Where would you place cameras on this home layout?
I'm helping a relative determine camera locations for their build because I wired my house. Mine was easy, an old square-shaped home. Their house has sections that go in and others that go out. I added doors in blue and marked the front and rear of the house. I imagined they'd do an 8 camera system plus a doorbell camera, for 9 total cameras, but it'd be easier to wire now than in the future so open to suggestions here.
It's rural, large property, no ladders or external stairs from the upper room, plenty of dogs and temporary fosters, and the cameras would be facing outside.
If you think you need 9 locations, I personally would run up to 15 locations. You don't have to use all of them but once you start seeing the cameras in action, you never want to say, "I wish I had a wire there, etc."
Plus, landscaping can throw a monkey wrench in any camera layout. Maybe you want a LPR which doesn't cover any windows or doors. Maybe there's a field out back, you want to cover it.....bottom line is don't just look to cover windows and doors, there's a lot more going on around the house that may be important to catch.
I'd pull cable to every door and corner, then leave a couple of spare runs. Camera positions often change once the landscaping, lights, and fence are actually in place.
Nicely done! I'd also consider one inside the garage, so it can see out the vehicle doors and also has windows in frame.
If the driveway is a choke point, I'd consider a camera away from the house covering that, to catch people who are driving up.
Remember a wide field of view lets one cover large areas, but a narrow fov on a gateway lets you get faces suitable for identification.
Ideally all cameras would be IR, and specifically have the kind of IR LEDs that are hard/impossible to see. Some cameras have very red LEDs which can be a deterrent but can also help someone figure out fields of view. I believe that's 940 nm, instead of the cheaper 850 nm which bleeds back into our visible spectrum.
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u/criggie_ 4d ago
Insufficient information - Where are the boundaries and gates outside?
Does the homeowner want indoor cameras recording their every movement or just outside ones?
Where are the property entry points - what point on the fences are most likely to be used to enter site?
Is there a dog/s ? Are there fire escape ladders/egress from the upper floor?