Conquer the Cold Weather

When choosing a dash cam for your vehicle, there are a few things worth considering, especially for cold weather. The first thing to consider is the battery inside the camera.

We do not recommend using lithium-ion batteries. Instead, choose capacitors. Capacitors, or super capacitors, perform well in both cold and warm climates.

Most capacitor power supply manufacturers specify a safe operating temperature range of −40 to 70°C. All of our dash cams at BlackboxMyCar use capacitors, so you can browse through our selection with confidence!

Generally, when things freeze over, everything is coated in a layer of white, which at the very does have a silver lining, pun intended. That advantage being that most surfaces are now reflective, and this does lead to brighter videos overall, so night vision is less important in your dash camera.

Still, depending on this extra reflectiveness, it can lead to extra glare flying around into both the driver’s eyes and the camera’s. For this reason, we do firmly recommend a CPL filter for more extreme cold weather, which will help darken the video, and remove excess glare.

A dash cam recording won't be of much use if a heap of snow or ice is blocking its view. Fortunately, since most of our cameras are mounted directly on the windshield with adhesives, and since dash cameras tend to heat up when in use, the heat it generates is often enough to melt the snow and ice, allowing you to wipe it down and clear the camera's view.

Now, let's talk about 12-volt batteries, which power your car and often your dash cam. Extreme weather can have a significant impact on batteries of all types and sizes to varying degrees. Even your car battery will be affected if it gets cold enough, and you'll often find that the resting charge of the battery is lower as it retains less charge, and the voltage level before a jump start is required is higher, making the need for a jump start more likely.

Some dash cameras, like Thinkware, have a "wintertime battery protection" setting to prevent battery issues in the cold, although this will shorten the duration of parking mode. Losing parking mode is not ideal for many. If you're looking for parking mode in cold weather, we recommend considering a dedicated dash cam battery pack.

Dash cam battery packs, like the BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8, are Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries. LiFePO4 batteries are designed and built to provide a larger capacity and high voltage retention in the cold compared to standard lead-acid batteries. While cold weather can impact the battery's overall performance, dash cam battery packs will function with relatively little loss below 0°C (32°F), providing 70-80% of their total capacity. However, it's important to keep in mind that battery packs will not charge efficiently in freezing temperatures, and charging at freezing temperatures can potentially cause long-term power retention issues in the battery.

To prevent this, we recommend wrapping the battery pack in proper insulation, such as a Thermal Blanket, Insulation Blanket, or Battery Blanket. Using standard insulation can also help prevent overheating in high-heat situations.