It is the first question almost everyone asks, and the honest answer is: it depends on your home, not on how many cameras someone wants to sell you. A small townhouse and a house on five acres have very different needs. Here is how we figure out the right number — and where the cameras should actually go.

Start With Coverage, Not a Number

The right way to plan a system is to walk the property and list what needs watching, in priority order:

Front door / main entry — non-negotiable, the single most useful camera
Driveway and street approach — catch vehicles and people before they reach the house
Back door and side entries — statistically where intruders prefer to go
Garage, sheds, and outbuildings — often forgotten, often targeted
Back yard and blind corners — anywhere you cannot see from inside

Once the priority spots are on the list, the camera count almost picks itself.

Typical Camera Counts by Home

As a rough starting point:

Townhouse or small home: 3–4 cameras (front, back, driveway, one flex)
Average single-family home: 5–6 cameras (entries, driveway, yard)
Larger home or property on acreage: 8+ cameras (multiple approaches, outbuildings, wide yards)

These are starting points, not rules. A compact home on a corner lot might need more coverage than a big house on a quiet cul-de-sac.

Placement Matters More Than Count

Eight cameras aimed poorly are worse than four placed well. A few principles we follow:

Mount at a height that captures faces, not just the tops of heads
Cover approach paths, not just the door itself
Avoid pointing straight into the rising or setting sun
Overlap coverage at key points so there are no blind spots

Wiring Makes the System Reliable

We recommend hardwired PoE cameras so each camera gets power and video over one CAT6 cable — no batteries to swap, no dropping off WiFi. Footage records to a local recorder you own, with weeks of history and no required monthly fee.

We Will Tell You What You Actually Need

We would rather install the right system than the biggest one. We walk your property, recommend a camera count sized to your home, and give you an honest quote — no upselling.

Serving Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Radford, and the New River Valley.