Most CCTV cost guides online are written by people who have never installed a system. They quote equipment prices and ignore the labour, the cable routing, the NVR setup, and the network configuration that gets you actually watching your cameras from your phone in Morocco. This guide is different — these are the prices we actually charge in Wells, Frome, Bath, and across Mid Somerset.
We install Hikvision 4K AcuSense systems as standard. AcuSense is Hikvision's AI-powered detection technology: it distinguishes between people and vehicles versus animals or wind-blown foliage, which means your phone does not ping at 3am because a fox walked past. Every installation includes remote viewing setup via the Hik-Connect app, so you are watching live footage from your phone before we drive away.
The Price Bands: What You Are Actually Looking At
Here are the four tiers we quote most commonly. All prices are fully installed — cameras, cable, NVR, PoE switch, remote viewing configuration, and a walkthrough with you on the day.
| System Size | Installed Price | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| 2-camera starter | £650 – £850 | Front door + driveway, terrace or flat |
| 4-camera standard | £1,200 – £1,500 | Full house perimeter, most 3–4 bed homes |
| 6–8 camera full coverage | £1,800 – £2,800 | Larger properties, outbuildings, workshops |
| Commercial / PTZ / turret | Site survey required | Business premises, car parks, industrial |
The spread within each band — why one 4-camera system costs £1,200 and another costs £1,500 — comes down to five specific factors. Understanding them is what lets you have a useful conversation with any installer, including us.
The 5 Factors That Move the Price
1. Number of Cameras
Obvious, but worth stating clearly: each additional camera adds hardware cost (a Hikvision 4K AcuSense bullet is not a cheap box), a run of Cat6 cable, a port on the PoE switch, a channel on the NVR, and roughly 30–45 minutes of labour. There are no real economies of scale beyond a certain point — the fourth camera costs almost the same as the second.
2. Cable Routing Difficulty
This is the biggest variable most people do not anticipate. Running Cat6 from an NVR in a cupboard under the stairs to a camera above the garage on a simple modern house with accessible loft space might take an hour. Running the same cable on a stone-built farmhouse near Castle Cary, through solid walls and a render exterior, past a slate roof void with no access, could take three hours per camera.
We run Cat6 as standard — it carries both power (via Power over Ethernet) and data on a single cable, which keeps things clean and avoids separate power supplies at each camera location. Older buildings with solid walls, barns, and anything requiring external drill-through or underground ducting sit at the upper end of each price band.
What About Wireless CCTV?
We are regularly asked about Wi-Fi cameras that avoid cabling altogether. The honest answer: for a permanent security installation, wired Cat6 is more reliable, harder to jam, and performs better in low light. Wi-Fi signals can be interrupted, and battery-powered cameras need servicing every few months. We install wireless cameras in situations where cabling is genuinely impossible, but we always recommend wired where it is achievable.
3. NVR Specification
The Network Video Recorder is the box that stores your footage locally. We specify Hikvision NVRs sized to match the camera count, and offer two standard storage options:
- 4TB HDD — typically 3–4 weeks of continuous recording at 4K across 4 cameras. Sufficient for most domestic installations.
- 8TB HDD — 6–8 weeks of storage, or more if motion-triggered recording is used. Recommended if you travel frequently or want longer retention for insurance purposes.
The difference in cost between a 4TB and 8TB installation is usually £80–£120. For peace of mind on a property you are leaving unoccupied, it is almost always worth it.
4. PoE Switch Size
Power over Ethernet switches power the cameras and connect them to the NVR. A 4-port switch handles a 2–4 camera system; an 8-port switch gives headroom for expansion. The switch lives in the same location as the NVR, typically a secure cupboard or utility room. Moving from a 4-port to 8-port switch adds roughly £40–£60 to the hardware cost — and is strongly recommended if you think you might add cameras later, because retrofitting the switch is easy; retrofitting the cabling is not.
5. Remote Viewing Setup
Every system we install includes Hik-Connect configuration as standard — we set up the app on your phone (and any other devices you want) before we leave. This covers the DDNS configuration, user accounts, and a live test of remote viewing over mobile data. If you want additional users (a partner, a second home), or integration with a third-party monitoring station, that can be discussed at the site survey stage.
Not sure how many cameras you need?
We offer free site surveys across Mid Somerset. We will assess your property and give you a fixed-price quote on the day.
Domestic vs Commercial: Where the Lines Are Drawn
The price bands above are domestic. Commercial installations follow a different logic — not because the equipment is radically different, but because the requirements are.
A typical home in Shepton Mallet or Frome needs cameras to cover its own curtilage. A commercial site needs to think about public space coverage (which has GDPR and ICO implications), signage obligations, visitor-facing angles, and sometimes integration with access control or intruder alarm systems. We install commercial systems for small businesses across Mid Somerset — shops, workshops, agricultural premises — and these always start with a site survey rather than a price guide.
The commercial tier in our table — "site survey required" — is not a hedge. It is recognition that a 4-camera commercial system on a car park in Midsomer Norton with PTZ capability and monitored alarm integration is a genuinely different project from 4 cameras on a detached house in Bruton, even if the camera count is the same.
What You Will Need in the House
A standard domestic CCTV installation needs: a broadband router with a spare Ethernet port (for the NVR connection), a power socket near the NVR location, and — for the cameras — cable routes to each location. We handle all the cable routing, fixings, and configuration. You do not need to have any existing infrastructure in place; most homes we visit have nothing, and we plan the routing as part of the survey.
Why Hikvision 4K AcuSense?
We get asked why we specify Hikvision rather than cheaper alternatives. Three reasons:
- Image quality at night. A 4K AcuSense camera with a large sensor and motorised varifocal lens genuinely captures usable face detail in the dark at 10 metres — cheap cameras often cannot. When you actually need the footage, quality matters.
- False alarm filtering. AcuSense AI distinguishes people and vehicles from animals and foliage. This matters enormously for notification quality — you get alerted when someone walks up your drive, not every time a pigeon lands on the gate.
- Ecosystem reliability. Hikvision NVRs, cameras, and the Hik-Connect app are designed to work together. We have installed systems still running faultlessly five years later. We have also spent time trying to make cheaper third-party systems communicate with each other. The time cost of unreliable equipment is not worth the saving.
Read what our customers across Somerset say about our installations on the testimonials page — we have a number of CCTV installs featured alongside our electrical work.
Getting an Accurate Quote
The most useful thing we can do before giving you a price is visit the property. A 30-minute site survey — always free, always no obligation — lets us walk the perimeter, identify camera mounting positions, assess cable routing, check your broadband setup, and come back to you with a fixed price rather than a range.
We cover Wells, Bath, Shepton Mallet, Frome, Radstock, Midsomer Norton, Castle Cary, Bruton, Street, and Wedmore. If you are just outside those areas, call us — if we can get there, we will.
Full details of what our CCTV installation service includes are on our dedicated CCTV page.