I have a business in upstate New York that needs to be monitored during the winter months. I have a couple of bullet cameras that are rated for temperatures down to -22 but I am not sure what my options are for recording. The building where the NVR would be located is not heated during the winter and I have yet to find a device rated for this sort of environment. Any suggestions? One idea I had was to connect my cameras to a cloud recording service like AngelCam. Welcome your ideas/suggestions. Thank you.
zero-degrees
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Does it get to below freezing inside the building? Your HD will be the main concern as WD Purple drives operating temp is 0 celsius (even intels enterprise SSD's are only rated to 0 celsius).
One option is to look at a DVR security box
http://www.showmecables.com/product/ecore-duroracks-18-18-5-dvr-lockbox.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=71-975-018&gclid=CImtxavW-M8CFZU0aQodA5wMVg
once you place electronics in here it will hold some heat from them always running, however if you are well below freezing inside the building for a long period it prob won't matter.
One option is to look at a DVR security box
http://www.showmecables.com/product/ecore-duroracks-18-18-5-dvr-lockbox.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=71-975-018&gclid=CImtxavW-M8CFZU0aQodA5wMVg
once you place electronics in here it will hold some heat from them always running, however if you are well below freezing inside the building for a long period it prob won't matter.
I ran a PC in my unheated garage 24/7 all winter about 4 years ago. It survived fine, down to roughly 32F / 0C. And this was with a hot tub running in that garage, so humidity was high (and it eventually led to a mold problem on the garage walls, of course). Heat generated by the system can keep the components at a decent temperature. I did have it configured to not let the hard drive spin down when idle 
If it is going to be consistently cold, you could put the computer in a box with poor ventilation, to trap waste heat and keep the ambient temperature a little higher than it would be sitting out in the open. You won't want to run it this way during the summer if that will bring ambient temperatures much higher than ordinary room temperature.
If it is going to be consistently cold, you could put the computer in a box with poor ventilation, to trap waste heat and keep the ambient temperature a little higher than it would be sitting out in the open. You won't want to run it this way during the summer if that will bring ambient temperatures much higher than ordinary room temperature.
nayr
IPCT Contributor
I have a panasonic toughbook rated for work on Mt Everest and the Antarctic.. the HDD has a small electric blanket wrapped around it to keep the drives bearings from freezing up:
So the HDD bearing is the weak point, if you only have 1 HDD recording continously.. I would think the power running through it and the constant writing would prevent the bearings from freezing up.. if its going ot get really fucking cold, then you need some addational heat.
So the HDD bearing is the weak point, if you only have 1 HDD recording continously.. I would think the power running through it and the constant writing would prevent the bearings from freezing up.. if its going ot get really fucking cold, then you need some addational heat.
zero-degrees
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That being the obvious failure I expected SSD's to have a lower operating temp certification - I was surprised when SSD's have the same temp ratings as well.
nayr
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I would be suspect of those ratings, Ive ran SSD in vehicles before well beyond ratings and never had an issue.. however I would be concerned with the longevity of flash media being continuously written and re-written.. for consumer grade SSD's thats extremely abusive.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
How cold could it get in the room the NVR would be located?
looney2ns
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Here's an idea. Build box to put the nvr in. Insulate it with 2" foam on all sides. Foam goes on the OUTSIDE of the box.
Place NVR inside along with this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honeywell-250-Watt-Heat-Bud-Personal-Ceramic-Portable-Heater-HCE100R/206446408
Plug the heater into this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cadet-Freezebuster-FB3-TC3-Thermocube-Ivory-In-Line-Limiting-Plug-In-Freeze-Protection-Thermostat-FB3/202849705
Place NVR inside along with this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honeywell-250-Watt-Heat-Bud-Personal-Ceramic-Portable-Heater-HCE100R/206446408
Plug the heater into this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cadet-Freezebuster-FB3-TC3-Thermocube-Ivory-In-Line-Limiting-Plug-In-Freeze-Protection-Thermostat-FB3/202849705
nayr
IPCT Contributor
how many disks do you have and in what configuration?
I would presume if the disks never slept they would generate enough heat to keep on going; the only reason that laptop had a hdd heater is because the disk was supposed to be parked more than it was spinning.. but in an NVR I dont think it'd be a problem, lube dont really freeze, just becomes thicker.. and will warm back up so as long as your not having daily power failures; which would damage a disk drive anyhow.. I doubt its too much of a problem..
Only way to know is to try; worst case your HDD fails a lil early and when you go to replace it add some insulation to retain heat or something.
I would presume if the disks never slept they would generate enough heat to keep on going; the only reason that laptop had a hdd heater is because the disk was supposed to be parked more than it was spinning.. but in an NVR I dont think it'd be a problem, lube dont really freeze, just becomes thicker.. and will warm back up so as long as your not having daily power failures; which would damage a disk drive anyhow.. I doubt its too much of a problem..
Only way to know is to try; worst case your HDD fails a lil early and when you go to replace it add some insulation to retain heat or something.
First year or two I just used a dell e6420 laptop. Runs 4x 2mp cams. I used a 5,400 RPM HDD for OS and a 128GB flash drive in the walls for storage. Worked beautifully. This is about a 7 hour drive for me if something goes wrong, but nothing ever has (with exception of lightning hitting one cam). I eventually upgraded to a Lenovo M93p or something--one of those tiny little mini PCs running a newer i5 for $250 and an SSD since I wanted the laptop for something else. Every year during the weeks of -10F to -30F temps I always figure the cams will go offline but hasn't happened yet.
nayr
IPCT Contributor
silicon is pretty neutral to the cold, typically you can far exceed low temp ratings without any issues at all.. unlike overheating where you can literally turn the solder holding everything together molten.. the components them selves go through a soldering oven many times hotter than there ratings, however they are not powered and exposure is minimal.
Overclockers have been shoving liquid gasses ontop of there electronics and driving them to 200 degrees below zero without failure.. well at least not from the cold when they do fail heh.. thats usually to do the extreme voltages
with moving parts the lube can be a concern, as they all thicken as they get colder.. but like your car, once they warm up they are good to go full blast.. I cant see how an SSD would have any problems with -40F/C
Ive had devices out in the cold well under there ratings without any problem at all, never had a 'cold death'.. well I take that back, Ice.. thats whats going to kill shit outside.. Ive had a camera crushed because an ice dam formed arround it and then ripped it off when it came crashing down.. but that wasent from exceeding cold ratings, just pressure and impact ratings
If you look at most mountain top webcams, they are in stainless steel tubes.. thats so they wont get crushed when 5ft of ice form ontop of em.. they are usually still running just fine, even though they have no hope of seeing anything.
Overclockers have been shoving liquid gasses ontop of there electronics and driving them to 200 degrees below zero without failure.. well at least not from the cold when they do fail heh.. thats usually to do the extreme voltages
with moving parts the lube can be a concern, as they all thicken as they get colder.. but like your car, once they warm up they are good to go full blast.. I cant see how an SSD would have any problems with -40F/C
Ive had devices out in the cold well under there ratings without any problem at all, never had a 'cold death'.. well I take that back, Ice.. thats whats going to kill shit outside.. Ive had a camera crushed because an ice dam formed arround it and then ripped it off when it came crashing down.. but that wasent from exceeding cold ratings, just pressure and impact ratings
If you look at most mountain top webcams, they are in stainless steel tubes.. thats so they wont get crushed when 5ft of ice form ontop of em.. they are usually still running just fine, even though they have no hope of seeing anything.
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Yeah the heat is my grudge with that cabin so I never wanted to insulate any of the components just because it may be a half year until I make it out there. I put temp sensors in a few places to monitor that but found in the summer the inside never really gets hotter than 75-80 and so I am a little more relieved. I took out batteries in everything including the 4G hotspot because again who knows what'll happen. Before installing all of this I would shut the power off at the box to eliminate any additional worry, but I suppose compromises have to exist somewhere. If the place starts on fire, I can at least watch it live-view, so that's cool..
nayr
IPCT Contributor
lithium batteries are better built to survive the cold, Ive been putting them in my Z-Wave sensors outside and they still work fine when its -20 outside.. unlike the NiCad battery I originally tried out there.. the voltage would drop with temp and eventually the sensor would shutoff
you probably want to use those exclusively in such a location; however they are not cheap.. but they have better shelf life so they would be worth it to use em in your emergency flashlights and stuff out there.
you probably want to use those exclusively in such a location; however they are not cheap.. but they have better shelf life so they would be worth it to use em in your emergency flashlights and stuff out there.