How Does a Solar Surveillance Trailer Work?

A growing number of enterprises are turning to solar surveillance trailers as their primary security solution. Here, we define solar surveillance trailers, list their salient characteristics, and discuss their main applications.

If you’ve lately passed by a construction site, a Walmart parking lot, or a deserted property, you’ve probably noticed a solar surveillance trailer and wondered what it was, what it did, and how it worked.

Solar surveillance trailers are a form of mobile video surveillance unit designed for quick deployment in areas that require temporary security coverage but lack the power and/or internet infrastructure to support a regular security camera installation.

They are outfitted with solar panels that charge internal batteries, security cameras mounted atop a tall pole, providing users with panoramic views of the properties or job sites, and a variety of other security features like as audio voice-down units, sirens, alarms, and flashing lights.

Mobile solar surveillance trailers offer flexibility, autonomy, cost-effectiveness, and an ecologically conscientious approach to security, putting them at the forefront of modern surveillance technology.

Security guards are a popular choice for security at parking lots, construction sites, important infrastructure, and unoccupied properties. They are still commonly utilized, although the days of security guards being the only choice are over.

So, why are Solar Surveillance Trailers beginning to replace security guards? There are various advantages to deploying surveillance trailers instead of security officers, including:

Cost-Effectiveness: Hiring a security guard has always been expensive, and as labor shortages drive salary hikes, these expenses are only going up.

A surveillance trailer costs substantially less than a security guard; in most circumstances, it can be up to 88% less expensive to deploy a surveillance trailer than to engage a security guard.

Reliability: A solar surveillance trailer will not be late for work, take the day off sick, fall asleep on duty, or turn a blind eye. Surveillance trailers, as we say at Panoptic Surveillance, are constantly awake and alert.

Effectiveness: A surveillance trailer can perform various tasks that a security guard would find unfeasible. First and foremost, it has night vision. Bad guys typically break into homes and construction sites between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., but the night vision capabilities of current security cameras prevent them from going unnoticed.

Second, a security guard can only be in one location at a time. Depending on the size of the area you want to secure, this could result in multiple blind spots that a guard cannot cover. Do you want to eliminate those blind spots? It will cost you many thousand dollars to recruit more security. Alternatively, you might acquire a solar trailer.

Proactiveness: One of the primary reasons people continue with traditional security guarding systems is the assumption that a guard can intervene and prevent a crime from occurring, but a solar surveillance trailer backed by remote video monitoring accomplishes the same thing. When intruders are identified, a remote camera operator can send out live voice warnings and dispatch local police to stop crimes in progress.

Documentation: In addition to live video footage, solar surveillance trailers record footage of any occurrences that occur at your locations. So, if you need to transmit documentation evidence to law police or insurers, you’ll have a complete archive of undeniable evidence rather than a potentially untrustworthy witness narrative from a security guard.

Your security relies on a solution that never calls in sick, never takes a break, never steals, deters crime, provides live reaction, and video records all incidents at a fair cost.

Surveillance trailers provide all of this and more, which is why demand for these systems is on the rise, with the trailer industry expected to reach $2.7 billion by 2024.

We have already mentioned a few corporate sectors that commonly employ solar surveillance trailers for security purposes, but their application is expanding rapidly throughout a wide spectrum of industries, such as:

• Police and Law Enforcement
• Property management companies for state, municipal, and local governments
• Big box retail parking lots and shopping centers
• Public works initiatives involve critical infrastructure
• Construction jobsites

Although you’ve probably seen them in parking lots and on construction sites, the applications for solar surveillance trailers are diverse and cover a wide range of businesses and settings.

The common thread connecting all of these industries is a desire for one or more of the following advantages: temporary security, targeted monitoring, off-grid deployment capabilities, zero maintenance requirements, and no upfront cost commitment.

Solar surveillance trailers integrate video security cameras and remote communication technology in a portable unit powered solely by solar energy.

The video feed from cameras on a surveillance trailer can typically be accessed remotely via cellular connectivity, allowing users to view real-time or archived material directly from their phones or laptops.

Alternatively, video streams can be routed to a remote video monitoring station, where security personnel keep an eye on cameras around the clock.

Trailers can also be customized with a variety of security features. These include speakers, sirens, lights, and specialty cameras like LPR and thermal imaging cameras.

Other camera technologies that can be added include time lapse video cameras, which are commonly used at building sites to document progress and record critical milestones.

Trailers will include a distinctive telescoping tower on which the camera equipment is mounted, making them a highly conspicuous surveillance solution for your locations.

To understand the major elements of a solar surveillance trailer, the most natural method is to go through the configuration from top to bottom.

Security cameras are often mounted at the top of the trailer unit and can provide features such as pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ), infrared (IR) night vision, auto-tracking, 1080p high-definition video recording, and edge-based video analytics.

Cellular Connectivity: On a Panoptic Surveillance Security Trailer, cellular connectivity (4G/5G) is embedded directly into the camera modules utilizing our proprietary technology. Cellular connectivity enables customers to view their cameras at any time and from anywhere.

Trailer Mast: The mast raises security cameras and other equipment to heights of up to 20 feet for maximum visibility and wide-area coverage. The mast will be constructed of aluminum or steel with a weather-resistant coating. Masts can be extended manually or automatically, with telescopic flexibility and stabilizing devices to provide stable operation in windy conditions.

Solar panels are the primary power source for a surveillance trailer. They turn sunlight into electricity, so providing an environmentally beneficial power source for surveillance systems. This eliminates the requirement for on-site electric hookups or generators.

Battery Storage: Solar surveillance trailers are equipped with battery storage systems to ensure continued operation even during extended periods of low (or no) sunlight. These batteries store extra energy produced throughout the day for use when sunshine is not available.

Mobility: A solar trailer’s ease of transport and relocation is critical to its flexibility. Most solar surveillance trailers can be tied to a truck for long-distance transportation and manually maneuvered around a site with a drawbar.

A surveillance trailer’s price will differ significantly depending on the manufacturer, feature package, and construction quality.

The price of purchasing a surveillance trailer can range from $13,000 to $50,000, depending on factors like the nation of origin and other attributes.

Panoptic Surveillance advises using prudence while making a surveillance trailer purchase. It is advisable to always look for trailers that are certified as Made in the USA, as low-cost imports frequently have reliability issues and may be dangerously underspecified.

Many manufacturers allow clients to rent the equipment in addition to buying trailers. This could often be a better choice because of:

short-term requirement of security
zero-upfront costs
guarantee of the latest technology
easier procurement process

To make sure they have all the information necessary to decide what is best for them, we recommend anyone interested in these units to read our article on renting vs. buying solar surveillance trailers.

Depending on the deployment scenario, solar surveillance trailers can be supported by remote video monitoring services, in which a team of security professionals monitors the trailer’s cameras for illegal activity.

Remote video monitoring systems have various advantages, including crime prevention and lower costs when compared to deploying security guards.

When remote video monitoring is not necessary, users can self-monitor solar surveillance trailers using software and/or mobile applications.

Most surveillance trailers will also include onboard video storage, which archives all images acquired by the cameras around the clock.

Solar surveillance trailers require sunlight to function since they use solar energy to charge its internal batteries.

Solar trailers can run totally on battery power in the absence of sunlight, depending on the size, number, and capacity of the internal batteries.

A Panoptic Surveillance solar surveillance trailer provides at least 10 days of power autonomy during periods with insufficient direct sunlight.

Depending on where you intend to deploy a surveillance trailer, we recommend researching the answers to the most often asked questions regarding powering a solar surveillance trailer.

Panoptic Surveillance is Texas’ the best supplier of solar surveillance trailers.

We manufacture our trailer solutions in Texas, which allows us to supply high-quality equipment at a competitive price, as well as ongoing technical assistance from our Texas-based team.

Our solar surveillance trailers can be rented or purchased; simply contact us and tell us how we can help.