4G Cameras for Construction Sites With No Power: Configurations, Costs and Import Terms for Distributors

Short answer: a site with no grid power can still be watched 24/7, using 4G cameras that run on battery and a solar panel

A site that has not been energised and has no data cabling can still be monitored around the clock, provided you specify the right class of hardware: a 4G camera with an integrated rechargeable battery and a solar panel, using a 4G SIM instead of WiFi and recording straight to a microSD card of up to 128GB inside the housing itself. No power runs, no modem, no NVR, no electrical enclosure. Across SolaGuard's 49 AOV models, batteries run from 8000mAh to 20000mAh, panels are 8W or 15W, resolution is 1080p–2K, outdoor housings are rated IP66, and a single camera takes 5–10 minutes to install — enough for a two-person crew to cover a site perimeter in one morning.

This article is written for importers, distributors and purchasing teams sourcing for contractor accounts, not for retail buyers. So what follows goes straight to which configuration suits which position, which figures to verify before placing an order, and the real MOQ, margin and delivery terms.

Why a construction site is the hardest environment a camera can face

Unlike a factory or a shop, a site has four characteristics that make mains-powered consumer cameras close to useless:

• No stable power. Through foundations and structural works there is usually no permanent supply; the generator runs office hours, and thieves come at night.
• No network infrastructure. Trenching fibre into an empty plot is a cost and a lead time nobody will sign off for a project lasting a few months.
• The positions worth watching move with the programme. This week's rebar laydown area is next week's working deck. Hardware has to come down and go back up in minutes, not involve chasing walls and re-running conduit.
• Punishing physical conditions. Cement dust, vibration from piling rigs, rain driven sideways. That is why the entire outdoor range is IP66 — fully dust-tight and rated against pressurised water jets, meaning it survives sustained heavy rain, not just drizzle.

The assets that go missing on site are also the easiest to move on: scrap steel, copper cable, scaffolding, formwork, fuel. A camera costing a few tens of dollars in the right position is usually far cheaper than one night's losses, and that is the strongest sales argument a dealer can put in front of a contractor.

The power question: 8000mAh/8W or 20000mAh/15W

This is the most important technical decision, and the one distributors most often get wrong. The principle is simple: battery capacity decides how long the unit survives without sun; panel wattage decides how fast it recovers. A site overshadowed by high-rise structures or a tower crane through the afternoon, or one going up during the southern rainy season, needs the 20000mAh configuration with the 15W panel. An open position with a good sun path is comfortably served by 8000mAh and 8W.

Four AOV series are currently in production, 49 models in total, with wholesale prices quoted per order:

A few specific models to quote from quickly: SG-C41G-10T66-V1 (2K, 8000mAh, 8W) for secondary points such as side gates, site cabins and small material stores; SG-D42G-10F66-V1 (2K dual lens, 8000mAh, 8W) for perimeter fencing and access routes; SG-D42G-15F66-V1 (2K dual lens, 20000mAh, 15W) for the single most critical position, or for any project deployed into the rainy season.

Why dual- and triple-lens units earn their price on site

One lens holds the wide view while the other zooms into the point that matters — the gate, the laydown area, the plant compound. On a construction site the wide shot is usually useless the moment you need to identify a person or a truck plate, and the zoomed shot tells you nothing about where the event actually happened. Two simultaneous streams solve exactly that, which is why 34 of the 49 AOV models are dual-lens.

AOV versus PIR-triggered cameras: the difference that decides it on site

AOV (Always-On Video) is an industry-generic term, not one manufacturer's trademark. It describes continuous 24/7 recording at very low standby power, achieved by analysing the scene with AI rather than waiting for an infrared sensor to wake the unit up.

A conventional PIR camera only records when it detects a heat change inside the sensor's zone. On a site that creates three practical blind spots:

1. Slow movement is missed. Someone crawling low or moving very deliberately often never trips the PIR at all.
2. Anything outside the sensor zone is missed. A thief standing beyond PIR range and dragging material towards himself never starts the recording.
3. The first few seconds are lost. Wake-up latency means the most important part of the clip — the approach — simply is not in the file.

With AOV the stream never stops, so the footage you hand over reconstructs the whole sequence. The trade-off is higher consumption than PIR standby, and that is precisely why the battery-and-panel pairing above has to be chosen on merit rather than on lowest unit price.

4G connectivity, storage, and what the customer has to prepare

The units take a 4G LTE SIM directly in the housing, so the contractor only needs one prepaid data SIM per camera. Video is written to a microSD card of up to 128GB locally, which means footage keeps recording even when the 4G signal drops, and the app only pulls down the clips someone actually wants to watch. When advising a customer, distributors should raise three points, because these are where nearly all complaints originate:

• Check carrier signal at the actual site before installing, particularly in basements or areas boxed in by steel structure.
• Aim the panel at the strongest sun of the day and keep it clear of tower cranes, containers and tree cover — shading is the number one reason a camera starts reporting a low battery after a few weeks.
• Size the card against the retention the customer wants, and if they need to keep footage longer, steer them to a larger card within the limit the hardware supports, or to a cloud option — never to a retention figure the hardware cannot deliver.

The 5–10 minute install time per camera is not a marketing number: no drilling through walls, no cable runs, just fix the bracket, insert the SIM and card, scan the pairing code. For the contractor it also means the cameras follow the programme — moved from the foundation zone to the fit-out area without paying for installation twice.

Import terms: MOQ, margin and lead times

The full catalogue runs to 150 SKUs, with wholesale prices quoted per order, manufactured by Shenzhen Leksell — a factory established in 2012 and certified by TÜV Rheinland, alongside CE, FCC and RoHS. All 49 AOV models are available for OEM/private label: logo, packaging, model naming and documentation under the distributor's own brand.

The Vietnam office is in Ho Chi Minh City and handles quotations, samples and technical support in Vietnamese. Configurations beyond the catalogue — higher resolution, larger battery and panel, different storage — are built to order by the factory; quantity, price and lead time on those are always confirmed directly by an account manager, never taken from a standard price list.

Full specifications for every model are in the product catalogue, quantity terms are on the wholesale pricing page, or apply to the dealer programme. For a quotation on a specific project, message us on WhatsApp at +86 188 1869 9870, call +86 188 1869 9870 or email info@solaguard.net — include the number of cameras, where they go and the season of deployment, and you will get the right battery and panel configuration in the first quote rather than the third.