Solar power

[Adrian41]

Does anyone have experience powering external AP's with solar? We need to provide coverage to large outdoor areas where cabling isnt feasible.

I was hoping we could make a mesh network with solar. I found a solar repeater product by meraki but it seems quite old and I cant find it on their current products page so Im wondering if they dis-continued it?

[aleabrahao]

I'm pretty sure this product was dis-continued. Have you talked with be Meraki sales representative?

[GreenMan]

Correct - this product was discontinued many years ago. There's no Meraki solar-powered product available currently, unfortunately. It looks like useful products might be available from other vendors, though I have no experience with them, good or bad, I'm afraid: https://cuttingedgepower.com/products/poe

[Adrian41]

thanks very much

[DainBrammage]

https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Controller-with-48V-PoE/dp/B00B11A5ZC

Obviously you will need an enclosure for the solar controller battery etc. you will at the very least want one AP centered that is wired in to the network in close proximity. Mesh sucks no matter who the vendor is....

A

[JoeT11]

We've had a customer do it with newer APs and switches.

You need a proper electrician / off grid expert to set it all up with the right battery power / etc.

[Caterina76]

Hi Adrian,

Good question. I’ve looked into solar-powered outdoor APs before, and you're right, the Meraki solar repeater does seem to have been quietly phased out. It hasn't been on their main product list for a while.

That said, there are other options. Ubiquiti has some solar-ready gear (like the SunMax series), and you can also roll your own setup with a standard outdoor AP + a solar charge controller, battery, and pole-mounted panel. Mesh is definitely doable, just make sure you size the battery for cloudy days and account for winter sun angles.

If you're open to third-party solutions, I came across a company offering integrated solar + networking kits for exactly this kind of scenario, might save you some design time. You can check out their solar power solutions.

Also, check out the TP-Link CPE series or Cambium ePMP, they have outdoor units that play nicely with DC power and can be paired with solar fairly easily.

Hope that helps, let us know what direction you end up going!