"Winter is Coming!" (Power Distribution)

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I have a hair brained idea for my system install. I want to run 5 PoE cameras on the front of the home, and run 3 WiFi cameras in the rear. It would be a pain and unsightly to run conduit to the rear of my 2 story home from my NVR location for PoE cable, thus the WiFi. Basement is fully finished so I don't really have any place to run cables indoors.

That said.... My plan was to serve the 3 wifi cams with power from a 110VAC > 12VDC distribution box fed via conduit from an exterior outlet and mounted under my deck in a weatherproof box. Problem being, I also live in Minnesota where the temperature ranges from minus 20F to 105F. Will the power supply/ transformer survive the harsh seasons or will I regret this decision? I've only seen one such piece of equipment state the operating range in their specifications and it wasn't quite the full range I'm looking for. Will the transformer provide a little bit of heat in the sealed box to where I might be able to cheat a bit on the low end? Any advice appreciated. Thanks!
 

fenderman

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I have a hair brained idea for my system install. I want to run 5 PoE cameras on the front of the home, and run 3 WiFi cameras in the rear. It would be a pain and unsightly to run conduit to the rear of my 2 story home from my NVR location for PoE cable, thus the WiFi. Basement is fully finished so I don't really have any place to run cables indoors.

That said.... My plan was to serve the 3 wifi cams with power from a 110VAC > 12VDC distribution box fed via conduit from an exterior outlet and mounted under my deck in a weatherproof box. Problem being, I also live in Minnesota where the temperature ranges from minus 20F to 105F. Will the power supply/ transformer survive the harsh seasons or will I regret this decision? I've only seen one such piece of equipment state the operating range in their specifications and it wasn't quite the full range I'm looking for. Will the transformer provide a little bit of heat in the sealed box to where I might be able to cheat a bit on the low end? Any advice appreciated. Thanks!
do yourself a huge favor and hire a low voltage cable installer to run cable to the rear cameras...these guys are good and can do it inwall with no conduit...
 
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do yourself a huge favor and hire a low voltage cable installer to run cable to the rear cameras...these guys are good and can do it inwall with no conduit...
Fenderman, thanks for your quick response. Can you expand a bit? I'm an engineer by trade, so I should be able to follow. Are you saying the power distribution box in the elements is a bad idea? Or that WiFi cameras are a bad idea and I should definitely be using PoE all the way around?
 

fenderman

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Fenderman, thanks for your quick response. Can you expand a bit? I'm an engineer by trade, so I should be able to follow. Are you saying the power distribution box in the elements is a bad idea? Or that WiFi cameras are a bad idea and I should definitely be using PoE all the way around?
both are bad ideas, particularly the wifi....
 
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