Power & voltage drop

CCTV Voltage-Drop Calculator

A long, thin DC cable eats volts before they reach the camera. Enter the system voltage, the camera's current, the one-way cable length and the conductor size to get the voltage drop, the voltage that actually reaches the camera, the drop percentage and the maximum safe length. Planning figures; runs in your browser.

System voltage

Camera current (A)= watts / volts; a fixed camera ~0.3–0.6 A at 12 V, IR/PTZ moreCable length, one-way (m)

Conductor cross-section (mm²)

0.00 V

Voltage drop on the cable

0.0 V

At the camera

0.0%

Drop

PASS

The camera gets enough voltage.

Max one-way length at this gauge & current (≤10% drop)

0.0 m

Planning estimate only — real draw rises with IR, heaters and PTZ motors, and the worst case is at night. Size for the peak, not idle, and confirm with the product datasheet and a site test. PoE carries data and power on one cable and avoids most of this.

Power the run properly

PoE power-budget calculator CCTV cable-length calculator CCTV power supply & UPS Security power supply requirements

Related Guides — Deep-dive reading

CCTV Cable Inspection in India (2026): The Invisible Failure Point Behind a Dark Camera

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Related Tools — You may also find these useful

Access-Control Power Calculator

Total current and power an access system draws, to size the power supply — locks, readers and controllers.

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CCTV Bandwidth Calculator

Total network bandwidth an IP CCTV system needs, camera-to-recorder on the LAN and the internet upload for remote viewing.

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CCTV Blind-Spot Checker

The dead zone under a wall- or pole-mounted camera, from mounting height, downward tilt and vertical field of view.

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