Learning how to choose security cameras for your home does not start with brands or megapixels — it starts with a floor plan and five honest questions. In Egyptian homes the real needs repeat: see who is at the door, watch the balcony or garden, check on the kids and the housekeeper from work, and keep evidence if something ever happens. This complete guide walks through how many cameras a home actually needs, wired versus Wi-Fi, the features that matter in our climate and streets, and what a proper installation looks like — so you buy once, correctly.
Key takeaways
- Cover entry points first: the front door and any balcony or window reachable from the street.
- A typical apartment needs 2–3 cameras; a villa needs 6–8. More than that is usually wasted.
- Renting? Wi-Fi cameras like EZVIZ install without drilling. Owning? Wired PoE is the long-term answer.
- Person detection is the feature that stops false alarms from cats and passing tuk-tuks.
- Recording lives on the camera or recorder, not the internet — you only need internet to watch remotely.
Start with five questions
Before any catalog, answer these: What exactly am I protecting — the door, the car, the garden, the kids' room? Which cameras go outdoors into sun, dust and rain? Can I run cables, or is the finishing done and drilling is off the table? How many days of recordings do I want to keep — a week is a workable minimum? And what is the honest budget, remembering that a missing camera at the right spot costs more than any camera at the wrong one? Your answers select the system almost by themselves.
How many cameras does a home actually need?
The priority order never changes: entry points, then valuables, then general areas. For an Egyptian apartment that means the front door (ideally a camera or video intercom seeing the landing), the reception, and any balcony a person could climb to — two or three cameras in total. A duplex adds the stairs and the second entrance: four to six. A villa needs the main gate, the garage, the garden corners and the back door: six to eight, with the gate camera sharp enough to identify faces and read plates. Cameras inside bedrooms are a privacy mistake — cover the corridors leading to them instead.
Wired, Wi-Fi or battery?
| Type | Best for | Strengths | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wired PoE (NVR system) | Owned homes, villas, new finishing | Most reliable, long recordings, no Wi-Fi dependence | Needs cabling before paint dries |
| Wi-Fi (EZVIZ style) | Apartments and renters | Installs in minutes, app-first, affordable | Depends on router quality and placement |
| Battery cameras | Spots with no power outlet | Total freedom of placement | Recharging routine, motion-only recording |
Features that actually matter in Egypt
- Night vision that fits the spot: standard IR covers dark corridors, while ColorVu keeps full color at the gate where identifying clothing and car colors matters.
- Person and vehicle detection (AcuSense on Hikvision, smart detection on EZVIZ): alerts for humans, silence for cats.
- Two-way audio at the door: answer the delivery man from your phone wherever you are.
- Weather sealing for outdoor units: IP66 or better survives Egyptian dust, sun and the occasional rain.
- A UPS or battery model for the power-cut reality — recording that dies with the electricity is not security.
Privacy and your neighbors
Point your cameras at your own property: your door, your fence line, your garden. Egyptian law protects the privacy of private life, so a camera that stares into a neighbor's window or balcony invites a complaint you do not need. Where angles overlap the street, prefer views that show approaches to your home rather than tracking passers-by, and tell household staff that cameras exist — transparency prevents disputes and is simply fair.
Installation: DIY or professional?
Wi-Fi cameras are honestly DIY: mount, scan the QR code in the app, done. Wired systems deserve a professional, and here is what you are paying for: correct cable quality and routes, camera angles set by someone who has reviewed a thousand recordings, waterproofed connections that survive winter, a recorder configured for the retention you asked for, and remote viewing working before the technician leaves. A good installer also hands you the passwords — insist on that; the system is yours.
Frequently asked questions
Do the cameras keep working during power cuts?
Only if you plan for it: a small UPS keeps a wired recorder and router alive through a typical outage, and battery models bridge the gap on their own. Without one of those, recording pauses until the power returns.
Can I watch my home from abroad?
Yes. Hik-Connect and the EZVIZ app stream your cameras anywhere with internet, and both support notifications, playback and two-way talk. Keep the app account secured with a strong password and verification.
Do I need internet for the cameras to record?
No. Recording is local — to the memory card or the recorder's hard drive. Internet only carries the live view and alerts to your phone when you are away.
Which brand should I start with?
For app-first simplicity in an apartment, EZVIZ is the natural start. For a wired whole-home system, Hikvision with a PoE recorder is the professional path. Many Egyptian homes end up with both: wired outside, Wi-Fi inside.
Related guides
- Wired vs wireless security cameras: which is more reliable
- EZVIZ C6N review: the indoor camera for families
- ColorVu vs IR night vision: which is better
- How to view your cameras on your phone
Want the plan drawn for your exact home?
Send a simple sketch or photos of your home to FastEgy — the authorized Hikvision and EZVIZ distributor in Egypt — and our engineers will place the cameras point by point with today's prices and honest alternatives for your budget. Reach us via the contact page or start browsing the FastEgy store.