With Smart Security Cameras, Location Is Everything

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With Smart Security Cameras, Location Is Everything

Security cameras have gotten much smarter, but where you place them can increase their effectiveness. Image: Digitized House Media.

Digitized House Staff
5 August 2018
Connected Home / Gadgets / Homes / How-To / Safety / Secure Home / Security Cameras

So you installed a security system and you’re feeling great knowing that your family and your home are protected. After researching, you purchased one of the the best security systems that you could find and opted for adding a number of cameras around the exterior of your home. Now life is good. But hang on. You aren’t done yet.

The bane of intruders seeking to burglarize your home, security cameras can bring a high level of safety to your family. Image: Bernard Hermant on Unsplash.

Just because you have those security cameras, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are as safe as you could be. Buying those cameras is only half of the battle. Placing them around your home in the proper locations is the other half of the equation. Better placement means more holistic protection. Remember that the major safety point of the camera is to identify intruders or suspicious individuals. Your captured video streams will do no good if the camera is aimed too low and you never get a chance to see the intruder’s face. Or if the camera is aimed on too small of an area and you can only see a figure briefly flash through the frame.

So, you can see how proper camera placement is important, and why you can’t just install your surveillance device by your door and hope for the best. Here are some tips to get the most out of your cameras so that they can actually ID someone, and potentially help you to get some of your stolen items back as you share the video with law enforcement officials. Hopefully, it never comes to that though.

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[1] Start at the Front Door

The most common entry points for any burglar are the front door, back door, and ground level windows—so it makes sense to start here. Just above each door is a great location. Make sure that you angle your camera by adjusting its mount so that it captures as much of the desired area as possible. At a minimum, you will want a good view of several feet around the door to help prevent your home from becoming a crime statistic.

Smart doorbells with built-in cameras are an excellent complement to a high-mounted camera above your front door. This Nest Hello doorbell includes a wedge mount that can be used to point the camera left or right of center. Image: Digitized House Media.

If you are opting to add a smart doorbell with a built-in security camera, some of these devices have adjustable wall plates or lenses to adjust the angle of the camera. Ideally, use these doorbells in tandem with a high-mounted camera above the front door for maximum coverage. Nest Hello and the Ring Video Doorbell 2 are popular choices here.

Buy a Ring Video Doorbell 2 on Amazon

[2] Secure Your Yard and Outbuildings

No matter the size of your yard, it’s a good idea to have a camera mounted up high on your house so that you can monitor your entire back yard and easily see if anyone is there. Thieves often skulk around in yards as they search for unsecured entryways and unlatched windows.

If you have any outbuildings like a detached garage, shed, or workshop, make sure that you have a camera pointed at the entrance and are able to see the entire building.

[3] Street View—Not Just for Google Maps

Aiming your security camera to ensure it gets a good view of the street can increase its safety factor. Image: Digitized House Media.

If you live close to the street, guess where a burglar is most likely to come from? Naturally, it makes sense to have a camera with a clear view of the street so you can see if any intruders are coming your way. Besides, if they use a car, you might even catch their license plate.

[4] Think Vertically

Wherever you attach your security cameras, it’s important to make sure that they are as high as possible. Think about it: if you are a thief and you encounter cameras at eye level, it is easy enough to destroy or steal them. So strive to keep cameras out of their reach. About 9 feet or higher should be enough. If you place them too high, you might not get the details that you want.

[5] Light Things Up

During the night, you’ll want to keep the exterior of your home illuminated enough for your cameras to see what you want them to see. Just don’t place them too close to the light source or it may introduce lens flare and interfere with video quality.

Alternatively, purchase cameras with night vision capability so you won’t need to worry about keeping lights on.

Now is the Time to Get Safer

We hope that you will use these tips to improve security around your home. Nothing is more important than the safety of your family, and these tips will help you to bolster the security that you already have. It has been demonstrated that security devices smartly deployed can reduce criminal activity, so use them to your advantage.

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