Home Intruder Alarm System and CCTV (Surveillance)
Securing Your Home with Modern CCTV
A visible, well-placed system that produces usable face-and-vehicle evidence, combined with lighting and an alarm, changes a burglar's risk calculation before they even step onto your property. Most residential break-ins are opportunistic, decided in under a minute. Anything that costs time, makes noise, or creates a face on record sends them away.
The five camera types, and what each is for:
Bullet cameras
These are long, cylindrical, and usually used outdoors. Because the lens points straight at the target, they give the sharpest long-range image and are the most obviously visible, which is their real job: deterrence. They are best placed under eaves covering a walkway, driveway, or gate. Placing them under eaves protects them from rain, direct sunlight, keeps them out of reach from casual vandals, hence extending their lifespan.
Dome cameras —
The dark dome hides which way the lens points, so an intruder can't tell if they're on camera, and you can't easily grab or spray it. Best used indoors (hallways, living areas) and in porch or garage ceilings.
PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras
This is motorized to allow remote access control of its physical movement, and one unit sweeps a whole yard. This modern one, auto-track a person and can zoom into a face or a license plate. It is advisable to use for large compounds, long driveways and multiple blind spots. A single motorized PTZ camera can monitor a wide area (such as a parking lot, stadium, or large yard) that would otherwise require multiple fixed cameras: saving you money.
Video doorbells
This camera lets you see, hear, and speak to visitors at your door from your smartphones to ensure that the person is not carrying any weapon to harm you. It is also the highest-value camera in most homes, because the front door is where the approach happens. They capture faces at close range, give two-way audio, and a burglar who rings the bell has already identified themselves on record. Built with magnesium-alloy bodies and extensive dust- and moisture-resistance to handle harsh field conditions and continuous heavy use.
Indoor cube / pan-tilt cameras
— cheap, plug-in, Wi-Fi. Their real purpose is inside the perimeter: they only matter if someone gets in, so treat them as a second layer, not the front line.
|
Type |
Coverage |
Deterrent value |
Best position |
Typical cost tier |
|
Bullet |
Long, narrow |
High (visible) |
Eaves, gate, driveway |
Low–mid |
|
Dome |
Wide, medium |
Medium (covert) |
Ceilings, indoors, porch |
Low–mid |
|
PTZ |
Very wide, tracking |
High |
Pole, roof corner, large yard |
High |
|
Doorbell |
Close-range faces |
Very high |
Front door |
Low |
|
Indoor cube |
Room-level |
Low |
Hallway, living room |
Very low |
All our cameras have the following features that make them unique and effective among the rest;
- AI person/vehicle detection — the single biggest upgrade over the last generation. It alerts you to a human, not a cat or a passing car, so your phone actually buzzes when necessary.
- Colour night vision (spotlight or large sensor) — most thefts happen after dark, and grey infrared footage rarely identifies anyone. Yehans International has cameras with a built-in light also serving as a deterrent.
- 2K/4K plus wide dynamic range — resolution only helps if the face is large in frame, so place so our cameras are placed close to the approach, not high up looking at the whole street so as to have a clear video capture of any incidents.
- Two-way audio and a siren — speaking to someone through the camera ("I can see you, the police will be here in a minute") ends a surprising number of attempts. It converts a passive recorder into an active one.
- Local recording plus cloud — This feature allows you to record to an NVR (Network Video Recorder) or microSD and cloud. Should the burglars take the recorder or cut the power; cloud clips are always saved, and video can be retrieved when needed.
- PoE (Power over Ethernet) wired cameras —This camera has one cable for power and data, no Wi-Fi jamming, no battery swaps. Wi-Fi and battery cameras are for renters and retrofit (updating an older or existing camera body, lens, or system with modern components, digital sensors, or new technology that it didn't have); wired is the reliable choice if you're building it properly in a long-term residence.
- Tamper and offline alerts — It alerts you the moment a camera goes blind, not after the fact so that if there are any actions to take, you take them immediately.
Placement: the part most people get wrong
- Front door at face height (about 2.4 m), angled down — you want faces, not the tops of heads. A camera 4inches up shows a nice view of a hat. The camera has to be installed about 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters) from the ground for indoor and residential outdoor areas, and 10 to 12 feet (3 to 3.7 meters) for larger commercial or open outdoor areas.
- Cover the approach, not just the door — Test to see that the camera covers the walkway, gate, driveway entrance, and not just the door to your living room. You need to identify the person before they reach the house.
- Overlap fields of view so there's no gap at the corners, and one camera watching another's blind spot.
- Side and rear access — the back door and side alley are the classic entry points and the most commonly ignored, so remember to install some at the rear parts of your house.
- Garage, shed and garden boundaries — These areas should not be ignored, as some burglars tend to hide in the gardens for cover up. One must be placed at the shed and garages so that tools, bikes, and other valuables can be monitored.
- Avoid pointing into the sun or a bright streetlight; The backlight is what turns a face into a silhouette. Place the backlight behind and slightly off-to-the-side of the CCTV camera, pointing in the same direction the camera faces. Never place the camera directly facing the light source or put a bright light directly behind the subject facing the lens, as this causes severe glare, lens flare, or dark silhouettes.
- Signage at eye level — an obvious camera plus a small "CCTV in operation" sign outperforms a hidden camera every time. Hidden cameras catch, visible cameras prevent.
The deterrence stacks
Cameras work best as one layer of four: lighting that comes on when someone approaches (motion floodlights on every entrance), visible cameras with signage, an audible alarm and good locks on doors and windows, and a response plan — clips you can hand to police within minutes. Add a smart lock or door sensor and the system tells you that a door opened, not just that a person walked past.
Two things to get right legally and practically
- Point cameras at your own property. Aim them away from neighbors’ windows and shared spaces; in many jurisdictions you must disclose recording, and audio recording has stricter rules than video. Keep a small sign up.
- Test the evidence, not the view. Once a month, walk to your door at night and check the app: can you clearly identify yourself? Can you read a number plate? If not, the camera is decoration.
A well-planned CCTV camera installation should comprise a video doorbell, one bullet camera over the driveway, one over the back door, one indoor dome in the main hallway — wired where possible, AI person detection on, local plus cloud recording, and motion lights on the two entrances. That covers roughly 90% of realistic residential risk for a modest spend. This installation plan gives you an all-round overview of every action in your home, commercial places, offices, car parks, and many others.
