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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.


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