This article is tailored to those DIYers who are interested in installing their own security system.
Here, I will be going through the following: (1) What type of security camera to select? (2) Where to house your security system / network, and (3) how to run your wiring.
When installing security cameras, it helps tremendously to do your research ahead of time and know exactly what to look for in a security camera. What I looked for in the past on my quest to choosing the right security camera was (1) Video Quality, (2) Product reviews, (3) Ease of install, and (4) Price.
Once you have selected the quality security camera, the next step is where you expect to have all of you security wiring to run to (a central location). My go to choice is usually the laundry room, because of two reasons: (1) if thieves were to break into the home, the last place they would go to is the laundry room, and (2) the security system is out of sight, and out of mind. If you need to access the security footage, simply head downstairs with a USB in your hand. Lastly, how you will be completing your stratagem
The Ideal Security Camera
In my experience, it helped to draw from the installation experience of your security camera. Because I never installed one before, it was difficult to understand the meaning between DVR and NVR (aside from the obvious — one using BNC cables and another using PoE or variation); it was a bit difficult to conceptualize what the final product would look like. This experience came with the purchase of my first security camera. The experience of setting it up greatly prepared me for my next security camera system.
My first security system was Lorex (Link below) Security system that used BNC cables connected to a DVR. Once I experienced the headache of having to drill a hole through my exterior wall in order to push three BNC cables through, I decided that my next security system would be one with an NVR because it would use ethernet with PoE connections instead. What’s the critical difference between a DVR and NVR? Well the NVR will be using a PoE (Power over Ethernet) requiring only one Ethernet cable to both power and record, while the DVR security cameras use BNC cable along with two additional connections. The critical difference in my eyes is that instead of having to drill a 3/4” hole for the BNC cable, we can drill a size suitable for the total number of Ethernet cables, and terminate the head at the end. It makes pulling and wiring MUCH easier.
Trust me when I say that running the Ethernet wire is easier than the coax. One reason being that you don’t need to drill a massive hole when a small hole will do.
I chose Lorex when I first tried the security cameras, and it was 1080P which worked for what I needed to do. But after some research and comparison, I have decided to go with Reolink (link below). They occasionally have sales, so it’s best to wait until they have a decent sale before you buy.
Time to start pulling wire.
I had to first determine how many ethernet wires to pull. This included not only the security system (I had 8 security cameras), but also in-wall ethernet connections in the bedrooms and common areas. In total I had over 20 Ethernet connections, including security cameras. You may think this is overkill, but hear me out:
First, I want to have my modem placed in an inconspicuous location. This meant that I needed one in-wall Ethernet to connect to a router (wall-mounted on the ground floor in the centre of the house). Usually you would see a modem and router together, but not in my design. The router would take the WAN connection, and then connect to the network switch (two ethernet connections) before the network switch broadcasts to the rest of the house. Remember, all the ethernet connections tie back to the laundry room in the basement. Confused yet? Here is the simplified illustration:
Now because all of the Ethernet connections are located in the laundry room, some patch cabling is required. Here is my actual design:
Time to begin the work. First I had to cut a hole to see if there is any clearance or space to begin pulling my wires. I’ll be patching up these holes later.
To the right of the picture above is where my furnace room / laundry room is located.
Above, I decided that because this room is below where two cameras need to be (side door and back yard), I decided to just pull it from above rather than pulling Ethernet cable around the house. This worked out beautifully.
Here’s what the left of the picture looked like with all of those ethernet wires
Next, because we were planning on renting the basement to tenants, I decided the best solution is to buy a server rack. Choosing a 6U vs. 9U was a hard choice, particularly because I never saw either up close. Coupled by the COVID pandemic, it was hard to justify walking into a shop to take a gander at these racks. The two trusted racks that I selected from were Startech and Tripp Lite. I would have chosen the Tripp Lite 9U if price was not a factor, but opted for Startech instead. You can read about my selection process in my other article linked here. I definitely do not want to leave any of my electronics such as the security system out in the open for anyone to push buttons. Therefore having a server rack to house my switch and security system (and eventually my server too) was the best solution. vs to buy a wall mount server rack because if/when I rent to a tenant,(I’ll link what I purchased).
My old Lorex Security System
BNC Cables
The Reolink Security System that I bought (as of writing this article, is OOS)
The Reolink Security System with four 8MP cameras (in stock) instead.
