CCTV System for a Factory: Camera Count, Storage, Network and Cost Drivers

A factory CCTV system costs what its camera count, storage, network and software add up to, and each of those follows from decisions you can make before you ask for quotes: the zones to cover, what you must see in each, how many days of footage to keep, and how the cameras connect back to a recorder. This guide gives the method for each and names the cost drivers.

How do you count cameras?

Count by zone and objective, not by area. Start with a site plan and walk it.

1. List the zones. Boundary and gates, vehicle entry with weighbridge, loading and unloading bays, production halls, stores and yards, parking, utility rooms, and the control room itself.
2. Set an objective for each zone. The four usual levels are to detect that something is there, to observe what it is doing, to recognise a known person or vehicle and to identify an unknown one. Each level asks for more pixels on the target, so identification at a gate needs a closer, narrower camera than detection along a fence.
3. Assign one camera to each field of view, then add overlap at corners and behind racking where a camera cannot see.
4. Check mounting. Poles, building faces, ceilings and cable routes decide whether a camera can sit where the plan says.

Light matters too. Gates and yards at night need low-light or infrared capability, and some sites need cameras rated for dust or hazardous areas. Those requirements change the camera model and so the cost.

How do you work out storage?

Storage is arithmetic. Total recorded bitrate in Mbps, times seconds of recording per day, divided by 8, gives megabytes a day; multiply by retention days. A worked example in decimal units: 16 cameras at 4 Mbps recording around the clock make 64 Mbps. Per day that is 64 × 86,400 ÷ 8, about 691 GB. Over 30 days it is about 20.7 TB. Keep 20 percent of the disk free as a reserve and the usable capacity to provision is about 26 TB, before RAID overhead.

The bitrate is the number that moves most. A variable-bitrate camera records more at night, in rain, with moving foliage or in busy scenes, and changes in codec, resolution or frame rate move it too. Take the recorded bitrate per camera from your recorder or camera configuration after a day and a night, not from a datasheet maximum. Use the CCTV storage calculator to run groups of cameras, retention days and reserve in one place. It does not choose a RAID level, a recorder or the network design, so those go in your specification separately.

What does the network need?

An IP camera system is a network project. Check these items against the plan.

Our pages on CCTV and IP video surveillance and structured cabling describe the scope, and the article on ELV integration explains how CCTV ties into access control and the fire alarm.

What moves the cost?

• Camera count and type: fixed, PTZ, thermal, number-plate recognition and explosion-protected cameras sit at very different price levels.
• Resolution and frame rate: higher settings raise bitrate, storage and network cost together.
• Retention days: storage rises in direct proportion; doubling retention doubles the disks.
• Cabling and civil work: trenches, conduits, poles, brackets and cable length often exceed the camera cost on large sites.
• Software and licences: video management software is commonly licensed per camera, and analytics add a licence per channel.
• Control room: display wall, workstations, furniture and air conditioning.
• Integration: links to access control, boom barriers and the fire alarm.
• Maintenance: a service contract for cleaning, focus checks and replacements.

Ask each bidder to price these as separate lines so the comparison is like for like. Our MEPF cost calculator and the guide to comparing MEPF quotations help with the rest of the building scope.

What should a CCTV quotation list?

Quotes are hard to compare when one bidder prices 40 cameras with a recorder and another prices 52 with a server and licences. Ask for the same schedule from every bidder.

• A camera schedule by location: model, type, resolution, lens or field of view, mounting, and the objective it serves.
• The recorded bitrate assumed per camera, the retention days, the resulting usable storage and the RAID layout.
• Switch models, PoE budget per switch, uplink speeds and fibre or wireless links, with the cable route drawn on the plan.
• Recorder or server model, number of channels, ingest limit and licence terms for video software and analytics.
• BIS registration numbers for the camera models, and the warranty period for cameras, recorders and disks.
• Commissioning tests: focus and field-of-view check for each camera, a night-time check, playback test and a retention test.
• Maintenance terms: cleaning, focus checks, response time and spares.

Continuous recording is the safe default for evidence. Motion-triggered recording lowers storage, but a busy yard triggers almost all the time and the first seconds before an event can be lost without a pre-record buffer, so test it on site before you rely on the saving.

What compliance points apply?

Two matter at the specification stage. First, the Ministry of Electronics and IT added CCTV cameras to the Compulsory Registration Order by S.O. 1652(E) of 9 April 2024, with IS 13252 (Part 1) and a set of security essential requirements covering tamper resistance, access control and data protection. The order applies six months after publication in the Gazette. Ask for the BIS registration number of the model offered, and verify the current position with BIS. Second, video of people is personal data. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and its Rules apply in phases, so ask your counsel what applies to staff and visitor footage and what signage and retention policy you need.

How Secured Engineers helps

We design and install ELV systems, including CCTV, access control and structured cabling, alongside the electrical and fire work on the same site, so cable routes, power and fire alarm links are coordinated in one design. Design is done in-house. We work from offices in Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana, with 535+ projects across 18+ states and 89.77% repeat clients.

If you have a camera schedule, a drawing or quotations, send them and we will review the budget against the drivers above and flag what is missing. See our low-voltage and ELV page, message us on WhatsApp, call +91 70099 85817, or ask for a free proposal.