When it comes to security cameras, just as in business, it’s all about location. Selecting the right place to install your security cameras will be crucial to their effectiveness at detecting and deterring burglars, porch pirates, and other individuals who might be unwelcome on your property. The right location would provide your camera with an ideal environment to capture a wide field of view clearly and continuously.
In this article, we’ve listed some of the best locations to install your security cameras for a more efficient surveillance of your property:
Front Door
Being the main entrance to your home, your front door is the obvious location to check who is knocking at your door before you let them into your home. It’s also the usual place where delivery services would leave packages delivered to your home, which makes it a hot target for porch pirates trying to steal your packages. As such, it makes perfect sense to install a security camera beside it.
When installing a security camera near your front door, make sure to install it at a height of 8 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters). At this height, it can capture a good angle of the person’s face as well as height and build which you may need to provide authorities.
Backyard
The mere presence of a front door security camera can deter would-be burglars from attempting a break-in of your home. But some burglars are determined enough to avoid this obstacle and could attempt to enter through your backyard, so it pays to have one installed in this part of the house too.
If you have a large rectangular or square backyard, it’s best to install the camera in either of the two corners that border the house. 90° corners are an ideal location as it allows for a wider field of view of the yard. When installing, make sure that it is pointed toward the direction of your fence and the ground instead of the sky for better detection, especially during the day when the sun’s glare could cause the footage to become too bright to effectively identify detected individuals. For the same reasons, avoid pointing your camera toward light sources such as flood lights and motion-activated lights.
If you want to have backyard footage that’s well lit at night, opt for security cameras like the Abode Cam 2 that have built-in infrared lighting, which is invisible to the naked eye but provides ample lighting without ruining your footage.
Side Doors
Just like your front door, side entrances can be targets for potential burglars. Given that they’re not as visible to neighbors or people in the street compared to the front door, these can become ideal entry points. If you have fences around your property, these side doors become even more perfect for breaking and entering.
To give burglars the impression that these side doors aren’t being surveilled, you can conceal your security camera inside unsuspecting objects like a bird house or hanging lamp. If you don’t want to conceal your cameras, you can at least prevent burglars from tampering with them by disguising or concealing the wires.
Garage or Driveway
If you want to check if your husband or wife’s car has arrived home after being out, it’s best to place your security cameras near the garage door so that it gives you a good view of the driveway. Placing the cameras in this location also deters potential car thieves who prey on opened garage doors and unlocked cars.
Common areas
If you have a limited number of cameras, it doesn’t make much sense to put a camera in every room. To maximize coverage with a few cameras, install them in common areas in the house like the living room or dining area where people usually step in and move around when entering the house.
For a wider field of view, install them up high in corners with an unimpeded line of sight. Place them several feet from light bulbs or lamps that could brighten the footage beyond recognition.
Stairwell or Hallway
For homes with two or more stories, stairwells and the hallway above them are key passageways not just to the occupants of the house but for burglars as well. As such, it’s crucial to place security cameras on these places too. In the event that a burglar has broken into your home and you’re in one of the upper floors, a security camera will let you see if the burglar has already broken into the upper floors. This will allow you to quickly adopt precautionary measures such as locking doors, hiding inside closets or under the bed, or even preparing self-defense measures.
As in the case of the common rooms, you should place your security cameras in a corner that has a wide field of view of the hallway and the stairwell so that even as the burglar is just in the low tiers of the stairs, you can already see them emerging and therefore act accordingly.
