Where you need to avoid placing home security cameras
Home surveillance cameras are a great asset to anyone’s home security plan. But there are some considerations we need to make when installing these cameras or assessing our current layout. I’ll share three places you should and shouldn’t put a camera.
Avoid These Locations: Obstructions
Let’s first start with the places where we need to avoid putting cameras. A lot of people like doorbell cameras, and I think they can be a great asset. However, if you have a large obstruction at the front of your home, like a support post, hanging plant, or decoration, that camera is not going to be useful.
If you have a front porch that has large columns, or posts that block the street or the angle of approach, this camera is not going to get the footage you want. You may want to consider moving the doorbell camera off to the side to get that angle of approach that you need. Or get a non-doorbell camera and put it up high over the front door.
Conversely, when you decorate your porch or the front of your home for a holiday, consider your cameras so you don’t block them with a decoration by accident. You want to always consider the obstructions for every camera, not just a camera that covers your front door.
This also means you need to take into consideration trees and outbuildings. And there may be obstructions that move like parked cars that you’ll need to account for when placing your cameras.
Avoid Spying
Next, you want to be mindful of where any of your cameras are facing so that you don’t upset your neighbors. The last thing you want to do is draw attention to the cameras that you’ve put up around your home. So be mindful of the angle your camera is recording and how that may affect the people around you negatively.
You don’t want your neighbor to think that you’re spying on them and they break your camera to retaliate. Having a good relationship with the people that live around you is very important when it comes to community safety.
Cameras Are For Outside Only
To wrap up where we don’t want to put cameras, the last palace we’ll discuss is the private areas inside your home. I’ve advocated for leaving cameras out of bedrooms and family areas for a long time now.You don’t want to make your home feel like a prison, so keep the cameras outside the home so you can relax inside.
You never know when your cameras might get doxed in a data breach or in a hacking incident. Footage of your kids sleeping in their rooms, and other private activities do not need to be captured on camera.
Some parents might use cameras inside their homes for monitoring teenagers and what they’re doing. If you don’t trust what your teens might be doing while you’re not home, then a camera isn’t going to solve that problem. There are other ways to deal with those issues.
High-Value Locations: Entry Points
The high-value areas that you must cover are the points of entry to your home. That means that every exterior door needs a camera on it. If you can put one camera per door, that’s great. Remember that most break-ins involve a door because it’s easy so we need to show criminals that if they get close to our doors, then we’re going to see them.
Driveway Monitoring
Next, you’ll want a camera covering your driveway. This is a vital spot for two reasons. First, it’s an avenue of approach to your home. If someone walks up your driveway, chances are they don’t belong inside so that’s a red flag.
Second, you want to monitor any parked cars you may have out there. Cars get broking into sitting in driveways every day across America. It’s just a fact of life at this point.
Generally speaking, the best spot to put a camera to cover the driveway is high over the garage door, smack in the middle. It may not be aesthetically pleasing, but this will cover any parked cars you have.
Front Yard Cameras
And to wrap it up, you’ll want to put a camera covering your front yard. This way you can see when someone approaches turns around in your driveway, or even cars that pass your home frequently. This view will help you know what’s going on before someone makes it to an entry point or your driveway. Remember the more time we have to respond, the better our defenses get.
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