CCTV Cameras for Home by Rooms

Residential CCTV camera sizing

For home video surveillance, a sensible starting point is one camera per main room and another for every external way in (front door, back door, garage, side gate). This estimator goes with cameras = rooms + accesses. That lands most single-family homes at 4–8 cameras, and larger properties with several entries closer to 8–16.

Resolution is what really moves the storage bill. Treat 720p HD as your floor, 1080p Full HD as the normal choice, and save 4K for the few spots where reading a plate or a face matters (entry, cash, vehicles). In most houses you'll find IP cameras powered over Ethernet (PoE) from brands like Hikvision, Intelbras, Dahua or Reolink, feeding a DVR/NVR with enough disk to hold roughly 30 days of footage when recording is triggered by motion.

Applications

Use it for rough capex on a residential CFTV project, to weigh the kit sizes different integrators quote you, or to size storage on an NVR (the terabytes you need scale with channels × bitrate × retention). It also helps when you're checking whether the structured cabling already in the walls can carry a PoE switch upgrade.

FAQ

Do I need a notice when filming the entrance? In Brazil, LGPD (Law 13.709/2018) calls for visible signage that the area is monitored any time a recording can pick up people outside your property line, such as the sidewalk or a neighbor's lot. Cameras that only see inside your house don't need an external sign, though you still have to store what they capture with care.

How long should I retain footage? Thirty days is the usual residential default, and it's a fair trade between disk cost and how long it normally takes for an incident to surface. Some insurers and condo rules want 60–90 days, so read your policy and bylaws before you settle on a number.

Are wireless (Wi-Fi) cameras good enough? Indoors and in a small home, sure. For the perimeter and round-the-clock recording, PoE holds up better: it sidesteps Wi-Fi congestion, the cable guarantees power, and it's a lot harder to jam than a wireless link.