CCTV and Home Security: A Practical Buyer's Guide for Nepal

CCTV has become one of the most requested additions to new Nepali homes, but a lot of imported 'smart camera' marketing doesn't fit local internet and power realities.

Local storage beats cloud subscriptions

An NVR (network video recorder) with a local hard drive avoids ongoing subscription fees and keeps footage available even when internet is down — which matters more in Nepal than in markets with reliable always-on broadband.

Camera count and placement

For a typical home: main gate, main entrance door, and any secondary/side entrance cover the highest-value points — most homes over-invest in camera count and under-invest in a wide enough lens angle at the entry points that matter.

Power backup is non-negotiable

Any CCTV system should sit on the same inverter/UPS circuit as your router — a system that goes dark during load-shedding is a false sense of security.

IP rating for outdoor cameras

For gate and exterior cameras, confirm IP66 or higher weatherproofing rating — Nepal's monsoon is hard on cheaper outdoor camera housings that aren't properly rated.