Im being asked to value engineer (reduce cost) from a CCTV package which was originally an IP NVR system, the client has suggested Ring.

We've got a full surveyed wifi networking with multiple access points, and we would be going with the hard wired powered Ring cams.

Has anyone had any experience with these ? Where they good / stable or should i steer clear at all costs ?

Well you can't record Ring to a local NVR. It is cloud recording only, which is a monthly fee.

Doorbird allows local NVR recording though, but will be a one time higher expense than Ring for sure.

Unless you have power available at every camera location I don't see the benefit of the camera. For one camera at the front door, sure. If I am going to have a complete surveillance system, No. It will cost twice as much to get an electrician in to provide power at every camera location than to either run a CATx or use the existing CATx cable.

Also as lippavisual said, you still need to pay for the Ring cloud which overtime will exceed the price of an NVR.

I sure hope you get paid for you engineering time!!!! I have found that when someone wants me to find a cheaper solution than a basic system, I going to end up loosing money. Better to just hand them $100 and say goodbye.

I put in a couple solar floodlight cams and a doorbell for a client and they love it. Only complaint so far is the motion detection is a little too sensitive and it picks up cars going by on the street.

I recently installed one at my front door so I can have package alerts when UPS drops off. So far so good.

I was surprise that their cloud service is $100/year for unlimited cameras. Let me say that again - $100 per year for as many cameras as you want.

It's a good fit for certain people who can't or won't move to an entry level IP system price point. I tend to draw a line for clients if they bring up Ring when we are talking surveillance and let them decide...

Do they want to own the drives and content of what is being recorded versus having it on a cloud server somewhere in the world

If they are on a low bandwidth WAN connection or are otherwise concerned about data capacity it's best to not put up several cameras that are always recording to the cloud.

Physical security - don't put a ring camera where you should really have a vandal proof dome.

Wifi signal - sometimes it's easier to just run a cat6 to the camera versus fighting to get wifi to all corners of the house or property

Im still of the mindset things like Ring are for the DIY and geeksquad crowd. Right or wrong, its how I feel.

I agree and never lead with it however this is Silicon Valley and people know their tech so it comes up in the conversation.

I can't for the life of me figure out if you're referring to a Ring or to another product. Would you mind going back and editing the post to be clear?

Me too. Who has this?
| It's a good fit for certain people who can't or won't move to an entry level IP system price point. I tend to draw a line for clients if they bring up Ring when we are talking surveillance and let them decide...
This hints that maybe you're talking about Ring.


Or any other kind of doorbell camera, really.

It's a great business move. Make $30 on a DIY doorbell, then spend three hours dealing with the customer because it is "too sensitive" and sends them alerts all night when large trucks drive by the house. Replace the device, because it must be defective, and new device performs identically to the original one.

In the end, you have a customer who's unrealistic expectations cannot be met.

(yes, I'm sure it is my fault because I didn't properly set the expectations, and educate them enough about the unrealistic commercial they saw on TV)

On the bright side, pointing out to them that the Ring Bell that the ELECTRICIAN will be installing is dependent on a good WiFi system, and an additional access point would be a good idea, leads back to our line of work.

(in know, lots of run on sentences. i'm in a mood)

Well said Brad.
Or you can leave the responsibility on the client and have them order them. Labor is the most profitable.

Any DIY product that the client or we sell and/or can purchase either online or through distribution, comes with a clause in our contract that any and all labor required to get them working properly, if ever, is billed at a T&M rate.

These things are major labor/profit suckers.

This goes for the likes of Ring, Nest, Amazon, Google, doodads and doohickies.

We have used the Ring Pro and the floodlight cams on smaller projects that don't require an 8 or 16 channel nvr. Both work great but they require bullet proof WIFI. They install fairly easy so I can't imagine they would be "labor sucking" or whatever. I wouldn't try to integrate them with other tech like a control system and most whole home customers prefer not to have a monthly service.

While many whole home installers prefer to stay in business by charging a nominal installation fee, no matter how long it takes, then eventually break even, then profit forever on a monthly service charge.

RMR is king if you can set it up.

I couldn't agree more. We offer a quarterly charged maintenance agreement but I don't know of any RMR offering from an integrator that includes cloud surveillance video storage. Ring is going to charge you for each camera or a flat yearly for video storage.

I have 2 nest cameras and a hello doorbell, also have 2 arlo cameras and lights. This works for me as we are in a rental and I didn’t have to pull wires to any except the 1 nest outdoor camera on the garage and it was only a 3/8 hole to run the usb power cord to an outlet in the garage