Protecting your property: how much does CCTV cost in London?

CCTV can scare intruders, car thieves and other criminals away from your home or capture offenders on video – find out more here.

Protect your home with CCTV

There are many ways to use CCTV to protect your home: you can monitor your car in front of the house, or train the camera on any doors and windows or even just put them up to deter intruders. Depending on the size of your property, on the amount of cameras and on your technical requirements, there are a number of solutions available ranging from inexpensive sets with one camera and one monitor to sophisticated multi-area installations with video recording. Therefore, CCTV costs in London will be quite individual ranging from around £50 to much more expensive systems installed by a security expert.

CCTV and the law

As well as CCTV cost in London it is important to consider legal issues related to CCTV. For privacy reasons, if you own a business or an organisation, your CCTV installation has to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. On private property, having a CCTV system installed is usually not a problem as long as it serves to protect your home from criminals. If, however, your neighbours feel that your camera is filming their property or parts of their property they might take action against you under the Human Rights Act to protect their privacy.

CCTV sets in London – how much do they cost?

There are a range of sets available on the market and you should choose carefully to keep your CCTV costs as low as possible. The most basic set consists of a small video camera and a receiver that can be plugged to a TV set or a computer. These low cost CCTV systems are suitable if you just want to monitor your front door or a hallway and most sets will come as cheap as £20-£60. More sophisticated devices for CCTV cost between £150-£400 and will include multiple night vision cameras; remote controls and a HDD recorder that is able record any activity for several days.

How much does CCTV installation in London cost?

While most criminals will choose to avoid CCTV cameras and thus be scared away if they see one installed at your home, for maximum security, a professional CCTV installation is advisable. CCTV cost in London will be slightly higher if you have a CCTV expert set up the surveillance system, but they will be able to ensure the system is set up correctly and doesn’t break the law. Basic installations of this kind will cost from around £800-£1000 and can include NSI certifications and a security analysis of the property, advising where best to place cameras. With professional installation of a more sophisticated system, CCTV can cost around £3000-£4000 for a four camera set, while eight cameras can cost roughly twice as much. These sets can also include useful features such as high-tech video recorders and internet surveillance.