CCTV for Home UK 2026: Wired, PoE or Wireless Guide

For most UK homes, a wired, recorder-based system with three or four cameras covering the front door, back door and any side access is the most dependable setup, and the work follows a simple order: plan, place, power, mount, set up, test. The caveat is that renters, listed-building owners and homes with weak Wi-Fi or awkward cable routes may be better served by a different route, such as battery or Wi-Fi cameras, or PoE runs that avoid drilling through sensitive structures. This guide shows how to choose between wired, PoE and wireless, where to put cameras indoors and outdoors, and how to set up and test the system so it records what you need.

What CCTV for home suits your property: wired, PoE or wireless?

Where cable can be run, PoE IP cameras on an NVR are the best all-round choice for a UK home. Coax Turbo HD suits a tighter budget or existing cabling, and Wi-Fi or battery cameras suit spots where cabling is impractical.

Architecture	Suits	Trade-off
Coax/BNC + DVR (Turbo HD)	Houses with coax already in place, or a simple cabled system on a budget	Power usually runs separately from the video cable at each camera
PoE IP + NVR	New installs, multi-camera homes, full outdoor coverage	Needs Ethernet runs, plus a PoE switch or NVR with PoE ports sized for the camera load
Wi-Fi or battery	Renters, outbuildings, one or two cameras	Relies on signal strength and charging; recording and night range vary by model

Eufy, which sells both wired and wireless cameras, argues in its wired CCTV guide that wired systems give a steadier connection than Wi-Fi and avoid battery depletion. That is a vendor view, but it matches what installers see: a cable removes two common failure points.

What drives the cost

CCTV for home cost depends on camera count, recorder channels, hard drive capacity (which sets how many days you keep footage), cable and, for IP, a PoE switch. Prices on this site include VAT, so check the live product pages rather than a figure quoted here.

The cheapest CCTV for home usually means fewer cameras, shorter night range or no local recording. Count the cameras you need before comparing totals.

Two cameras from our range

The Hilook 4 MP Fixed Mini Bullet Camera is a compact Turbo HD bullet suited to entrances and corridors. The Hilook THC-T240-M-R 4MP Turret Camera, 40 m IR is an IP66-housed turret with 40 metres of infrared night vision, a better fit for a long garden or drive.

Fitting is for your own electrician or installer, so check each product's datasheet first. Browse the range at https://clearsecurity.co.uk or ask for a suggested system.

Where should you put cameras: front door, driveway, rear and indoors?

Cover entry points first: front door, then rear door and garden access, then the driveway and side passage, then one indoor camera on the main route in. That order is general guidance rather than a rule, so move a weak spot up the list, such as a side gate nobody overlooks.

Front door

Use a turret or bullet mounted out of easy reach but low enough to catch faces rather than the tops of heads. A compact bullet such as the Hilook 4 MP Fixed Mini Bullet Camera is made for entrances, and the rear door and garden access get the same treatment.

Driveway and side passage

Night coverage depends on infrared range, so check it before resolution. Both cameras below have IP66 housings:

Camera	Resolution	IR range
Hilook THC-T250-M-R Turret	5 MP	20 m
Hilook THC-T240-M-R Turret	4 MP	40 m

20 m is ample for a typical front garden, while the 40 m model suits a long drive or a deep rear garden. The trade-off is 5 MP of detail against double the night reach.

Indoors

Fit one camera covering the main route in, usually the hallway, rather than filming every room. A 3 MP or 4 MP mini bullet, such as the Hilook 3 MP Fixed Mini Bullet Camera, is suited to corridors. Your own electrician or installer fits the kit, and the product datasheet covers mounting.

How do you power and cable the cameras?

Choose the cabling before you buy cameras: coax cameras need a video cable and a separate power feed, IP cameras take both over one PoE Ethernet cable, and Wi-Fi models still need power.

Coax (analogue HD) route

Each camera gets a BNC video lead plus a DC power lead, usually in one siamese-style cable, run back to a central DVR and a power supply unit. A camera such as the Hilook THC-T240-M-R 4MP turret is this type. Pre-terminated leads save you crimping BNC and DC connectors, so look for them when you order cable. Your own electrician or installer should handle any mains work for the power supply.

PoE route (IP cameras)

The switch's PoE budget in watts must be at least the sum of every camera's rated draw, taken from each datasheet. Add the camera figures first, then compare the total with the switch's stated budget, and leave headroom for future cameras. Our Best PoE Switch for CCTV UK guide covers choosing one.

Twisted-pair Ethernet is generally limited to 100 m per run, patch leads included. Longer distances need a mid-point switch or a different cable type. The Cat5e Cable for CCTV page covers what to buy for typical runs.

Wi-Fi and wireless

Wireless cameras remove the data cable, not the power cable: they need either a mains adapter or a battery you must recharge. Wi-Fi can also drop out when the signal is marginal.

• Test the signal at the exact mounting spot with your phone before drilling.
• If it is weak, move a mesh node or access point closer to the camera rather than relying on the router.
• 2.4 GHz travels further through walls, while 5 GHz is faster but shorter-range.

Where a run is feasible, wired is the dependable choice.

Mounting and UK home problems: walls, renting and listed buildings

Fix cameras into solid masonry or framing, seal every cable entry, and get written permission before drilling a rented or listed property. The wall decides the fixing, and the tenure decides whether you can drill at all.

Wall types

• Brick: masonry bit and wall plugs.
• Blockwork or render: check the fixing depth reaches the solid block behind the render, not just the coating.
• Timber cladding: fix into the frame behind, never the cladding alone.
• Soft stone: drill into a mortar joint rather than the stone face, which is easier to repair later.

Weatherproofing

IP66 means the housing is protected against powerful water jets, per IEC 60529 / BS EN 60529. A camera such as the Hilook THC-T240-M-R has an IP66 housing, but the rating covers the camera body only. It does not protect an open cable junction, so keep connectors inside a weatherproof box.

Leave a drip loop in the cable below the entry point so water runs off the loop instead of into the wall, then seal the entry. Your own electrician or installer should fit the kit, following the product's datasheet or installation guide.

Rented homes

Get the landlord's consent in writing before you drill. Drill-free and battery cameras avoid holes, but you give up continuous power: batteries need recharging or replacing, and the camera depends on your Wi-Fi staying up. CCTV Outlet's "DIY-free" category shows there is demand for rental-friendly kit, though that is not an endorsement.

Listed buildings

External cameras and cable runs can alter a listed building's character, so listed building consent may be needed. Ask your local planning authority before fixing anything, and use mortar joints so the work can be reversed.

How do you set up the app, test the system and stay legal?

Connect the recorder, secure it, add the cameras to the app, trim the motion zones, then test after dark before fixing anything permanently.

1. Connect the recorder to the router with an Ethernet cable.
2. Change the default password to a long, unique one before you enable remote viewing.
3. Update the firmware from the recorder menu, so you aren't running with known faults.
4. Add the cameras to the phone app and confirm each one appears on its own channel.
5. Set motion zones that exclude the road and any trees, so passing traffic and moving branches don't trigger alerts.
6. Test at night, as below.

The night test

Walk the driveway after dark, at the distance you planned, and check whether a face and a number plate are legible on playback. Infrared range is not recognition range. A camera such as the Hilook THC-T240-M-R lists 40 metres of infrared night vision, but that describes how far it lights the scene, not how far a face stays readable.

If the footage falls short, adjust the camera angle rather than only the settings. A plate approaching head-on is usually easier to read than one crossing the frame, and a camera aimed at a nearby wall can wash out in its own infrared glare.

Retention and storage

Work out the drive size with this formula:

storage (GB) ≈ bitrate (Mbps) × 3,600 × 24 × days ÷ 8 ÷ 1,000 × number of cameras

Read the live bitrate for each camera from the recorder's menu rather than guessing. Insert your own bitrate, days and camera count, then choose a drive at least that large.

Legal housekeeping

If a camera captures beyond your boundary, such as the pavement, road or a neighbour's property, UK GDPR and the ICO's CCTV guidance are likely to apply. Display clear signs, and set a retention period you can justify for your purpose, deleting footage once it expires.

Related products

Related products from our own range:

• Hilook 4 MP Fixed Mini Bullet Camera — The HiLook THC-B140-R is a compact 4MP Turbo HD bullet camera for home and business CCTV installations. Its bullet design makes it suitable for monitoring entrances, corridors and other areas where a
• Hilook 3 MP Fixed Mini Bullet Camera — The HiLook THC-B230-R is a compact 3MP Turbo HD bullet camera for home and business CCTV installations. Its bullet design makes it suitable for monitoring entrances, corridors and other areas where a
• Hilook THC-T250-M-R 5 MP Turret Camera — Hilook 5 MP turret camera with 20 m infrared night vision, IP66 housing and four switchable outputs. Prices include VAT. Free UK delivery over £100.
• Hilook THC-T240-M-R 4MP Turret Camera, 40 m IR — 4 MP Turbo HD turret camera with 40 metres infrared night vision, IP66 housing and switchable video output. Prices include VAT. Free UK delivery over £100.