Solar vs. Wired Security Cameras: How to Choose (A Buying Guide for Importers and Distributors)

The short answer

Choose a 4G solar camera when getting power and network out to the camera position costs more than the camera itself. Choose wired when that position already has power and data within a few meters and there is an NVR on site. That is the entire decision, and a tape measure settles it faster than any spec sheet. If the cable run crosses a pasture, a turning yard, a public road, a slab that has already been poured — or if the property has no electricity meter at all — a solar camera with a SIM card goes up in 5 to 10 minutes per camera, with no trench, no conduit and no works permit. If the position sits inside a building that already has cable tray and a PoE switch, wired is still cheaper per channel and simpler to maintain.

This guide is written for people who buy to resell: importers, wholesale distributors and procurement teams evaluating a factory — not for the end user buying one camera. That is why the comparison runs on installed cost, after-sales risk and inventory turnover rather than on feature lists.

The two architectures, side by side

The commercial difference that usually gets overlooked: with a wired system you sell a project — NVR, switch, cable, power supply and skilled labour. With solar 4G you sell units. The second structure is far easier to turn over in a warehouse, quote over the phone and replace without sending a technician.

Where each technology wins on real sites

Solar 4G wins outright

• Farms, ranches and livestock. Far gates, pens, water troughs, pump houses. Where rustling is a problem, the critical position almost never coincides with the position that has power.
• Construction sites. No permanent supply yet, and the cameras have to follow the work as it progresses. A camera you can reposition in minutes is worth more than one with a better sensor.
• Container yards, bulk storage, scrap and parking lots. Long perimeters where trenching costs more than the hardware.
• Towers, masts, substations and isolated plots. Nobody on site and no wired network available.
• Rural retail and off-grid homes. End customers who will not accept construction work on the property.

Wired wins

• Interiors, offices, retail and roofed warehouses with infrastructure already in place.
• Installations with many channels concentrated within a few meters, where the cable cost per point is negligible.
• Scenarios that demand high-density continuous recording with long retention and central administration.
• Locations with no cellular coverage at all, where even an external antenna will not rescue the link.

A serious distributor stocks both and pushes neither. The expensive mistake is selling solar where PoE was already available, or selling a wired project for a pasture. Either way the return comes back and eats the margin.

Installed cost: the only figure that really compares

Comparing camera price against camera price is misleading. The correct calculation, per point, is:

Solar 4G = hardware + pole or bracket + SIM and data plan + microSD + 5 to 10 minutes of labour.

Wired = hardware + its share of the NVR and the switch + meters of cable + conduit or trenching + electrical protection + installer hours.

In our catalogue, a solar 4G camera with continuous recording is one of 150 SKUs, with wholesale prices quoted per order. Ask your installer what a meter of conduit costs in your market and multiply it by the real distance: that number, not the FOB price, is what sets the break-even point. In practice, once the run passes a few dozen meters or crosses a finished surface, solar wins by a margin that is no longer worth arguing about.

PIR vs. AOV: the difference that decides your return rate

The historic complaint about solar cameras is not the battery — it is the event that never got recorded. Traditional solar cameras wake on a PIR sensor, which responds to moving heat inside a narrow cone. They miss slow movement, anything outside the detection zone, and everything that happens while the sensor is spinning up. The customer complains, the hardware is technically fine, and you take the return anyway.

AOV (Always-On Video) addresses exactly that: continuous 24/7 recording at low standby power, supported by AI scene analysis that adjusts processing according to what is actually happening in frame. It is an industry-generic term, not a brand of ours, and it is worth demanding in writing when you request a quote — not everything advertised as solar with AI records continuously.

Of the 150 SKUs in the catalogue, 49 models are AOV, with wholesale prices quoted per order, across four series:

Three references are enough to build a starter assortment that answers most enquiries: SG-C41G-10T66-V1 as the single-lens entry point, SG-D42G-10F66-V1 for dual lens, and SG-D42G-15F66-V1 with the 20000 mAh battery and 15 W panel for customers in cloudy regions or with a long rainy season. The full list is in our catalogue.

What to verify before you release the order

1. Claimed runtime against the actual panel. An 8 W panel with an 8000 mAh battery is enough for most installations with good sun exposure. For sites with partial shade, panels that cannot be aimed properly for their hemisphere, or months of continuous rain, specify the 15 W / 20000 mAh version. This is the number one cause of customer dissatisfaction, and it is prevented at the quotation stage, not in after-sales.
2. Storage. microSD up to 128 GB per camera. Agree with the customer whether they need a larger card within that limit or will supplement with cloud, and sell the card on the same order — it cuts support calls.
3. Ingress rating. IP66 outdoors, stated on the datasheet. Be sceptical of a higher rating advertised without test evidence behind it.
4. Certification and factory. Shenzhen Leksell, certified by TÜV Rheinland, plus CE, FCC and RoHS, operating since 2012. For customs in Latin America and Vietnam, those documents decide whether the container clears or waits.
5. 4G bands. Confirm the destination carrier's bands before the volume order. It is a one-line detail that prevents an unusable container.

Volumes, margins and lead times

The wholesale model is built around testing before you commit capital: MOQ of 10 units for a trial order and 100 units for OEM/ODM with your own brand, available on every model, including all 49 AOV units. Distribution margin is 20% from roughly 10 units and 30% from roughly 50.

Lead times: samples in 7 to 10 days by air, volume in 25 to 40 days by sea, and 7 to 10 business days inside Vietnam from the Ho Chi Minh City office. Plan your peak season against the sea schedule, not the air one.

The route we recommend is to order ten mixed units from two series, install them in two different scenarios in your own market — one in full sun, one in partial shade — measure real runtime for a month, and only then decide the volume assortment. Volume terms are on the wholesale page, and territory and sales support arrangements are on the dealer page.

Five questions that close the case

1. How many meters from the camera position to the nearest power? If it is short and unobstructed, wired.
2. Does anything have to be cut, crossed or permitted? If yes, solar.
3. Will the camera move in the next twelve months? If yes, solar.
4. Is there stable cellular coverage at the exact position, verified on site rather than on a coverage map? If not, wired or another backhaul.
5. Does the customer need a continuous record, or are events enough? If continuous and the position is isolated, solar with AOV — not PIR.

When the answers contradict each other, the distance decides. Everything else is negotiable; the run back to the power feed is not.