As a homeowner, you've probably considered installing a security camera system at your house. Ultimately, they can help you feel safe in your own home while also safeguarding your possessions. But where should we put the cameras to keep an eye on things? Many homeowners wonder this, but there is, unfortunately, no universally correct response. It's important to think about a few different things when deciding where to put your home security cameras.
In addition to that, we will offer some advice on how to maximize the effectiveness of your camera setup. Continue reading for information that will assist you in making the most informed choice possible regarding the requirements for your home's security!
Where Should You Put Your Home Surveillance Camera?
Since you clearly did your homework before making this investment, allow us to offer our sincere compliments on your choice of home security cameras. Put them up inside your house right now. No two apartment complexes are alike, but there are still common areas that should be checked regularly. There are weak points in every building, but the methods burglars use to gain entry to yours might surprise you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Home Security
These days, most security cameras have DIY installation, and they're designed so that anyone can get them up and running in minutes. With step-by-step instructions from the apps themselves, we didn't have too much trouble installing the majority of our home security cameras. However, some companies require professional installation. Other companies have professional installation as an option, both through third-party providers.
Hanging an indoor camera in the corner of a room usually gives you the largest possible vantage point. However, windows can cause reflection issues. In addition, pointing a camera out the window might degrade its image quality.
As long as your neighbour's security cams don't infringe on your privacy, it's all good. The bottom line is that it's completely legal for your neighbour to point a security camera at your property if it's in plain view and visible from the streets. Still, there are some further nuances to elaborate on.
For a home video surveillance system, most people need between 2 and 6 security cameras. However, if it's for a business, you may need anywhere from 16 to 64 cameras, depending on the size of your property.
A home security camera can usually see between 0 to 70 feet depending on the resolution, sensor, and lens it's using. However, there are also professional cameras such as high-resolution PTZs that can see further away, ranging from 0 to 700 feet.
In What Locations Should Surveillance Cameras Be Set Up?
The first thing to figure out is a good spot to put the surveillance cameras. Here's a rundown, with increasing relevance to the placement and use of security cameras from left to right:
Spaces Reserved for the Master
When breaking into a house, burglars usually head straight for the master bedroom. Quite a few things are usually stored in these areas as well. The process of identifying the items taken by a thief after the fact can be tedious. You can watch them as they rummage through your stuff and take what they want with the satisfaction of knowing you caught them on camera. Since this is the case, keeping track of what you've lost and whether or not it's recoverable is much simpler. The camera will capture their face from a variety of angles as they move around the master bedroom. This will make it much simpler for the police to identify potential perpetrators.
Safety Suggestion:
Don't dismiss the value of a two-way audio feature if your cameras have one. It is more likely that the intruder will flee in a panic if you speak to them directly, and they will leave your belongings behind. Instead, you should make an announcement that the police have been called and that their every move will be recorded.
It Has Both a Front and a Back Door
It stands to reason that you should keep a close eye on your home's main entrances. However, you'll need to know where and how to position the cameras for the best results. Most would-be thieves will first check the front door, then the back and any other secondary entrances. If they are unable to gain access through the doors, they move on to the ground floor windows. When looking out for intruders from inside the building, the camera's focus should be on the entrance.
The camera should be held about 7 feet in the air (no higher) and pointed slightly downward at all times. You can get a great shot of the intruder's face from this angle, making this the ideal spot to take photos of them. A thief in a hurry won't have to worry about being spotted because it's perched high up. You can instal the camera on a wall or set it on a tabletop, depending on the available entrance and your personal preference.
Windows on the Ground Level
Potential thieves may shift their focus to the ground floor windows if they are unable to break through the doors. A security camera is a great deterrent when placed on a table in front of a window. Some additional upward tilt may be required. Even if the intruder doesn't realise it, the camera may have captured his or her image before he or she has even entered the building. Furthermore, burglars know more about home security and security systems than the average citizen. As a result, they will understand that your camera has motion detection and has already sent an alert to the homeowners via email. It will be obvious to them that an alert has been issued.
It's best if they leave while they still can. Also, keep in mind that cameras can deter burglars and record their activities, but they won't actually make your ground-floor windows any more secure. One of the first things you should do if you want to increase your home's safety is to fortify the entryways, such as the doors and windows.
Security Tip:
The camera should not face the window. The correct orientation for it is slightly behind you and angled slightly forwards. This will eliminate the possibility of backlighting and reflections obscuring the intruder's image, making identification impossible. Avoiding this sort of interference is achieved by doing this.
Another reason to avoid pointing the cameras directly out the window is that they might detect motion that isn't there and send false alarms. This could include things like passing birds or plants blowing in the wind. You may have to experiment with different camera placements before settling on the ideal view.
Thoroughfares
There's a simple reason why we suggest keeping an eye on the hallways of your house, especially the one leading to your master suite. The master bedroom is usually the first target of a home invasion because that's where most people keep their valuables and cash.
If there is a security camera inside, it will likely catch the intruder in the act of entering the room. As a matter of fact, most burglars won't even bother to check kids' rooms.
Security Tip:
Ensure the camera is set up to capture the intruder's entry into the house. In this position, you can easily aim at their face. You definitely don't want any photos taken of the subject's head from the side or behind. To add insult to injury, it would be impractical and costly to install cameras facing each entrance in your home. In its place, you should look for bottleneck positions, or points where the thief must pass in order to enter or leave the building. The stairwell or hallway are just two possibilities here.
Storage Buildings
It's important to keep a close eye on your garage if you have one. If they are unsuccessful at breaching the residence through the front door or one of the secondary windows, intruders will always try the garage. As much as nine percent of all break-ins occur through garage doors.
If valuables are in plain sight, opportunistic thieves won't discriminate against a home's garage, even if it's located in a different building. The same holds true for garden sheds. Both of these sheds might be hiding a treasure trove of contraband goods with high resale value. Another reason why ordinary burglars target Outbuildings is that they are usually unoccupied.
Security Tips:
It's important to think strategically about where you'll put surveillance cameras in detached structures like garages and sheds. Always keep in mind the issue with the backlighting. If the cameras are pointed right at the entrance and the thief breaks in while it's still light outside, the footage will be useless.
Simply pointing the camera in the direction of the doors will solve the issue. This is helpful for motion detection because it allows the camera to better identify when an intruder is crossing the lens rather than coming straight at it. Numerous shelves and other flat surfaces can be found in these outhouses. Try different placements for the cameras until you find one that will reliably catch an intruder while also providing sufficient illumination.
Incorrect Locations For Surveillance Cameras
You shouldn't install security cameras in every room of your house for a number of reasons, including compliance with the law and respect for your privacy.
Acreage Shared With Neighbours:
It's possible that keeping vigil over someone else's property is illegal where you live, but the laws surrounding this matter are highly context-dependent. Be sure that your home, and not your neighbours', is the primary focus of any surveillance cameras.
Bedrooms:
A bedroom is a good place to store valuables, but placing a security camera there would be a breach of privacy.
Bathrooms:
Similarly, there is minimal to no security risk in leaving bathrooms unattended because a burglar is unlikely to gain much if any useful information from them.
Various Other Factors
Since you've already decided which areas need monitoring, there are a few more details to keep in mind when setting up your cameras.
Exposure Vs. Concealment:
When it comes to private residence security, opinions vary as to whether visible cameras are better or whether they should be hidden. The 86 ex-convicts who took part in the study had widely varying opinions on whether or not they would think twice about breaking into a house if they saw a security camera.
Some people said they wouldn't even consider buying a house with obvious security cameras, while others took that as a sign that the home was likely to contain valuables. Unfortunately, there is no right answer to this question, so you'll have to make a call on the degree of transparency you'd like your cameras to have.
Durability:
If your outdoor cameras aren't going to be protected from the elements, you need to give some thought to what kinds of weather they'll be subjected to. Make sure your unenclosed outdoor cameras can withstand adequate temperatures and have high IP ratings to ward off solid and liquid debris.
Shine And Reflection
Both reflections and glare can have a negative impact on the quality of the video captured by your cameras. Be mindful of this fact whenever you're filming in a space that receives direct sunlight, a space with reflective surfaces, or the outdoors. High Dynamic Range, or HDR, is a useful feature in a camera designed for use in the great outdoors. The glare from the sun is mitigated by this design choice.
If you're using the camera indoors, aim it at a spot that gets indirect sunlight rather than direct sunlight; we'll go into more detail about this shortly. If you're looking for high-quality, affordable home & business video alarm systems, you’re in the right place! Check Defend Security Group.
There Are A Sum Total Of Cameras:
If all of your cameras are Wi-Fi-enabled, you may want to give some thought to how the sheer number of them will impact your Internet speed. Spending the extra cash to get a second router just for the security cameras might be a wise decision (and trust us, your teenage kids will thank you).
Position Near Valuables:
Thieves will naturally target the most valuable items, so it's important to give those areas equal weight when planning where to instal security cameras. If that's the case, what do people value the most? No matter how much nostalgia you have for your 1980s wedding dress, it is not that dress. Rather, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about a third of burglars made off with electronics, either handheld or fixed, like televisions.
And yet another 31% took additional portable items, such as keys, jewellery, watches, furs, luggage, briefcases, and clothing. Those people stole those things. The survey's incarcerated participants named electronics, cash, jewellery, credit cards, firearms, and collectibles as the most desirable items to steal.
Where Criminals Can't Get It:
Put your best effort into concealing your surveillance equipment in a place where it can't be easily removed.
Where And How To Set Up Your Security Cameras
A home's ground-level doors and windows are the most common entry points for burglars, so it's important to have cameras installed in those areas. Doing so is a great precaution to take against unwanted visitors. Sure, even the ones that are tucked away in the hedges on your property's side.
Keep An Eye On Things Both Inside And Out:
When installing surveillance systems, some people focus solely on watching the inside of their homes, completely forgetting to keep an eye on the exterior. Outdoor cameras are like the goalkeeper and the defensive line in a soccer team; without them, no offence would stand a chance. A good offence is sometimes the best defence, as the old adage goes.
Get The Cameras Up High:
Cameras should be placed eight to ten feet in the air for a number of reasons. First, you'll have unobstructed views of the entire room, and second, nobody will be able to easily steal the cameras if you put them up high. If the only storage option your camera provides is local, you should mount it at a height where it is out of reach of would-be thieves.
Make The Most Of Outdoor Lighting:
When it comes to nighttime surveillance, infrared cameras can do a great job, but if you want even better visibility, you can always turn to outdoor lighting. If the camera also has a spotlight, the light can turn the night vision into colour, greatly enhancing its usefulness. You can find Ring's outdoor lighting options, which can be purchased at a reasonable price, on Amazon and on the company's own website.
Take Advantage Of Indoor Corners:
You can get the most out of your camera's field of view by angling it so that it faces inward towards corners. Your camera will benefit from being placed in a corner and elevated to maximise its effectiveness.
Watch For Shaded Sunlight:
When taking photos, avoid shooting into the sun at all costs and instead look for ways to capture indirect light.
Camera Pre-Mount Testing:
We've made this mistake before, so it's not like it's a big deal. Before installing your camera, please make sure it can establish a stable connection with your mobile app. We advise performing some motion tests to guarantee proper operation with minimal to no lag.
Look Around Corners:
Similar to how there are blind spots in a car, there may be areas of a home that are difficult to film due to obstructions. You should not, therefore, dismiss the potential of that peculiarly shaped area in your living room.
Cameras Designed For Use In The Outdoors That Are Easy To Clean:
A dirty or polluted lens on an outdoor camera can obscure any images captured by the device. Regularly cleaning your equipment with a disinfectant wipe or spray will ensure that the clarity of your footage remains on par with its video resolution.
After Setup, Things To Remember
You've put in a lot of work to make sure everything is in order, but there are a few more things to consider before you can call the project done. Verify the cameras' power and network connections, and make sure everything is working as it should, once they've been installed. To get a high-quality picture, double-check the remaining battery life of your wireless systems and ensure the Wi-Fi signal is strong enough. After you've finished wiring the system, make sure every part is getting the juice it needs to function properly.
Too Far Away:
The cameras should be installed inaccessible from the ground. Having carefully chosen a strategic location for your security cameras, the last thing you need is for someone to move them, on purpose or otherwise. Keep them in places where kids can't easily get to them. As a result, mounting them is a great option for any place else where cameras might be tampered with.
Corners:
Instead of placing your camera directly above the area you want to keep an eye on, it is advised that you use a corner to increase the area you can see. In addition, it helps you overlap the views of multiple surveillance cameras to eliminate any potential blind spots.
Lighting:
When using cameras outside, it's best to avoid putting them in places where they'll be constantly blasted by the sun. One of the factors that can obscure one's vision is glare. Similarly, a camera that can capture clear images even when the lighting is poor is something to look into purchasing. Check this list of high-quality and affordable Melbourne CCTV to help you decide which product to choose for your home security.
Void Of Doubt:
Once the cameras are set up, nothing should be placed where it could potentially block their view.
Conclusion
High-tech security systems are increasingly being installed in homes and commercial buildings alike. Nowadays, more than ever, you can pick from a wide variety of options, each with its own set of benefits. Read this article to learn more about them and how they can improve the security of your home or business. Because of advancements in camera technology, it is now impossible to evade surveillance by CCTV systems. Most alarm systems are installed as part of a larger safety infrastructure.
You can be anywhere and at any time and still be immediately notified of any attempted break-in by the sirens in your home. Modern home security systems often combine audio and video sensors to create smart surveillance systems. Newfangled algorithms are used in today's camera-microphone surveillance systems, allowing for the accurate detection and classification of a wide range of sounds. Here is a selection of reliable CCTV in Melbourne to consider before making a purchase. Sensors that pick up on human warmth and movement signal an alarm system control room.
Compared to lower-resolution models, high-resolution home surveillance cameras deliver noticeably clearer and more detailed footage. Because infrared LEDs are invisible to the naked eye, they produce high-quality footage at night. The use of machine learning methods is on the rise in the home security industry, where it is expected to improve the reliability and efficacy of products. Connected keyless locks can share information via wireless technologies like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Rather than getting out of bed, you can simply ask Google Assistant to lock every door in the house.
As a result, many insurance companies now provide discounts to policyholders who have installed alarm systems. Accessing one's home security system remotely is now possible via any internet-connected device. With the push of a button, they can secure the premises, activate the security system, and customise the temperature. If a motion detector triggers an alarm and no one is home, modern security systems can stream live video of the area. GadgetReview.com ranks the best home security systems to help you make a decision.
From 1975 to 1998, the number of Americans killed in fires fell by half. The widespread use of smoke alarms at the time may have contributed to this. To ensure that homeowners are notified of a fire regardless of where it is located, modern smoke detectors typically include multiple sensors and operate via a network.
Content Summary
- As a homeowner, protecting your property is probably high on your list of priorities. Learn everything you need to know about home security systems right here so you can choose the best option for your household.
- It is now common practise for homeowners and business owners to instal high-tech security systems. High-tech security systems are now the norm for both private residences and commercial establishments.
- Today's access control systems are highly sophisticated, and it will take more than a simple hack to gain unauthorised entry.
- Access control systems have many uses in the workplace, including the generation of detailed reports, the monitoring of precise movement, the regulation of access to certain times of day and the allowance of access at all other times, and the elimination of unauthorised entry.
- Due to advancements in camera technology, criminals can no longer avoid being caught by CCTV systems. Alarms are increasingly being installed as part of an overarching security system as a result of technological advancements and declining system costs.
- Combining alarms with other precautions is the safest bet. Due to rapid technological advancement, property owners of both commercial and residential properties now have access to a wide variety of cutting-edge security products.
- From monitored alarms to wired and wireless surveillance cameras, we have it all. Say, for the sake of argument, you're considering spending money on cutting-edge security systems for your residence or place of business.
- Your current security system is outdated, and you've decided to upgrade to a better one. Here is a selection of reasonably priced and high-quality Melbourne CCTV that should help you make a wise purchase decision.
- Standard motion detectors typically employ infrared technology. Modern home security systems often combine audio and video sensors to create smart surveillance systems.
- Incorporating microphones with cutting-edge audio sensing capabilities is a popular trend in commercial buildings, and the quality of CCTV cameras keeps improving, both of which businesses are taking advantage of.
- Sensors that pick up on human warmth and movement signal an alarm system control room. Advanced thermal imaging technology can distinguish between large and small mammals, including humans.
- A home security system's remote control and monitoring capabilities have been available for some time now, and they can even be accessed from a mobile device.
- Compared to lower-resolution models, high-resolution home surveillance cameras deliver noticeably clearer and more detailed footage. As a countermeasure, security cameras equipped with infrared LEDs can capture clear images even when the lights are out.
- In addition, when motion is detected, the smart security cameras will send you a photo to your phone. The advent of machine learning and predictive analytics has led to a sea change in how home security systems operate.
- The use of machine learning methods is on the rise in the home security industry, where it is expected to improve the reliability and efficacy of products.
- In spite of the fact that we are not yet living in the Jetson era, the technology behind today's smart houses, such as remote access to security cameras, would likely astound our forefathers.
- Innovations in security technology have advanced at a staggering rate.
- While advances in technology in recent decades have helped pave the way for more sophisticated security systems, the groundwork for these systems was laid decades, if not centuries, ago.
- Following the end of World War I, criminal activity increased. Australians have responded by looking for new ways to safeguard themselves and their possessions.
- Expert users may have installed a magnetic contact alarm system that is attached to the doors and windows, and then connected to a battery and a bell. There has been a shift away from manual indoor shakers in favour of automated machines.
- It is now possible for users to use a web-enabled device to check the security of their homes from afar, allowing them to double-check that all doors and windows are locked and the alarm is activated.
- With a single push of a button, they'll be able to secure the building, arm the security system, and adjust the temperature.
- Even though video surveillance technology didn't appear until the 1940s, it wasn't until the 1970s that it was widely used as a deterrent in private homes.
- An early version of what would become a commonplace video home security system involved a large motorised camera that slid along a track to peer through each of the four peepholes in the front door.
- Separate from the camera, the panel featured an intercom for communicating with guests, a door lock switch, and an alert button that could trigger the alarm at the central station that monitors the home.
- You can now purchase a surveillance camera the size of a square inch, connect it to the internet, and view the recorded high-definition video from any location in the world.
- If the alarm is set off by motion when no one is home, the owners of smart homes with internet access can choose to broadcast live video of the area.
- For instance, in 1962, researchers from Canada published a study on the life-saving potential of smoke and heat detectors.
- Between 1956 and 1960, 342 people lost their lives in residential fires in Ontario. Of these, 8 could have been saved by installing smoke detectors and 41 could have been saved by installing heat detectors.
- As a result, between 1975 and 1998, smoke detectors contributed to a halving of fire-related deaths in the United States.
- With an internet-connected device, homeowners can now check the status of their home's fire alarm and batteries from anywhere, silence a false alarm with the wave of a hand, and have a human voice direct them to the exact location of a fire.
- Over the past century, home security systems have seen tremendous advancements, and new developments are being made on this front on an almost daily basis.
- Nest Cam (battery) The best security camera overall. ...
- Wyze Cam v3. Best home security camera for those on a budget. ...
- Blink Outdoor. ...
- Arlo Ultra. ...
- Ring Floodlight Camera. ...
- Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera. ...
- Arlo Pro 3. ...
- Nest Cam (Indoor, Wired)
WiFi is not needed to operate home security cameras. Home security cameras that do not connect to Wifi can be wired to a dedicated recording or storage device, and a viewing monitor that is part of its own system so that a router or internet service is not required.
Our four top-rated no-monthly-fee home security systems are SimpliSafe, abode, Ring, and Arlo. Do no-monthly-fee security systems offer video recording? They all offer real-time viewing for free, but most require a monthly fee for video recording.