Before any technical installation in his main or secondary home, we always ask ourselves the question of whether we are able to carry out the necessary installation or maintenance operations. Before installing a video surveillance system, debates often revolve around maintenance and whether or not to install this system correctly. Some people give up installing a video surveillance system for fear of installing it incorrectly or of not being able to maintain it sufficiently. However, everyone is capable of installing a video surveillance system, and above all, of maintaining it. Indeed, technical progress as well as advances in terms of after-sales service greatly facilitates the installation and use of such a system.
Have your system installed by a professional
If you buy your video surveillance system through an online platform or a non-specialized store, chances are you will have to install your video surveillance system alone. A purchase through a video surveillance specialist often guarantees you a free installation, included in the purchase price of the video surveillance system. If you think you are new to DIY, buy your system in a specialized store.
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Choose removable systems
Some video surveillance systems do not require any complicated installation operation. The cameras can be installed without screws or holes, simply placed, then connected by wifi like a computer. However, be sure to make sure that this type of video surveillance system suits the needs of your home.
Test it!
Whether your video surveillance security camera systems in Chicago has been installed by a professional, a friend or by yourself, ensuring that it works properly is the best way to be sure of its usefulness. So do tests by passing in front of all your cameras to simulate a burglary. Then, view the images and check if each capture is usable and registers correctly on your recording unit.
How to take advantage of your video surveillance system while you are away
Your video surveillance system protects your home all year round. However, if you are absent during part of it, for professional or personal reasons, it can be frustrating to realize the quality of your investment only when you are present in your home. Video surveillance is indeed an active process, which requires relative attention from the owners. Leaving your video surveillance system without inspection for a long time is the best way to find it damaged. While you are away, there are ways to use your video surveillance system as if you were at home.
Alerts on smartphones
Whether you are thousands of kilometers from your home or you went to buy a baguette on the corner of the street, some applications exist to be alerted of the detection of an individual by a motion detector of your cameras . You can then react as if you were present, calling the police or a neighbor for a check. These motion detectors only detect the presence of movement, but some more sophisticated video surveillance systems draw up a virtual map of your home and the cameras installed there, to tell you directly which room has detected movement. You can thus eliminate the sometimes abusive detections, related to wind, shade or animals.
Viewing live images
Since motion detectors are not 100% reliable, it is also possible that the latter will detect a friend or family member who has the keys. To make sure of the person present in your home, you can install a video surveillance system which sends you live images. A motion detector starts the process. You can then watch on your smartphone, which is present at home, in real time.
How to assess the vulnerability of your home?
The main and secondary houses are very different in shape and size. With or without a garden, they have several floors, sometimes a very high number of entrances, as well as more or less accessible windows. All these structural characteristics are added to the occupancy characteristics, which punctuate the risk that your house will be visited. Before any installation of a video surveillance system, it is important that you make a complete diagnosis of the vulnerability of your home. You can then determine which system is best suited to your needs and the structure of your home. Here are some tips to follow to assess the vulnerability of your home to burglaries.
How many entry points?
The first aspect to assess is the number of entry points your home has. The more doors or patio doors in your home, the more vulnerable it is.
What type of entry point?
The entry points into your home are very different. A bay window protected by an alarm is in fact less passable than a conventional unprotected entry door. So also take into account the type of entry points, not just their number.
Which windows?
Windows are potential entry points but also prove to be dissuasive obstacles. A relatively tall, double-glazed window becomes a trap if it is reinforced by an alarm or simply a sign suggesting that it is being watched.
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What visibility from the street?
Your home is more or less visible from the street. If it is hidden by bushes or a perimeter wall, the burglars will not be disturbed by the passage and will have all the time necessary to force your home.
Which access by car?
Most burglaries are carried out using a transport vehicle. Difficult access to your home therefore makes this operation all the more complicated. So remember to assess the ease with which it is possible to approach your home using a vehicle.
How to protect your video surveillance system from vandalism
Vandalism affects the majority of goods and infrastructure, but more particularly infrastructure symbolizing power or surveillance. As such, video surveillance cameras are very often targeted by acts of vandalism. Fragile and exposed, the loss of one of your cameras due to a malicious act jeopardizes your entire protection system. You must indeed ensure that each camera fulfills its role, so that no flaw allows a burglary, possibly linked to the malicious act that served as preparation. To fight against this exposure, follow these tips to protect your video surveillance system, and therefore your property.
Monitor your surveillance
It can be considered absurd to monitor a video surveillance system. However, it is in this way that it is possible to find the perpetrators of acts of vandalism. You can install your video surveillance system so that the cameras are installed in a complementary manner. Each camera films another, while filming the desired part. You will get images from your cameras, as if they were part of the assets you want to monitor.
Install alarms
If you only have cameras, an act of vandalism will quickly create an intolerable fault in your video surveillance system. So equip your video surveillance system with appendices such as alarms, which enhance the effect of your cameras. Home alarm systems in Chicago is discreetly installed and almost impossible to vandalize. If you attack your cameras, they will have a direct and strong deterrent effect.
Hide your cameras
To minimize the risk of your cameras being vandalized, you must make them unreachable from the public highway. If you cannot do this because you have to watch your entrance gate for example, from the outside, hide your cameras in bushes or trees, or equip them with camouflage boxes.