Do you want to protect your home but you’re unsure about the costs involved? As with everything, it’s a difficult thing to give an exact amount until we do a visit but hopefully we can help narrow the cost down a bit before that. So what do you have to take into account?
What is it you want the system to do?
Do you want a full CCTV system to protect the perimeter of the house or is it something as simple as a door bell camera? Have a think about what you want it to do as people install CCTV for lots of reasons. Sometimes it could be to watch over a car at the side of the house, maybe it’s to watch a resident in the property for medical reasons to check they’re up and about or it could be a full perimeter protection. We’ll try and give a few prices to help but bear in mind that there is a lot of flexibility and what suits one person doesn’t suit another. There is also the option of bullet, turret and eyeball cameras so ones to suit every property.
You’ve probably also heard us raving about our great selection of ColorVu cameras which enable great colour vision at night as well as during the day. We’ve fitted loads of these and we’ve not had one complaint, they’re really popular as they give a much more natural image on the cameras.
Our CCTV systems are all hard wired so they are not reliant on your WiFi so you know that if your WiFi goes down, the cameras will still be recording.
For ease of costing, we’ve given a couple of examples : a 2 camera system and a 4 camera system. Your property may only need one camera or it may need 3 or 6, they’re all a bit different. This is our most common configuration though and if you’d like to get a price for something else, just get in touch.
A 2 camera system
We do various camera systems but a 2 camera system is good to cover any vulnerable areas at the property, for example a front and back door, a drive way or a garage or a rear garden. All of our cameras have night vision and our main range comes with 24/7 colour vision so you can get colour vision at night as well as during the day. Our installers are great at working our where we’ll install the cables so that they are out of sight, we’ll use loft spaces to run cables, soffits and drain pipes to ensure the cable isn’t visible.
With our 2 camera system we’ll install a hard drive which will give enough recording time that you will have plenty of time to take any information off without having to do it immediately. We tend not to fit monitors on home installation these days as most people prefer to use the app on their phone. We can also use a channel on the TV or a tablet in the house for you to view the cameras on.
As a rough idea of cost, a basic 2 camera installation tends to start at around £265 for the cameras and recorder box with a few weeks of memory and the fitting goes on top. Those cameras are our basic camera kit which has colour vision day and night, a siren, 2MP cameras and are solid made so a great option. There are other features which can be upgraded such as a 5MP or 8MP resolution, longer recording time (if needed), audio, number plate recognition, the option of black or white cameras, varifocal lenses or pan, tilt and zoom cameras or an IP system. So you can see, there are lots of options available!
The fitting of these cameras tends to be around £265 – 365 but again, it depends on where the cameras are going, where cables are being run and how long the installation will take.
A 4 camera system
For a “standard” home this tends to give a good peripheral protection around the property and has all the benefits of the above camera equipment but obviously covers more of the footprint of the house. Usually this would cover the front, back and sides but can be moved to wherever it is best suited.
A 4 camera system starts at around £465 for our standard cameras as above and you have the option of upgrading if you want it. The fitting tends to take longer with this system as it has longer cable runs which takes a bit more time to ensure that they are fitted discretely. To install it tends to start at around £400 and there will be a wee bit more cost for cable, fittings etc. Again this camera system comes with night vision, it’s viewable via an app on your phone and will give a rock solid system that will last for years. Our installers are great at working out the best position of the cameras so that they are visible to those who are looking for them but not noticeable the rest of the time. We’ve got bullet camera and dome or turret cameras so can make them as obvious as you want.
What is an IP system?
An IP system (Internet Protocol) is a type of digital camera that receives and sends data via an IP network. We supply a Network Video Recorder (NVR) which does the recording and IP cameras too. IP systems tend to offer more features on them, have a greater lens option choice, they’ve got higher resolutions and we are a bit more flexible with positioning as we are more flexible with cabling. Due to the higher resolution, they can work a bit better for facial recognition software and number plate recognition. The cost tends to be higher with IP so factor that in if you’re considering it. For an IP 4 camera system, it tends to start at around £500 for the kit. You have more options with features on this and it is a bit more future proof but we would go through your choices with you to help you make the decision that is right for you.
We’ll go more into the differences between IP and analogue systems in another blog as there are lots of points to consider.
Should I add an alarm?
A great option is to combine an alarm system with the CCTV for full security. We’ll examine this in a bit more detail in the next blog to give an idea of cost but there are loads of advantages including:
- Different zone settings so you can have a night set, full set or part set.
- If one zone is triggered, you’ll get notified on your phone wherever you are, then you can check your CCTV to see what’s happening in real time.
- There are lots of sensor options including smoke, heat and CO2 alarms, shed, garden and roller shutters as well as small, neat door and window contacts available.
In the meantime, if you’d like a bit more advice with a CCTV camera system or you’d like us to pop out and have a look at what would work best at your property, just get in touch. Our installation team are really easy to talk to and we are committed to finding a solution that works for you. We also offer a great maintenance package that means your system will keep working well years into the future with minimal attention from yourself.
