Determine the number of video cameras to monitor the house

Today, you can find many ways and tips to help you establish multifunctional surveillance at home on the Internet. But before installation, you need to determine how many cameras you need and what exactly is required for a competent installation.

General advice

For the installation to go through correctly and the video surveillance working for many years, you need:

• develop a system design in advance;
• provide such a place for installation where the camera at the entrance is hidden and protected (vandal-proof housing, covers);
• choose a device with additional illumination for the image quality not to drop at night. 

Read more about the choice of cameras in the following articles: 

1. How to Choose a Long-Range Outdoor Video Camera? 
2. Five tips to help you choose a motion-sensor camera.
3. Top 5 Surveillance Cameras in 2021.

Determine the number and composition of the observation object

For video surveillance to cover the entire space of a house, one cannot assume the approximate number of cameras. Everything needs to be calculated. To do this, you need to consider:

• the number of places through which you can get into your house (windows, doors);
• other important objects that need to be monitored for compelling reasons;
• areas where the intruder’s face will be captured in close-up.

Someone installs one camera near each door and window, while others are limited to 1 device. The number and composition of video surveillance depend on the needs and level of fear for your home.

For more information, check the article: “The Best Place to Mount Your Camcorder. Expert recommendations“

Determine the number of cameras

To understand the exact number of equipment needed, it is best to use a house plan. Knowing the viewing angles of the devices and the specific locations where observation is required, it is possible to understand the future scope of the system.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to name a universal number of necessary cameras for a house since everything depends on their purpose (general overview of the situation in the place, perimeter control, etc.). Any advice on a specific number of recommended cameras in this article would be incorrect as everything should be done individually.

What do you need to consider?

Before installing video cameras for home viewing, you need to understand the technical characteristics of the devices. These parameters depend on the following factors.

Camera distance

It is necessary to calculate the exact distance from the object of observation to the camera, as the following factors depend on it:

• permission;
• sensitivity;
• matrix size.

Calculate the distance from the object of observation to the proposed camera installation place and get professional advice.

Distance to the recorder

The registrar helps video surveillance work smoothly. If the module is installed too far from the cameras, the system may start to malfunction. Therefore, we recommend installing the recorder as close to the system as possible, but in a protected place (e.g., the negative influence of weather and the vandals’ actions).

Complete list of home system costs 

After you understand how many CCTV cameras you need, you can move on to the next question. How much does home video surveillance cost? It is impossible to name the exact price, but you can make a list of the necessary elements and consumables.

The cost of the system includes purchases:

• hard disk for storing information;
• video recorder;
• cables and connectors;
• consumables (tape, gloves, glue, nails, etc.);
• power unit.

You must select the characteristics of additional system elements depending on the type and number of cameras. About the price of video surveillance in more detail, read our article: “A complete list of expenses for home video surveillance.“

Conclusion

It is essential to develop a detailed project for equipment placement before installing a video surveillance system, even a small home one. And only after that buy material and the cameras themselves. And if you don’t want to overpay, consider Faceter’s surveillance service.