Solar vs Wired CCTV Specs: A Buyer's Spec-Sheet Comparison for Importers

The short answer: same optics, opposite infrastructure

A wired CCTV camera and a solar 4G camera can carry the same sensor, the same night vision and the same AI detection — what differs is everything behind the lens. A wired system draws power and pushes video down a cable, so its specification is really a system specification: cable type, switch or injector, recorder channels, disk capacity. The camera is the cheap part and the installation is the expensive part. A solar 4G camera carries its own power plant and its own uplink, so its specification is a self-contained one: battery capacity, panel wattage, standby draw, LTE band support, onboard card slot. On the SolaGuard catalogue those lines read 1080p–2K resolution as standard (4K only as a custom or OEM build), IP66 outdoor housings, microSD storage up to 128GB, batteries from 8000mAh to 20000mAh paired with an 8W or 15W panel, and an install time of 5–10 minutes per camera because there is no trench, no conduit and no commissioning of a recorder. That is the whole comparison in one paragraph; the rest of this page is the detail a procurement buyer needs to check a quote against.

Spec-by-spec: reading the two datasheets side by side

The row that decides most projects is the last one. A distributor is rarely choosing between the two technologies for the same wall — the customer either has a power run within reach or does not. Where the argument does happen is at the edge of a site: the far gate, the back fence, the equipment yard, the pole at the end of the access road. That is where the cable quote stops being proportionate and a self-powered camera wins on installed cost rather than unit cost.

Battery and panel are one specification, not two

An importer comparing two solar quotes should never read the mAh figure alone. Capacity determines how many overcast days the camera survives; panel wattage determines how fast it recovers once the sun returns. A large battery behind an undersized panel simply discharges more slowly on its way to zero. The SolaGuard AOV range ships two pairings and only two: 8000mAh with an 8W panel, and 20000mAh with a 15W panel. The first suits sites with clear southern exposure and a straightforward duty cycle. The second is what to specify for monsoon regions, shaded mounting positions, or cameras that are asked to record and stream heavily — which in Vietnam and across Latin America covers a large share of real installations. If a competing datasheet quotes a battery figure without a panel figure, the datasheet is incomplete.

Storage sits in a different place

Wired systems centralise recording, which is convenient until the recorder is stolen along with the evidence. Solar 4G cameras record to a card in the housing and mirror events to the cloud, so the footage survives the loss of any one device. The practical specification is up to 128GB of microSD per camera. Retention is then a function of resolution, frame rate and how much of the day actually gets written — which brings us to the specification line buyers most often overlook.

AOV versus PIR: the line that decides whether footage exists

AOV stands for Always-On Video — continuous 24/7 recording held at low standby power through AI scene analysis rather than a motion trip. It is an industry-generic term, not a SolaGuard trademark, and it is the single most important thing to verify on a battery camera quote. A PIR-triggered camera sleeps until its sensor fires, which means it misses slow movement, anything drifting outside the detection zone, and the seconds of context before the trigger. For a farm losing livestock or a construction yard losing materials, those are exactly the frames that matter. Wired cameras record continuously as a matter of course; a battery camera only does so if it was engineered for it. Insist on the distinction in writing.

The 49 solar AOV models, by series

SolaGuard's catalogue runs to 150 SKUs, with wholesale prices quoted per order. Of those, 49 are solar AOV models, across four series:

Three models worth quoting as references: SG-C41G-10T66-V1 is the single-lens entry point, 2K on 8000mAh and an 8W panel. SG-D42G-10F66-V1 adds the second lens for wide-plus-detail coverage on the same power budget. SG-D42G-15F66-V1 is the dual-lens model on 20000mAh and a 15W panel — the one to stock for customers whose sites are shaded, wet for months at a time, or simply too far away to revisit. Full specifications per variant are on the product catalogue.

Where wired still deserves the order

Honest sourcing advice sells more cameras than blanket advocacy. Wired remains the better engineering answer indoors, on sites that already have structured cabling in place, and anywhere a customer genuinely needs continuous high-bitrate archive across dozens of channels with no recurring connectivity cost. What has changed is the boundary. Ten years ago the boundary sat at the edge of the building. Continuous recording on a battery, mobile uplink and outdoor-rated housings have moved it out to the perimeter fence, and most mixed sites now specify both: wired inside, solar 4G everywhere the cable would have to be dug in.

Sourcing terms an importer should confirm before ordering

Manufacturing is by Shenzhen Leksell, established 2012, certified by TÜV Rheinland and holding CE, FCC and RoHS. Certification matters more on solar hardware than on wired, because a battery and a charge controller are shipped inside every unit and customs treats them accordingly.

Run the trial order before the container. Ten units in the hands of real installers will tell you more about mounting hardware, app onboarding and local LTE behaviour than any datasheet, and the 5–10 minute install claim is the easiest of all these figures for a buyer to verify personally. Volume pricing and terms are set out on the wholesale page; territory and margin structure for exclusive distribution are handled through the dealer programme. Quantity-specific pricing and lead times always come from a person — write to info@solaguard.net with your site profile, target volume and whether you need private label, and expect a quotation rather than a price list.