If you are a business owner, keeping your storefront or office location safe is likely one of your paramount concerns. Security comes in many forms, including hiring guards or installing an alarm system. Both of these choices involve high long-term costs and may not provide as much protection as surveillance cameras, also known as CCTV or closed-circuit television.
Simply buying and installing cameras is not good enough, though. You must plan ahead to ensure the placement of these cameras is effective, or else you are just wasting money. Here are some best practices when it comes to figuring out where to place security cameras.
Guidelines When Planning Security Camera Placement
Camera Capabilities
Before you purchase a CCTV package, you must determine what you require out of a camera system. Do you need outside surveillance, indoor, or both? Buying indoor cameras and placing them outside can cause malfunctions and expose them to weather elements they are not designed to handle. You can determine the absolute best place to put your cameras, but if they are the wrong camera for the job, it still won’t matter.
Heed the Height
One of the most important CCTV camera placement guidelines is to find the right height. Placing a unit too high means you will only see the very top of heads of any perpetrators. Place them too low and you may only see torsos, which does not help you or law enforcement identify the criminals. Install the cameras where you can clearly see faces for easier identification. As a bonus, if the cameras are in eyesight of the thieves, it may deter them from robbing you.
Light Can be the Enemy
When figuring out where to place security cameras, knowing if they will be in direct sunlight at any time of day is one of the most important determinations you’ll make. Sunlight causes lens flares that alter the image you see on your screen. Multiple lens flares can completely block out images, rendering the camera useless until they are out of the path of the sun. Ensure you are not placing a camera in direct sunlight to avoid this common issue.
Strong Wi-Fi
No set of CCTV camera placement guidelines would be complete without advising you to test your Wi-Fi signal strength. Your router may say it has a long range, but these ranges are often tested without walls. Your building has walls that might impede or completely block the signal.
Once the cameras are installed, you should diligently check to ensure that they are transmitting properly. If there are lapses in coverage, you may need to make some changes such as moving the router or purchasing a range extender to strengthen the signal.
The Bottom Line
Planning security camera placement takes some time, but once you do the legwork, the result is a smooth video that helps you protect your business from theft. That makes installing security cameras a fantastic investment in the future of your company. Contact us today to get started.
