Is CCTV in my home worth the price?

01 Nov Is CCTV in my home worth the price?

When it comes to protecting a home and the people in it, CCTV is one of the most popular methods. There are three key reasons for this:

1. CCTV records people, and criminals do not want to be recorded committing a crime;
2. CCTV can provide evidence on film that leads to arrest;
3. CCTV can reduce insurance premiums with certain insurance providers.

These reasons alone have fuelled the rise in CCTV in the home. However, a cost-benefit analysis is still required to help you decide whether it is right for you.

Cost-benefit analysis of CCTV

The first thing to bear in mind, is that CCTV in the home doesn’t have to be expensive.

Domestic CCTV can be installed DIY for as little as £100 and there are plenty of high quality camera kits on the market from retailers like Argos and Tesco. This is a small price to pay for the peace of mind such a system offers and the potential crime deterrence it’ll create.

However, these cheap systems can hardly be called state-of-the-art and a determined criminal will find a way around them, whether that’s by cutting the system’s power or, in a wireless system’s case, by disrupting its signal so that it can’t record. As such, a professionally installed CCTV system is recommended, not because we get paid to install them, but because we know how criminals exploit vulnerabilities in CCTV systems and how to stop that from happening. Plus, you won’t waste your money on a rubbish system.

Professionally installed CCTV will cost you upwards of £600. This is for good quality cameras and a recorder. Wireless systems are more expensive than wired systems, however most homeowners prefer a wireless system because it’s more convenient. It goes without saying too that CCTV is pointless unless you take other security measures. We recommend a burglar alarm system and good quality locks as a minimum to deter would-be criminals.

And so, our opinion is that overall, CCTV in the home is worth it if you are at risk of crime or if you have been targeted by criminals in the past. However, we recommend that you have your system installed professionally and combine it with security lighting, high quality locks on doors and windows and an alarm system to deter most criminals from targeting you.

Interested in CCTV? Call Brightlec today on 0800 9788 168 or 0113 8941968 to find out more about our CCTV solutions for homeowners.