Security Camera Installation: 8 common mistakes and the solutions

Whether looking to monitor a home business or make sure your children are safe and sound at all times, security camera installation could be an excellent investment you’ve ever done to your family. With the closed circuit television system, you can see anywhere around the property and enjoy peace of mind. Depending on where you live and your insurance provider, you may even receive lower home insurance rates. It may seem straight forward, but there are plenty of mistakes people make when security camera installation. In order to ensure the best vantage points and the highest quality video feeds, you need to avoid these eight common mistakes when installing CCTV cameras.

1. Not Installing the Camera on a Suitable Surface

CCTV cameras are pretty light. Regardless of the brand or design you go with, the majority of home CCTV systems take advantage of smaller devices. However, just because the equipment is light doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider the housing of the camera and how it secures to your home or around the property. What happens if you find the perfect location for a camera, climb up with your ladder, and then realize it is a cement wall. Now, if you have cement or brick, you can still install, you’ll just need to hold off until you pick up some mason anchors. You’ll also need to invest in a powerful drill and mason drill bits. Otherwise, your camera is just going to blow off during the next wind storm.

2. Installing the Camera Only to Discover the Picture is Upside Down

Nothing is more frustrating than finishing your security camera installation, flipping on the display monitor and seeing one of the cameras is upside down. With the rotatable head, it somehow ended up reversed. There are a few ways around this. One, your software may allow you to just flip the incoming image without an issue. However, to avoid this all together, you can easily place a small dot or line with a crayon or pencil on the up side of the camera. This way, when installing all of the hardware, you don’t have to over think which way is pointing up

3. Installing the Camera in the Wrong Location

Better position means better protection. You have to find the best locations for your cameras. While walking around your property, you can probably spot angles with excellent vantage points. However, beyond the vantage point and identifying areas without obstructions in the way (such as trees), how is the sunlight throughout the day? Last thing you want is to have a strong glare from sunlight blinding out the viewing angle during the day. This gives you a blind spot and renders the CCTV useless during a sunny day. The best locations for security cameras is right under the roof at a downwards angle. This protects the camera from the elements and most direct sunlight. If you tilt the camera down so no visible sky comes into view, you’ll avoid lens flair and distortion.

4. Installing the Cameras Beyond Wireless Range

Most home security cameras are wireless. Wired cameras are great and provide a solid feed, but this installation for home use is not practical. Wireless cameras are far easier to set up, but understanding the camera range is important. Every camera has a set range it can be placed away from the receiver. Once the camera starts to reach the edge of this range, the camera feed may run into errors and even drop entirely. Know your camera range before installation. When purchasing cameras for the CCTV, keep the necessary distance you’ll need in mind. If you have a larger property, going with a longer range wireless camera is a must.

5. Not Using Enough Cameras to Cover Your Entire Property

Covering your property requires more than just two cameras. Many self-starter kits range from two to four cameras, yet this likely is not enough to give a complete view of your property. If you are using it simply to see when the UPS guy arrives with a package or if your children have come home from school yet or not, the small amount of cameras is fine. However, if you want complete protective coverage you likely need more cameras. An establishing, wide angle lens is perfect for covering more ground, but is not great for identifying faces. Due to this, you’ll need cameras covering the grounds and access points. You can start off with the four camera starter-kit, but identify your blind spots and install additional cameras to cover all your bases. Unifore can help with the necessary cameras you need.

6. Alerts

You are not able to monitor the CCTV system all day, every day. So what happens if a burglar approaches your house and you are not watching? While the security cameras are likely to scare off most potential thieves and criminals, it is not fool proof. You will have the individual(s) on camera, but you still need help from the police tracking them down. Instead, allow the CCTV system to notify you if the system is tripped. These alerts can notify you when a camera is capturing movement. This way, instead of simply recording the break-in, you can notify the police right away, not to mention you’ll have added time to contact children and let them know to stay away from the house.

7. Not Installing Cameras with Power Source in Mind

Yes, a wireless camera does not require an Ethernet cable connection to rout into a server. That doesn’t mean it is powerless. There needs to be a power source, including the cameras you purchase from Unifore. This either comes with plugging it in directly to an outlet or battery power. Most wireless cameras do run on batteries, but keep this in mind when selecting the cameras. You don’t want to run extension cord around the property. While battery powered cameras do need the power source replaced from time to time, the recording and monitoring feature does not cut out should you suffer a power outage.

8. Not Password Protected Your CCTV Wireless Network

As is the case with any wireless device, the information runs through a network. Setting up the wireless network for your cameras is the final step of installation. While a wireless network is easier to set up, it also means the feed can be hacked. It is important to set up a password on the attached network. This way, you make it that much more difficult to hack your wireless security network. It is a final step of the installation process, but one many individuals forget to perform.