Build a camera-rig power budget from documented specs

Start with the source label

Enter source voltage and maximum current at that voltage. The illustrative defaults are 12 V and 10 A, so the source budget is 120 W. Replace both values with the rating for the actual power source.

source power (W) = source voltage (V) x source maximum current (A)

The defaults calculate 12 x 10 = 120 W of nominal source capacity before planning reserve.

Add each rail separately

Keep the camera, monitor, receiver, and other loads as separate CSV rows. A row at 12 V and 2 A contributes 24 W, while a row at 12 V and 1.5 A contributes 18 W. Quantity multiplies the row demand.

device power (W) = required voltage x current x quantity

The default camera and monitor rows contribute 24 W and 18 W; the 5 V receiver contributes 2.5 W, for 44.5 W total.

Apply the chosen headroom

Headroom is a planning input for startup and measurement uncertainty. The default 20% setting turns the 44.5 W declared total into a 53.4 W recommended budget. Recheck the result if a device or rail changes.

recommended budget = total device power x (1 + headroom percent / 100)