How To Wire Home Security Cameras

If you've decided to get a wired security camera system instead of a Wi-Fi camera, the setup is a bit more involved, merely you lot'll end up with a better organisation in the end. Here's how to install wired security cameras.

RELATED: Wired Security Cameras vs. Wi-Fi Cams: Which Ones Should Y'all Buy?

For this guide, nosotros'll be installing an EZVIZ 1080p system, which comes with a DVR that locally records footage 24/7. No thing what system you end upward going with, the installation procedure is like across the lath, with peradventure a few differences here and there based on the arrangement.

What You'll Demand

Dissimilar a uncomplicated Wi-Fi cam, yous'll need more tools for installing a wired camera system, including:

Ethernet cablevision
Baluns (Converts analog to digital—highly recommended if your system is analog)
A ability drill with bulldoze bits and spade $.25 (and some regular drill bits likewise)
Steel fish tape
Masking tape (or whatever kind of tape for that matter)
A monitor, mouse, and keyboard
A friend to assistance out (seriously, this is highly recommended)

As you go through the installation process, you might decide to use other tools to brand things a bit easier depending on your specific state of affairs, but the things listed above are the basics that you'll need.

How Wired Camera Systems Are Set Upward

Before you dive deep into installing a wired security camera organization, you lot first have to sympathize how everything is connected.

Pretty much every system consists of a set of cameras and a DVR box that serves as the user interface for managing the entire organisation, besides as storing all of the video footage that gets recorded.

RELATED: How Do Night Vision Cameras Work?

All of the cameras connect directly to the DVR box, either using BNC cable for analog camera systems, or ethernet cable for digital systems. If you have an analog organisation, I highly recommend skipping the BNC cable and getting special adapters called baluns, which permit you to apply Ethernet cables—they're a lot easier to install and more modern overall.

Since the cameras direct plug into the DVR box, this means that if you install a photographic camera by your dorsum patio and the DVR box is upstairs in your home role, you'll need to route the camera'south cable through your house in order to connect it to the DVR box, which tin get a bit complicated, depending on how your firm is congenital how exactly yous plan to road the cable.

From there, the DVR box gets plugged into a ability outlet then you connect an external monitor to the DVR box to manage the unabridged arrangement, see a live view of all the cameras, and review past recordings. Most systems volition also come up with a mouse, just a keyboard is besides recommended.

Step One: Effigy Out Where You lot Want Your Cameras

With my business firm, the best identify to mount my cameras is on the soffit (the area underneath the roof overhang), that way the cables tin travel direct through the attic.

When it comes to installing wired security cameras, it'south not enough to choice only whatever spot and mount them. You lot accept to remember most what makes the most sense as far as ease of installation (and if it's fifty-fifty possible to install a camera where you want it).

For example, information technology would be great to have a camera mounted on the outside wall next to your front door in the upper corner, but you have to think about how y'all're going to route the cablevision from the photographic camera all the mode to the DVR box. That is your limiting factor when it comes to installing the cameras.

So instead of mounting it on an outside wall, perhaps mount it on your forepart porch's ceiling. From there yous tin can run the cable through the porch'south own footling attic and then up into the principal cranium, taking information technology wherever you want from in that location. Plainly, you'll have the all-time judgement on this, but information technology'south something yous'll demand to go on in listen.

Pace Two: Gear up the Camera Installation

Depending on where exactly yous install your cameras, you may need some different tools than what I employ. For instance, I'k just drilling through wood, drywall, and aluminum, and so a regular ability drill and some basic drill bits will work fine. However, if you have to drill through brick or other masonry, you'll likely want a hammer drill with some masonry drill bits.

In any case, start past marking a hole where the camera's cable will feed through, as well equally holes for where the camera's mounting screws will go. Some kits will come with a template sticker that makes the job a lot easier. If yours doesn't come up with these, hold the photographic camera up to the wall or ceiling where yous want information technology and mark the holes with a pencil.

Get your power drill and a drill flake and drill pilot holes where the mounting screws will go. Then drill the bigger pigsty in the center that the cablevision volition feed through. Unremarkably you have to use a spade bit for the bigger hole, only you might be able to find a regular drill bit that'south big enough.

Pace Three: Run Cables to Each Camera Location

In one case you take holes drilled for your cameras, it's fourth dimension to run cable to each of your camera locations. This is also where the order of things might be dissimilar for you based on your state of affairs, simply essentially you'll exist drilling holes either through walls or ceilings in order to feed cables to where y'all need them to become.

For my installation, all of the cameras' cables will converge in the attic above my garage, and from there they'll all feed upwards into the main attic above the second floor. So to start, I'm going to accept cablevision and feed diverse lengths out to the edges where my cameras will be. This is a lot easier to practice if you have steel fish tape—information technology's very difficult to physically locate yourself around the edge of your attic, since that'southward where your roof slopes down and creates a very cramped space to work in. Then to solve that, fish tape volition be your all-time friend.

There'southward no way I'thou itch all the way to the border here, so I take fish tape do that for me.

You lot can feed the fish tape up into the hole that you just drilled for your camera.

Once the fish tape extends far enough into the attic for easier access, tape the cease of the cable to the fish tape and pull on the fish tape from the outside to thread the cable through the hole you lot drilled. This chore is a whole lot easier with a friend helping you.

RELATED: How to Crimp Your Own Custom Ethernet Cables of Any Length

Next unwrap and remove the fish record, and your cable will be ready to hook up to your camera when you lot're ready to install it. If you're using ethernet cable, you might accept to crimp your own connectors on if they're non already installed.

Step Iv: Run the Cables to the DVR Box

In one case you lot take all of the cable runs located where each camera volition be, it's at present time to route all of those cables to the DVR box.

Yous'll probable need your fish tape for this over again, as well as your ability drill to drill holes through walls or ceilings. This is where things can become a scrap complicated, so if you're not quite sure where to offset, maybe phone that friend if you haven't already.

A section of wall is already cut out here, allowing me to easily fish all of the cables up into the main attic.

Essentially, I'grand routing the cables from my garage's cranium up to the primary attic that's a floor higher. This requires a hole to exist drilled in the garage'southward cranium wall, plus a second hole in the main cranium to feed the cables all the way through. All the same, I got pretty lucky with my cable runs, since the path I wanted to accept with all of the cables was already cleared past previous cables runs, so I didn't have to drill whatsoever new holes through studs or walls. You may non exist so lucky.

After all that, I'll drill a hole in the ceiling in my closet to feed the cables down through that pigsty where they'll come across the DVR box.

How y'all mount the DVR box is completely up to you. Most will have mounting holes on the back, similar to what power strips and surge protectors have. You can as well just have it sit on a desk or tabletop of some kind.

Fish tape will be required to pull cables through all walls and ceilings, and you may end upwards taping cables to the fish tape, pulling them through, removing them, and repeating the process several times through multiple walls before the cables finally arrive to their destination.

Stride 5: Install the Cameras

Things go a lot easier from here, since running the cables is definitely the most difficult office. Installing the cameras should only take a few minutes each.

Start by connecting the cable coming out from the hole to the camera itself. Then feed the excess back up into the hole.

If you want, you can wrap the connection with electrical tape to secure it so that it doesn't get unplugged past accident.

Side by side, grab the mounting screws that came with your kit and use your power drill to mount the camera to your house.

After the camera is installed, you tin and so make some rough adjustments to the camera by loosening the aligning screws and and then tightening them back up when all adjustments have been fabricated. Keep in mind that y'all'll likely demand to brand finer adjustments once you can actually see the live view of the camera, and then you're not entirely washed with this step merely still.

Stride Vi: Connect Everything Together

Once the other finish of the cables are completely routed through your house, you lot can brainstorm connecting them to the DVR.

The connections should be pretty easy, and as you lot can see, I'm using those special adapters that I mentioned further to a higher place. Just connect each cable to its ain port, and then connect the external monitor to the DVR box, every bit well as the mouse and keyboard. You can besides keep a USB drive plugged in for when you demand to export any footage in the future.

Pace 7: Gear up Up the User Interface

This is where things can be dissimilar for you depending on what camera system you have, simply the setup process is likely like across the board.

With my system, the user interface setup consists of creating a password, setting the date and time, and going through a quick tutorial on how it all works.

From in that location, you're good to go, but taking some time to navigate through the settings to customize some things is recommended, like whether or not your cameras should tape 24/7 or only during movement, for example. Your system may also have video settings that y'all can tinker with to make the image quality a chip improve.

In one case you have your camera system officially up and running, take a look at the video feeds and decide if any of the cameras need adjusting. As described further above, use those pocket-sized screws on the camera to adjust the positioning to where you desire it.