Did you know that, according to the FBI, around 5.99 million property crimes occurred in the US in 2024? This means that, for every 100,000 Americans, there were about 1,760 property crimes.
If you're a homeowner who wants to make sure that your home is as safe as possible from these property crimes, then you need to know what options you have when it comes to home security cameras.
However, you might not have all the information you need about different cameras. You might be asking yourself questions such as:
"What is the best affordable home security camera system?"
"What features should I be looking for in a home camera system?"
"What are the best options out there for protecting my home?"
If you don't know the answers to these questions, then you won't be able to create the right home security system for your home. That's why we've put together this article. We'll review all the best ways to keep your home safe.
Finally, you can feel like your home is safe when you're asleep or away on vacation. Read on to learn more.
How Many Cameras You Need
When you're using cameras for home security, you need to use the right number of cameras. Many people make the mistake of installing only one security camera at the front of their home, leaving the rest of their home's entrances and windows vulnerable to burglaries.
Instead, you should have both outdoor and indoor cameras. This way, your home is protected from every angle.
Outdoor Security Cameras
One of the most important reasons to have outdoor security cameras is because it's a deterrent for burglars. Many burglars plan their crimes in advance, and if they see that you have a camera system for your home, they'll decide to not break into your home.
Even if they don't see it when first checking out your home, it will certainly deter them when they see security cameras all over your home.
After all, they'll know that, if you record them while they're robbing you, there will be more of a chance of them ending up in jail.
Additionally, they might be afraid that you have other security measures in place that could land them there.
With a home security camera system that has coverage all over your home, you also get peace of mind when you're at work or away on vacation. You know that your home is being watched over, even if you aren't at home.
You can just quickly check in with your mobile app and feel safer than ever. This means that, no matter how many security cameras you have on your property, you can access their footage easily.
Considering all of this, you should have outdoor security cameras near any of your home's entry points. (We'll talk more about this setup later on in the article.)
Indoor Cameras
In addition to thinking about the number of external security cameras to use for home protection, you should also think about the number of internal ones. Even though outdoor cameras are a pretty good deterrent, you should have these in place.
That way, if for some reason a burglar isn't deterred by the cameras outside, you'll still have impressive home protection.
We'll go more into how to set up your indoor cameras later on in this article. However, as a general rule of thumb, they should be in areas of your home where there's high traffic.
This should help you calculate the number of indoor cameras you need for your home.
How to Access With the ADT+ App
When you use wireless home security camera systems with ADT, you can easily control your cameras with the ADT+ App. As a result, you can easily check-in and see your live video. You can also live-stream the outside and inside of your home through the app.
This means you can see what your security cameras see in every part of your home and property.
With ADT Blu, recorded video clips are stored in your event history for up to 30 days, so you can review what happened around your home anytime within that window from the ADT+ app.
Indoor Camera Coverage vs. Outdoor Camera Coverage
When you're using ADT cameras to create the right home security camera system for your home, you need to ensure that you're using the right type of coverage. Otherwise, if there are any blind spots in your coverage, your home could be broken into.
Indoor Camera Coverage
In the interior of your home, you need to put your indoor cameras in the high traffic areas within your home. These include areas such as your living room and kitchen. This way, you can see what's going on in your home at all times.
It's not only having a break-in that you're avoiding here. By having indoor cameras in these areas, you can also ensure that your children are safe. (Is there anything worse than a distracted babysitter?)
Additionally, you can ensure that your home is safe when people are coming into your home to complete services, such as cleaning it or working on a construction project.
Additional Areas
There are other areas where you should include indoor camera coverage. If you have any large windows on the ground floor, point at these, too. That way, you can see if anyone has been tampering with them.
You should also place indoor cameras in your hallways and stairwell. That way, if a burglar gets in through an unmonitored area, you'll still see them as they creep through your home.
Finally, if you have any valuables you want to protect, you should place your indoor cameras so that they can be viewed by them.
Outdoor Camera Coverage
The most important place to put your outdoor camera is outside the front door of your home. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, 34% of burglars break into your home through the front door. So it needs to be protected.
There are some additional reasons why this is the perfect placement for a camera. Even if a burglar isn't planning on breaking in, they could easily steal a package in front of your door if you don't have a camera there.
You can also have a recording of everyone who comes in and out of your home. This includes people such as babysitters, home improvement workers, and delivery people.
Your children and pets will also be safer. If they leave the house without anyone accompanying them, you'll know because of the camera outside your front door.
Additional Areas
You should also protect other doors in your home, such as back and side doors. Burglars will see these as the perfect entry point. Additionally, if there's a door you use more often than your front door (such as your basement door), make sure you place a camera outside it.
Your garage is also an important place to protect. This is for several reasons. First of all, there are things of value in your garage--including your car!
Additionally, if it's an attached garage, then it can be easy for a burglar to get into your home that way. Often, we leave the door between the main house and the garage unlocked because of a false sense of security.
As a result, you should protect your garage door. This way, you won't experience this type of break-in.
Finally, you should install cameras near your yard and driveway. This way, you can catch burglars before they even come close to your actual home.
Video Storage
Whether you choose to use the ADT video doorbell camera, the ADT outdoor security cameras, the ADT indoor security camera, or the ADT DIY security cameras, they all work in tandem with the ADT+ app.
As a result, this means that you have access to live stream and recorded videos whenever you need to. It's just a matter of simply opening the ADT+ Control app on your phone.
You might be wondering, "Will this take up space in my phone? Will it take up space in the camera?"
Fortunately, you won't have to worry about using up precious space on your phone or constantly changing the memory card in the cameras. With the ADT cameras, everything is stored in the cloud.
Video Quality
The video quality for all of the ADT cameras is incredibly good. With the ADT Doorbell Camera, you get HD video with a de-warping feature. As for the ADT outdoor cameras, the video quality is 2K. This is even in low-light or in complete darkness.
ADT indoor security cameras have the same specs as the outdoor ones. ADT Blu is also a great solution, which has 2K live footage.
Integrating With Your ADT Security System
You can easily integrate these cameras with your ADT security system. For example, you can remotely disarm and arm your security system. If you have sensors installed, you can get alerts. These alerts tell you if one of your doors has been unlocked.
They also tell you if the status of your security system has changed. As a result, you can check on your phone and see if there are any issues by looking at the live camera footage.
There are many added benefits to using the ADT+ Control App if you integrate it with the rest of your home. For example, if you have smart locks installed in your home, you can lock and unlock them remotely.
Additionally, you can control your lights remotely. This can help you keep your home safer when you're sleeping or away on vacation because burglars will be deterred, thinking your home and awake when you aren't.
Some extra pluses include climate control and that you can integrate the app with Alexa and all your other smart home devices. Finally, you can find out about deliveries arriving at your door.
Need More Information about Security Camera Systems?
Now that you've learned about some of the best home security camera systems for your home, you might need more information. Maybe you want to learn about which camera is best, specifically, for your home.
Or maybe you want to learn about other features, such as weather resistance.
Whatever information you need, we're here to help. At ADT, we're experts when it comes to home security camera systems, safety solutions, and safety services. We also sell our own security cameras.
To learn about them, check out our security cameras now.
ADT Blu cameras: indoor, outdoor, doorbell.
ADT Blu offers indoor, outdoor, and doorbell cameras designed for easy DIY setup. Check in on your home day or night from the ADT+ app on a compatible device -- backed by the ADT name associated with home security for 150 years.
Want a pro to install your security cameras?
ADT professional installation places, wires, and configures every camera in your home -- with the same trusted ADT name behind the work.
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