Skip to main content

Ring Video Doorbell Wired - DC and AC Power Improvements

There are many choices when powering a wired Ring Video Doorbell.  Most people just reuse their existing doorbell power, but I wanted to see if I could improve that situation.

When I first hooked up my Ring Wired Doorbell, I used an existing Honeywell Plug-in AC Transformer.  These AC transformers are very popular for both video doorbells, traditional doorbells, and security systems.  They reduce standard home voltages (120VAC in North America) to 16.5 VAC.

In contrast, modern DC power adapters for home electronics are efficient. There are global efficiency standards on modern adapters, and in the USA the current efficiency standard is called "Level VI".  These efficiency standards help ensure that idle equipment has near-zero power draw, and that active equipment isn't wildly inefficient. The thing is, the standards are for modern single-voltage DC power adapters, but given that my Ring Wired Doorbell was hooked up to my home's 1990's vintage AC doorbell transformer, I saw an opportunity for improvement.


Original Honeywell 16.5 VAC Transformer for my Ring

 

Modern Power Adapter with efficiency VI (marked on right, in circle)

 

I wanted to improve this set-up for three specific reasons:

  1. I wanted to power all my critical network gear with my CyberPower UPS during power outages, including my Video doorbell.  Lower power consumption means more minutes of runtime when on UPS Battery. Inefficient power supplies are a detriment to UPS runtime.
  2. AC transformers are big and bulky, to the point where I had to lash mine to a board with zip ties.  That small board also holds all my home networking gear, so my hope was to reduce the amount of space used up by power adapters.
  3. Measurement with my plug-in Kill-a-watt meter showed that my Ring on the Honeywell AC adapter had a power consumption of 4.3 watts.  Over 10 years, that's 380 kWh, or about $93.  Not that much, but can I do better and have some extra money for beer?

All this got me thinking: I already had a capable and efficient 12 VDC power adapter brick in place.  Thanks to a DC splitter cable, I use this single 12 VDC power brick to power my modem and router.  So I was wondering: could I use that same 12V brick to power the Ring too?

The answer is... not all by itself.

The Ring Power Problem... and Fix

Probably 99% of people power their Ring Wired doorbells with a standard AC doorbell transformer, but there is another option: the Ring Wired can also use DC power using the Ring 24 volt DC adapter.  So the Ring can use DC voltage, but my 12VDC adapter wasn't going to make the grade.

Happily, there is a fix!  By using a very inexpensive, adjustable Boost converter, I can boost my adapter's 12 VDC power to 24 VDC for use by the Ring.  The 12VDC adapter is connected to my Boost converter, and the boost converter sends 24VDC to the Ring. After a quick hook up, it works 100% perfectly. 

Ring "Device Health" Experimentation

Given that my boost converter has adjustable voltage, it made sense for me to experiment.  The Ring app has a "device health" tab, and an entry in that tab is "transformer voltage", which in my experimentation can range from "good" to "poor".  Taping on the transformer voltage line reports the actual voltage seen by the Ring.  After adjustment, I find that the Ring app reports any input voltage between 14V and 24V as "good".  

The Ring Device Health tab complains about "poor" voltage at 12V, and sometimes doesn't even function.  So for now, I am providing the Ring with a 14 Volts DC.  (Note that the 14V is being reported at the Ring, and the voltage will drop with wire length/resistance.)


The Ring app reports a warning (or doesn't even work) at 12 VDC.

 

The Ring app shows voltage in the green at 14 VDC ... up to 24 VDC.

 


The Win

Overall, by combining all my power adapters together, I achieve 3 useful outcomes:

  • My CyberPower UPS can now power my network for 15% more time.
  • My modem, my router, and my Ring all operate on a single high-efficiency 12VDC power adapter, eliminating two bulky power bricks.
  • Kill-a-watt measurement shows that this reduces my Ring power consumption by 70% savings over the original AC power brick strategy. Considering all my gear, now I save about 4 watts, which amounts to an $86 savings over a decade (not including my < $14 in parts to hook this up). 

In short, this was an easy win and a general improvement over a default power configuration.


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair.  Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator.  Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way.  Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver.  I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...
Read more

Fixing my Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Not everyone would bother repairing a $25 beard trimmer, but why not fix something for under $5 instead of spending another $25? My  Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer  has admirably performed its beauty duty for many years, but the time came when the battery just wasn't holding a charge any more.  Most people would just put the trimmer in the trash and buy a new one, but I figured I could repair my otherwise excellent Wahl and save some money. In fact, even high priced trimmer and rotary shaver brands, like Norelco and Remington, can be easily repaired using a process similar to the one I used to fix my Wahl.  Read on to find out how. I opened up the Wahl by popping off the black plastic faceplate with a tiny flathead screwdriver, which revealed two screws.  By removing the two screws I was able to easily open up the unit, revealing the guts of the device. Backplate off, Revealing the screws The internals are rather simple: a motor, a...
Read more

Macintosh: Upgrading an eMac

It's been a long time since I wrote this article, but the fact remains: The good old eMac can still be useful if you take the simple steps to keep it as good as it can be.  All can run Tiger, and most can run Leopard - great operating systems for their day with a bit of useful life.  This article describes the procedure I used to upgrade my old eMac, including: Replacing the internal hard disk with a large capacity drive. Increasing the memory for performance Upgrading the operating system Here I'm upgrading a 700 MHz eMac, but the procedure and tasks for upgrading other eMac models should be almost identical. Upgrading versus Replacing My sister's eMac is of the 700 mhz variety, with 256 MB of memory. The machine seemed to be getting "slower", and the original 40 GB disk was becoming jammed packed with photos and iTunes, and within a few months she'd be out of disk space. There were two options to address the problems: upgrade the eMac, or go o...
Read more

Porsche Key Remote Battery Repair Video How-To

We now live in the age where part of your life is spending time and money maintaining and repairing things like your car keys . My Porsche's remote key was getting weaker and weaker, until one day it stopped operating altogether. Keyless remote without the remoteness. Not so good. I was a bit fearful spending a sizable chunk of my time and money at the dealership to have such a small problem addressed, and so I decided that I would try to replace the battery myself. Items required A clear work surface A small flat blade screw driver. A quality lithium CR-2032 Battery, available here. Procedure The following video shows how I successfully opened up the key without breaking it, and replaced the alarm remote battery. In short, from the vantage point of the key's steel part facing away and the buttons facing up: I take a small screwdriver and press on the little plastic tab on the left side.  At the same time I use my fingers to start to pull the two halves apart.  From th...
Read more

Trendnet TEW-652BRP and DD-WRT Success!

I recently visited my dad while on a business trip when I coincidentally discovered that DD-WRT is now available for his TEW-652. The TEW-652BRP has been a great router for my father, but it isn't what I'd call "feature rich". An upgrade to DD-WRT is a big bonus. I live 2500 miles away from my non-technical father, and so a well-specified router that helps me manage his network remotely is important to both of us. This article will explain what I did to finally get DD-WRT working on my TEW-652BRP v1.0R. About the TEW-652brp It's a nice looking little black 802.11n, 2.5 GHz router. It was amazingly inexpensive (usually way under $30), and  the TEW-652brp is available through Amazon. Mine is a version 1.0R, you'll likely want the same version. Out of the box, it works quite well - it has been stable, and I was fairly happy with the stock firmware. But it was short on features - I like having VPN, SSH, and flexible DHCP services on the home netwo...
Read more

Excellent DD-WRT Router for Me: Netgear WNDR3400 / N600

My WiFi performance was suffering, and so I decided to do something about it and upgrade my router. When I say my WiFi performance was suffering, I really mean it:  I live in a large high-rise apartment building and there are 100+ WiFi access points visible from my home office.  All of the contentious traffic was severely curtailing my WiFi reliability.  I was lucky to get 1 Mbit/second throughput.  Sometimes I was lucky to stay connected even with my WiFi router in the same room. I decided it was time to go for 5 GHz, which is a WiFi band which is used less frequently and which has a tougher time traversing walls.  And of course I wanted DD-WRT support.  The set of features I was looking for included: Trouble-free DD-WRT support 5 GHz 802.11n Support Simultaneous dual band capability Inexpensive.  Maybe even cheap.  For me this means under $50.  Under $35 is even better! It sounds like an easy task to bring all this together: A...
Read more

Other Posts

Show more