Calculator

Chapter 9 · Unattended Surveillance Site Design Guide

These five interactive calculators cover the most critical sizing and planning calculations for unattended surveillance sites. All calculations update in real time as you adjust the input parameters. Results are provided with engineering recommendations to guide your design decisions.

⚡ Solar & Battery
📷 Storage Capacity
📡 Bandwidth Budget
📷 Camera Coverage
⚡ PoE Power Budget

Solar & Battery Sizing Calculator

Calculate the required solar panel capacity and battery bank size for off-grid unattended surveillance sites

W
Sum of all device power consumption (cameras + NVR + router + switch)
8h24h24h
h/day
Typical: Tropical 5–6h, Temperate 3.5–5h, Northern 2–4h
13 days10
50%80%90%
LiFePO4: 80–90% | AGM: 50–60%
Required Solar Panel
--
Watts peak (Wp)
Battery Capacity
--
Amp-hours (Ah)
Battery Energy
--
Watt-hours (Wh)
Daily Energy
--
Wh/day
Charge Controller
--
Amps (MPPT)

Adjust the parameters above to see sizing recommendations.

Video Storage Capacity Calculator

Calculate required HDD/SSD storage for your camera count, resolution, and retention period

14 cameras32
730 days90
Total Storage Required
--
Terabytes (TB)
Per Camera / Day
--
GB/camera/day
Total Bitrate
--
Mbps (all cameras)
Recommended HDD
--
TB (with 20% margin)
Daily Write Volume
--
GB/day

Adjust the parameters above to see storage recommendations.

Network Bandwidth Budget Calculator

Calculate the required uplink bandwidth for live streaming, remote access, and alarm uploads

cams
Cameras streaming live to control center
Mbps
Per camera sub-stream bitrate
/hr
Alarm events per hour (all cameras)
KB
JPEG snapshot file size per alarm
sessions
Concurrent remote playback streams
Mbps
Per playback stream bitrate
Required Uplink Bandwidth
--
Mbps (peak)
Live Stream Load
--
Mbps
Alarm Upload Load
--
Mbps
Playback Load
--
Mbps
Recommended Plan
--
4G/5G data plan

Adjust parameters to see bandwidth recommendations.

Camera Coverage & Lens Selection Calculator

Calculate field of view, coverage distance, and recommended lens focal length for surveillance cameras

2.8mm6.0mm50mm
m
Distance from camera to target area
m
Horizontal coverage needed at target distance
Horizontal FOV
--
degrees
Coverage Width at Target
--
meters
Coverage Height at Target
--
meters
Pixel Density
--
px/meter
Recommended Focal Length
--
mm (for required width)
Image Quality Assessment
--
Pixel Density--

Adjust the parameters above to see coverage and lens recommendations.

PoE Switch Power Budget Calculator

Calculate total PoE power consumption and verify switch power budget for all connected devices

W
Total PoE power budget of the switch
m
Average cable run length (affects loss)

Connected Devices (enter actual power consumption):

Total PoE Consumption
--
Watts
Remaining Budget
--
Watts
Budget Utilization
--
% of total budget
Cable Loss (est.)
--
Watts (total)
Ports Used
--
PoE ports active
Budget Status
PoE Load0%
Within budget

Add devices and adjust the switch budget to see power analysis.