How Much Does Home CCTV Cost?
Home Security Costs Explained
Installation Prices and Ongoing Charges
Updated Prices For 2021
Part of Our Guide to Electrical Installations
Product Cost | Installation Charges | Ongoing Fees for Storage
A home CCTV system is a great investment, can deter burglars and trespassers, and provide you with peace of mind.
Modern systems have changed so much and can’t even be compared to cameras from 10 to 15 years ago.
With a modern CCTV system you can get:
- Online storage.
- Access via apps so you can view your camera live or recorded footage at any time from anywhere with an internet connection.
- Motion-activated cameras so your devices only record when something is happening, saving you money off online storage costs and making it easier to locate events within the footage.
- Alerts sent to you via a phone app, so you’ll know when someone is in your home or garden.
- Up to 4k High Definition so you can see exactly what’s going on inside or outside your property.
If you want to protect yourself and your property, a home CCTV system is a great start.
But how much does a home CCTV system cost?
As part of our research into electrician’s prices, we recently contacted 26 qualified electricians in the UK and asked them how much they would charge to install a home CCTV system.
Industry experts and consumer groups like Which? and Money Saving Expert often tell their readers to get at least three quotes from tradespeople before going ahead with a project. We decided to take things a little further by sourcing quotes from 26 reputable electricians from various locations around the UK.
Use our prices as a guide to how much a fully installed home CCTV will cost you.
Below you’ll find two price guides for:
- A popular system with 4 HD cameras and a huge 2TB storage box.
- A price to install 4 Google Nest cameras and a look at their online storage prices
Project 1 – Cost to Install a Reolink 4 Camera CCTV System
For this project, we asked our chosen electricians how much it would cost to fully install a 4 camera system from Reolink.
This product has fantastic reviews on Amazon and comes with 4 x 4K cameras and an impressive 2TB hard drive.
This system needs to be hard-wired as it doesn’t use wifi to send the footage to the drive.
It’s packed with features though:
- Access live or recorded footage via a phone app anywhere.
- 24/7 recording.
- Digital zoom so you can clearly see faces.
- Night vision.
- 80 viewing angle on each camera.
- A port on the huge 2TB hard drive so you can expand the system up to a total of 6TB.
- Protection from wifi blockers (professional thieves are now using wifi blockers, a hard-wired system like this can’t be blocked).
Here’s how much we were told it would cost to install the system (prices as of Feb 2021):
| Location: | System: | Labour (average): | Total: |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Area | £525 | £400 | £925 |
| South, SW and Midlands | £525 | £325 | £850 |
| Outer Region and North | £525 | £250 | £775 |
Project 2 – Nest Camera Cost
Google Nest is a top-rated home camera (see reviews here) and is really easy to install, you’ll need wifi, but there’s no hard drive as all the footage is stored online for you to view at any time.
This product is sold individually or in pairs. However, as we needed 4 cameras, the prices below are for the purchase and installation of 4 cameras.
Key features:
- Small and discreet.
- Comes with a speaker so you can communicate via your phone (great for placing near your door as you can see, hear and talk to anyone on your porch).
- Great night vision.
- Wide 130° angle lens.
- Online storage options (see online storage prices here).
- Phone and email alerts.
- Fewer cables as it’s wifi enabled.
This is how much we were told it would cost to install 4 of these cameras in February 2021:
| Location: | System: | Labour (average): | Total: |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Area | £560 | £250 | £810 +£5-10 per month storage subscription |
| South, SW and Midlands | £560 | £200 | £760 +£5-10 per month storage subscription |
| Outer Region and North | £560 | £150 | £710 +£5-10 per month storage subscription |
What’s Included in Our Home CCTV Installation Prices
This is what’s included in the prices:
- The products.
- All cables, clips, connectors, fittings etc.
- Installation of the cameras, fixed to external walls or roofline boards.
- Wiring.
- Wifi setup.
- Labour.
- VAT if applicable.
Are WiFi Cameras Secure?
Wifi cameras need a power cable, but they use wifi to transit the footage to either a storage hard drive in your home or to online cloud-based storage. They are popular because they are easier to install and you’ll have fewer cables in your home.
They’re also easy to relocate compared to fully wired cameras.
There is just one problem; they aren’t secure.
Professional thieves can easily disrupt the transmission of the signal with a device purchased online for a few hundred pounds.
With the signal blocked, the thieves can help themselves to your property.
Our Recommendation
We feel that a hard wired security camera is the most secure option and is a must if you have high-value items in your home or on your driveway.
At the moment, only determined and professional thieves are using wifi blockers, but that could change as the cost of these devices comes down.
Non-secure wifi cameras are fine for keeping an eye on the garden or your driveway and may work well against opportunist thieved. Yet, they can be easily disabled by a thief that’s specifically targeting your home.
How Long Does it Take to Install a Home CCTV System?
A professional installer or electrician can fit 4 cameras, a hard drive and all the cables in a few hours.
The exact amount of time will depend on where you want the cameras.
We suggest:
- By the porch.
- Covering the driveway.
- The rear garden.
- The remaining camera could cover the side of the property or the rest of the front garden
Get a Price For a Home CCTV Installation
Tap the button below to get a custom price for home CCTV:
- Fill in the form with details of your project.
- Get prices from qualified and local electricians or installers.
- Read vetted reviews from past customers.
- No obligation and all quotations are free and in writing.
Home CCTV
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Home CCTV FAQs
Below you’ll find answers to questions about our home CCTV price guide:
When Were These Home CCTV Prices Published?
We sourced prices for the installation of CCTV cameras in early February 2021.
Do These Prices Include VAT, Materials etc?
All of the prices on this page include VAT (when it was charged), labour and materials.
Can I Install Cameras Indoors?
Yes, many cameras are designed to work indoors so you can keep an eye on pets and protect your property from theft.
Can CCTV Footage be Used In Court?
Yes, CCTV footage is frequently used in UK courts, but it should be of good quality and ideally contain date and timestamps on the footage.
Am I Allowed to Record My Neighbours?
As a general rule of thumb, if you have a good reason to install a camera (i.e. to protect your property), then you can also record public land nearby such as footpaths and roads.
You can also record portions of your neighbour’s property, for example, if it’s at the outer edge of view.
What wouldn’t be acceptable is a camera recording a neighbours property for no good reason other than to violate their privacy.
The laws are complex and the police generally don’t involved if a camera owner can show the primary reason for the camera is legitimate, i.e it’s pointing at their car.
There are millions of CCTV cameras in the UK and most of them are used for security purposes and most will record private land too, either in the background or the sides of the what the cameras are focusing on.
Should I Get a HD or Ultra HD Camera?
Ultra HD footage produces clearer footage, especially when zoomed in but also takes up more storage space which could cost more if you have cloud storage.
If you have a hard drive at home, it will fill up sooner than it would with regular HD footage.
Are CCTV Cameras Secure? Can Someone Hack in and View the Footage?
Many cameras are shipped with “admin” as the username and the same password for all devices. We suggest you change the username and password for your camera so others cannot hack in and see the footage.
More information about camera security can be found over at Which?
What Type of Tradespeople Install Home CCTV Cameras?
Dedicated installers who work in the home security industry, regular electricians and also handymen are the three types of tradespeople that install these devices.
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