What is the average cost of installing a CCTV system in your home

Closed Circuit Television or CCTV has been commonplace in pubs, car parks and shops for many years. Now, however, due mainly to the reduced purchase and installation price, they are becoming more popular with householders who wish to increase the security of their home. If you are thinking of installing CCTV in your home there are a few considerations to be made to ensure you end up with the best system for your needs.

Factors to consider

Before choosing a CCTV system you need to consider what you want it for. CCTV systems are available for four types of function; Monitoring, detecting, recognition and identification. In a monitoring image you will be able to see a wide area on the screen. You will be able to see people and cars moving about, but will not be able to tell what they are doing or who they are. In a detection image you will be able to see any major actions carried out by the person on the screen, such as a fight breaking out or a brick being thrown, but not smaller actions such as the lock on a car door being forced. You will not be able to identify the person in the image, or even whether they are male or female. A recognition image allows you to see more detail. If the person is known to you, you will probably be able to tell who it is, but if it is a stranger you won't be able to make out detailed facial features. You will, however, be able to clearly see what they are doing, so this option is a popular choice for homeowners wanting to see what people approaching their property are doing. Finally, the identification level image shows clear detail of the persons face. This is a good system to use, for example, on a door intercom where you want to record who is entering and leaving a building. This is the only level of CCTV image which is widely accepted in a court of law as evidence of a person's identity. The locations of the CCTV units are also an important consideration. The camera cannot be located on another person's property, for instance a tree or a lamppost, without the written consent of the responsible person or authority. You also need to check if the cameras are included on your home insurance or if they need to be named items, as they are targets for vandalism. You may want to look into liability insurance in case a camera falls and injures a third party. The siting of cameras should allow them to only observe activity on your own property. Viewing public space or other people's property is an infringement of privacy laws and could lead to prosecution. It is advisable to discuss your plans to install CCTV with your neighbours to diffuse any concerns they may have at the outset. You will need to think about what you want the CCTV to do. Systems are available which are motion sensitive and only record when something is moving in their field of vision. Others have built in infra red lighting so they can operate in the dark. Cameras required to monitor wide areas, such as a garden, work better with a fish eye lens, which produces a panoramic view of the area.

The siting of cameras should allow them to only observe activity on your own property. A recognition image allows you to see more detail. It is advisable to discuss your plans to install CCTV with your neighbours to diffuse any concerns they may have at the outset.

Costs to consider

The initial outlay for installing CCTV will entirely depend on the specifications you require, as well as whether you are installing it yourself or using a professional installer to do the job. As well as the initial outlay there are ongoing costs to consider. To keep a CCTV system working well they need to be serviced regularly. For many systems this will just be a clean of the camera lenses and a check of wiring etc. but VCR systems will also require a head clean to function effectively long term. Around 7 days worth of images should be stored at any one time, so 7 days worth of storage needs to be available, either in the form of data storage or VCR tapes. VCR tapes can only be recorded over around 12 times before they lose quality, so if you are choosing a VCR system you will need to factor in this ongoing cost as well. Finally, the CCTV monitoring equipment should be kept in a secure place, as having a theft take place that includes the CCTV equipment would defeat the object of the system, so the purchase of a secure cupboard also needs to be factored in to overall cost.

Around 7 days worth of images should be stored at any one time.