Home CCTV Installation Costs: How to Save Money in 2022

Installing a home CCTV system can be a very useful purchase. These systems can act as security measures to ensure you feel safe within your home and even give you the opportunity to monitor your residency if you are away from the property for any given time

In this post we’ll take a look at how much CCTV systems cost, what affects the cost of installing CCTV, how to save money on a CCTV system, how to know if CCTV is right for you, what installation of a CCTV system looks like, and how to find and hire an electrician to fit your CCTV system.

How Much Does a CCTV System Cost?

Depending on the complexity of the CCTV system, the estimated supply costs will vary, from £20 up to £650 for the most sophisticated models.

Please note that prices include VAT, but exclude installation costs.

Bullet cameras are amongst the smallest of CCTV systems available to both home and business owners, being easy to manoeuvre and point at whatever entrance or exit you want to monitor. Depending on the type, you can see prices ranging from £20 to £200 per unit.

HD CCTV cameras are a popular choice owing to their enhanced video quality which helps to catch intruders as images are clearer than more basic models. For this type of image upgrade, you’ll be looking at prices between £30 to £330.

Wireless CCTV models have the advantage of being able to be installed in any location, without the drawback of having a long enough cable to power them. For this type of technology, you can expect costs of between £40 to £300.

Dome CCTV cameras are as they sound – dome-like in shape. The shape makes it harder for thieves to know which way the camera is facing, acting as a deterrent to crime, coming in at between £50 to £180.

For home or business owners wanting nighttime CCTV surveillance, an infrared or night vision camera is just the ticket. Depending on the level of technology chosen, you can expect fees of between £50 to £200.

Able to see beyond 40 feet, C-mount cameras come into a league of their own, owing to their ability to have lenses switched out to suit different needs and applications. These can cost between £50 to £250 per unit.

True day or night cameras can work in both light and dark settings, giving the owner 24-hour surveillance without needing to employ different cameras for the nighttime. These types of CCTV cameras come in at between £60 to £275.

Motion detecting cameras are as they sound: detectors of movement. When the cameras detect motion by noticing a change in the shapes appearing in the frames, they start recording, and they come in at between £110 to £400.

Pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) CCTV cameras are a popular choice because of their ability to be controlled remotely to allow the user to control the position of the camera to focus on something in particular. PTZ cameras are between £120 to £330 in price.

Finally, our most expensive option comes in the form of the 4G LTE camera, which can run even when the main power source ceases, or the wired internet connection is lost. Due to the technology involved in these systems, their prices range from £125 to £650.

As these costs are excluding installation fees, you can expect to add on between £70 to £90 per camera for an electrician’s time for fitting.

Installing a two-camera system usually takes between three and four hours, depending on whether you’ve chosen a wired or wireless CCTV system.

If you plan to install more than two cameras, or if your system is particularly complex and requires new electrical cables or changes to your consumer unit, it could take up to a day for the installer to complete the job.

Comparing Quotes Could Save You Up To 40%:

Click To Get Quotes

What Affects the Cost of Installing CCTV?

Several factors can affect the cost of installing an at-home CCTV camera, so if you’re trying to be as cost-effective as possible, here are the aspects you need to bear in mind that can be responsible for raising prices.

The Number of Cameras You Need

Simply put, the more cameras you need, the higher your costs will be. This will also spill out from the base cost of the camera system to the cost of fitting and installation, as it will take your electrician longer depending on how many cameras you need.

Your Choice of Camera

With so many camera choices available, it can be hard to know what level of sophistication you need, so we take a closer look at the main advantages and disadvantages of the different types of CCTV available.

Wired vs Wireless Cameras

Wireless CCTV systems offer you far greater flexibility in the placement of your CCTV camera, and can often be much more aesthetically pleasing as they don’t come with extensive wiring that may need to be hidden from view. Installation costs for these types of system remain relatively low as the time to set up the camera and system is quite short in comparison to some wired CCTV systems. 

Wired CCTV systems, although requiring more time to hide and tuck away cables, are more reliable as a result of them being hardwired. This means there will be less chance of network interference, as well as capturing a consistent recording quality.

HD vs Low Image Quality

A home CCTV system that records at a low resolution, such as 720p or lower, will provide you little quality when it comes to making out distinguishing features of the photo. 

If you want to ensure that your CCTV system provides good quality images, you’ll want to ensure that the quality is 1080p or even 4k ultra definition for complete peace of mind.

Ensure you factor in frame rate and choose a system that can record 15 or 25 frames per second.

Unfortunately adjusting the frame rate is not an option available with many budget cameras. 

Static vs Mobile Cameras

Having the ability to move your camera around remotely can grant you extra security benefits, such as zooming in on an area of concern or quickly reacting to sudden noise outside. These units are more expensive than traditional static models, however, so should only be considered if you think you need this extra level of security.

Extra Features

While plug-and-play CCTV cameras are available, there are also many add-ons available which will come at an extra cost.

Infrared or Night Vision

An essential for those wanting a clear picture at night, having your CCTV system with infrared or night vision will ensure that anything untoward happening in the twilight hours is captured perfectly.

Motion Detection

Motion detection is a great way to reduce your recording as it only starts storing the footage once the previous frame looks different to the current frame.

Remote Access

As we’ve mentioned, remote access is good for those who want to operate their CCTV system off-site to track the movements or developments in a certain area.

Additional Security Measures

CCTV isn’t the only form of home security – there are a few others to consider that you might want to supplement your existing precautions with for enhanced reliability.

Burglar Alarms

Something that should be present in all homes is a burglar alarm. This, paired with a CCTV system can act as a great deterrent to intruders, coming in at between £150 to £650 depending on the system.

For full information on burglar alarms, see our dedicated page. 

External Lighting

If you aren’t opting for an infrared or night vision CCTV camera, having some external lighting can help to ensure anything captured at night is still visible. Starting at £30 for a replacement light and ranging up to £440 for brand new systems, external lighting can be a great pairing with your home security system.

For full information on external lighting, see our dedicated page. 

Door Entry Systems

These systems can be a great addition to houses and flats to grant a visitor access to your property without having to go to the door to let them in. Coming in at between £200 to £1,000, they can be an expensive but useful element of your home.

For full information on door entry systems, see our dedicated page. 

Security Fencing

Security fencing goes a step further than standard fencing as it acts as a deterrent to intruders as it is harder to scale. Prices for security fencing come in at between £12 to £60 for a 1.8 by 2.4-metre section of fence, needing labour fees of around £200 to £250 to fit.

For full information on security fencing, see our dedicated page. 

Security Bollards

Security bollards can stop thieves from taking your vehicles and driving them away. They can cost between £100 to £4,000 depending on whether you get fixed, automatic or telescopic versions, also needing around two days to fit, coming in at between £160 to £4,150 in total depending on your technological level.

For full information on security bollards, see our dedicated page. 

If You Need an Outdoor Electrical Socket

Having an outdoor electrical socket installed can be another cost consideration. These can cost between £15 to £60 for the actual unit, with labour fees of an additional £100 for the fitting.

Your Location

Finally, your geographical location will come into play when costing up your CCTV job, with labourers charging more in central cities such as London as opposed to rural locales.

How Can I Save Money on a CCTV System?

If you feel competent and skilled in DIY then you may wish to set up the CCTV system yourself.  You will need knowledge on how to correctly assemble the cables and screws to hold your cameras in place so we wouldn’t recommend this as a DIY job unless you feel confident in the process and your skills.

It’s also important to properly consider the level of security that is right for you – you mightn’t need ultra-HD video playback or a remotely accessible system, so make sure you choose the right level for your home.

Similarly, choosing the right amount of cameras for your property is important as this will ensure you don’t have too many which will each incur separate installation and base costs. In some cases, having one more sophisticated camera might be better than lots of lesser-quality cameras, so it’s worth doing your research before committing to a purchase.

How Do I Know If CCTV Is Right for Me?

You should consider first whether you need internal or external cameras. Ask yourself, what is it you want to protect, and where will the cameras need to be to see it?

You’ll also think about where you will store footage gathered by the cameras – you could choose a hard drive on your property or off-site in the cloud, which can be beneficial because you can access it from any location. It’s also better for the security of the footage itself as the physical copy can’t be stolen. 

Many CCTV systems now give you the ability to receive notifications and watch live footage via your mobile phone. This is perfect if you want to be able to see what is happening at home at certain times or if you just want the peace of mind that everything is well.

What Does Installing CCTV Involve?

The installation of your CCTV system will greatly change depending on the type of system you’re having fitted. While indoor cameras can be as simple as plugging in and setting the camera up on a mount, outdoor cameras can be a little more tricky.

For wired outdoor options, it’s best to get a professional installer as it will require drilling into the brickwork and wiring cables to power the camera. 

How Do I Find and Hire an Electrician or CCTV Installer?

The best way to find an electrician to fit your CCTV camera is to first see if your friends, family or neighbours have used anyone recently with who they would feel comfortable sharing the details with you.

In cases where this isn’t possible, opting to search online at HouseholdQuotes can save you the hassle of searching through multiple websites to try to compare and contrast different providers, which can be time-consuming.

Comparing Quotes Could Save You Up To 40%:

Click To Get Quotes

Ensuring the Professional Is the Right Fit

You should always get a written quote once the details of the job have been nailed down, as this will stop you from having any unexpected charges crop up at the end of the project.

Before this stage, however, you should seek out your trader’s experience and any relevant references or photos/videos of their previous work to make sure their standard is what you’re after.

Your electrician should come with insurance, but it’s always best to double-check before any work is carried out to stop you from being liable for any trouble along the way.

Similarly, there should be a manufacturer’s warranty attached to your CCTV camera, so it’s best to check out the terms of activation there to make sure you’ve dotted the is and crossed the ts so that the warranty is in full swing from the beginning.

Final Checklist 

If you think you’re ready to take the plunge and install your own CCTV camera at home, here is our final checklist to make sure you’ve not forgotten anything along the way:

• Decide what type of CCTV camera is right for you – what add-ons do you need, or do not need?
• Is one camera enough, or would you benefit from two or more?
• Do you want to consider any other safety features at the same time, such as fences, external lights or gates?
• Find an electrician to fit your CCTV camera using HouseholdQuotes to save you up to 40%
• Make sure you get a written quote and double-check things like warranty and insurance
• Get everything up and running and make sure it’s active, then sit back and relax in your newly-guarded home!

Comparing Quotes Could Save You Up To 40%:

Click To Get Quotes

Frequently Asked Questions