Are you confused on what power supply you should use when installing a CCTV security system?

Aug. 16, 2009 - PRLog -- Choosing a CCTV power supply to power your security cameras can sometime be a very confusing task.  But the truth is that the power supply is really the most crucial part in a successful surveillance system.  When choosing a power supply you will have the options available for a single output one camera power supply to a multi-camera power supply that allows you to power up to 32 cameras from a single distribution box.   The most common CCTV power supplies come in 1, 4, 8, 16, and 32 camera configurations.  You will also notice that power supplies  come with different power output strengths, along with the option of AC or DC voltage types.   There are numerous other features offered like lockable metal housings that you can wall mount or even rack-mountable power supplies.  

The key to determining what power supply you need is to understand how much and what type of voltage your security cameras need.  Every camera has a power outage and power type requirement.  So if you are powering 12VDC cameras then you will need a 12VDC power supply.  If you are using 24VAC cameras then you will need a 24VAC power supply.  Many of the better quality cameras today come with dual voltage abilities.  Meaning you can choose whatever voltage type you want.   It is always recommended to use 24VAC cameras.  With 24VAC you can ensure you get power to your cameras much farther distances than 12VDC.  But sometimes you just don’t have any control.  So dual voltage cameras are very convenient and give you some flexibility.  You will also see many power supplies out there that are also dual voltage.  This is also nice so you can run both 12VDC and 24VAC cameras off the same power supply unit.  

The most common mistake made with CCTV power supplies is not having enough voltage to power a camera.  So it is important to read the specification sheets on your camera and understand how much power it needs to work.  Then you can match the output per channel on your power supply to the cameras power needs.   Keep in mind that if you are installing a camera with IR LED’s for night time viewing you need to take into account the power requirement of the camera at night when the LED’s are on.  When those LED’s turn on it almost doubles the power it needs to work.  If it does not have enough power your camera will just be viewing the dark!   So just make sure you always have enough power going to your camera to make it work.  Another reason you want to make sure you have more than enough power to your cameras is because you have a small power drop every foot that the power has to travel over the cable.  So the longer cable runs will see a drop in voltage.  12VDC really sees a high voltage drop over long distances.  Often installers use a higher output power supply or a thicker gauge of cable to help off set this.  If you have the option 24VAC is really the ideal voltage type to use for long camera runs.

In summary, just make sure you don’t over look the importance of your power supply when building your CCTV security system.  It won’t be fun to install everything only to find out you don’t have enough power or even the right voltage type.   To see a huge selection of CCTV power supplies in all sizes, types, voltages, and configurations visit CableGiant!  http://www.cablegiant.com/default.aspx?p_id=1&c_id=50&pag...

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