner: you can start with standard mini solar panels to prove your concept, then move to OEM modules that are optimised for your design once you know what works. That path gives you the reliability of a “best” panel in the field, not just in the spec sheet.
For more complex remote sensor loads (weather stations, environmental monitoring, smart metering), many of the same sizing and mounting rules apply; see our application notes on solar for weather stations and environmental monitoring for reference.
