Dash Cam Battery Calculator

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Your car's battery, or its own?

Parking mode has to draw power from somewhere: your vehicle's battery, or one dedicated to the camera. Answer four questions and we'll tell you which your setup actually needs, and roughly how many hours you'll get.

How many cameras does your setup record from?
What resolution does it record at?
How long does your vehicle usually sit unattended?
How much do you drive on a typical day?

Answer all four to see your result.

Estimates based on manufacturer single-channel figures adjusted for your setup. Real-world runtime varies with temperature, camera model and recording settings. Cold weather reduces capacity for both battery packs and vehicle batteries.

Parking mode is only as good as what powers it

A dash cam that records while you're parked has to draw power from somewhere. Run it off the vehicle battery and you risk a car that won't start — which is why most cameras cut off at a voltage threshold, often long before you'd want them to.

A dedicated battery pack solves both problems. The camera records for as long as the pack lasts, the vehicle battery is never touched, and the pack recharges while you drive.

The number that matters is how long it actually records, not the capacity on the box. That depends on your camera's draw, how many channels it's running, and whether it's recording continuously or only on motion. The calculator above works it out for your setup.

What the number means in practice

Overnight parking needs roughly 8 to 12 hours. Most single-channel cameras manage that on a mid-size pack.

A working day needs 8 to 10 hours, and a three-channel camera will use noticeably more than a two.

Airport parking or anything longer is where capacity earns its price. If you regularly leave a vehicle for days, buy more than you think you need.

Cold weather reduces every figure above. A Canadian winter is hard on lithium cells, and a pack that gives twelve hours in July will give less in January.

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