CCTV Security Camera Installation Costs QLD 2026 - Get Free Quotes

What Security Camera Installation Covers in Queensland

Security camera installation is the job of designing and fitting a set of cameras that watch over a property and keep a record of what happens around it. A typical job means working out which views matter, selecting cameras suited to each spot, mounting them where they capture useful detail, running the cabling that powers and feeds them, setting up the recorder and the storage, and configuring the app so an owner can watch from anywhere. It also means doing the work within the licensing and privacy rules that govern security equipment. A camera setup planned and fitted by a competent installer is a considered piece of work, not a handful of cameras screwed up wherever there happens to be a fixing.

The difference shows in whether the footage proves useful when it is finally needed. A planned system answers a real question, while a careless one simply fills a wall.

People fit cameras for more reasons than catching a break-in after the fact. A visible camera at the entrance turns many opportunists away before they try anything, and on the occasions something does happen, clear footage helps identify who was responsible and backs up an insurance claim or a police report. Day to day, cameras let an owner see who is at the door, keep an eye on a holiday house, check that a delivery arrived, or look in on children, pets or elderly relatives. For plenty of households the quiet reassurance matters as much as any recording. A camera system pays its way in the ordinary run of life, not only in a crisis. The everyday reassurance is part of what the system provides, well before any incident.

Cameras are also one of the more visible signs that a property takes its security seriously, which has a value of its own. A clearly mounted camera at the entrance signals to an opportunist that the place is watched and likely alarmed, and many will simply move on to an easier target. That deterrent works every day the cameras are in place, long before any footage is reviewed, and it sits within the wider home-security picture the electrical services guide describes. A watched property is a less attractive one, which is part of why cameras are worth fitting at all. Much of the benefit is delivered simply by the cameras being seen at all.

Cameras make most sense as one part of a property's wider security and electrical setup, not in isolation. The complete picture of electrical and connected-home work across Queensland is laid out in our electrical services guide, and cameras are one piece of that picture alongside the other systems a property might have. They work hand in hand alongside an alarm system that responds to a break-in and with the security lighting that removes the dark spots cameras struggle in, while the entry points themselves are frequently covered by intercom and access control as well. Cameras rarely work alone, sitting instead within the layers that together protect an entire property. Considered alongside the home's other systems, they form part of a single coherent whole.

The job is strongest when cameras are planned as part of layered security instead of on their own. Cameras record, an alarm sounds and calls for help, security lighting removes the cover of darkness, and controlled entry slows an intruder, and these measures reinforce one another into something far harder to beat than any single one. Cameras pair especially well with the security lighting that both deters and lights the scene, and with an alarm that adds an active response. Planning the cameras alongside these produces a far more effective result than bolting them on afterwards. The real strength is in the layers working together. Each layer addresses a weakness the others cannot.

Choosing Cameras and Resolution

Cameras come in a few familiar shapes, and each earns its place in particular spots. Bullet cameras, the long cylindrical type, are openly visible and make obvious deterrents, which suits a driveway or a long approach. Dome and turret cameras sit more discreetly in a low housing and give a wide view from an eave or entry without drawing the eye. A pan-tilt-zoom camera can swing and zoom to follow movement across a large yard, and a varifocal camera lets the view be tuned to frame a particular scene. Matching the camera shape to what each position needs to see is the first design choice. The shape is matched to the view, not chosen at random off a shelf.

It also helps to think about indoor against outdoor cameras and how they are rated. Outdoor cameras need a weather rating suited to the Queensland climate, standing up to driving rain, heat and humidity in exposed positions, while indoor cameras can be smaller and less rugged. A camera's ingress rating tells you how well it is sealed against dust and water, which matters for anything mounted under an eave or out in the open. Choosing a properly rated camera for each spot avoids the early failures that plague cheap, underrated gear left in the weather. The rating is one of those details a good installer checks and a bargain system often ignores.

Resolution decides how much usable detail the footage actually holds. A higher-resolution camera captures the fine detail that lets a face, a number plate or a logo be read rather than guessed, and that detail is precisely what makes footage worth keeping after an incident. Most decent systems today run cameras of at least two megapixels, or 1080p, with four-megapixel and four-K cameras giving sharper images and more room to zoom into a recording. Putting the better cameras where identification matters most, such as the main entries, is money well spent. Detail is the point of the exercise, turning vague footage into something that genuinely identifies. Resolution at the entries is the detail that does the work when it counts. A vague figure proves little, while a clear face proves a great deal.

Lens and field of view count for as much as the megapixel figure. A wide lens covers a broad area but spreads its detail thin, while a narrower lens concentrates detail on a smaller scene, so the choice rests on whether a position needs broad coverage or close identification. Stretching a single camera across too wide an area is a common way to end up with footage that shows movement but never a face. A capable installer matches the lens and resolution to what each spot must in fact capture. Getting that balance right is the difference between footage that identifies and footage that merely records that something moved. The lens choice is what puts the detail where it is actually wanted.

Wired Versus Wireless Cameras

The split between wired and wireless shapes the entire system. A wired system carries each camera's data and power down a single cable back to a central recorder, which gives the most reliable, highest-quality and most capable result, free of the dropouts and flat batteries that dog wireless gear. A wireless system sends footage over WiFi and is far quicker to fit, and a battery camera avoids cabling altogether, which suits a renter, a quick addition, or a spot where running cable is impractical. For a permanent system meant to be relied on, wired is the standard choice.

The reliability is exactly what matters when an incident finally occurs. A system that records dependably day after day is what earns its place.

Wired systems earn their keep through steadiness and capability. With a solid cabled link and constant power, a wired camera records continuously and dependably without the lag, interference or dead batteries that can trouble wireless, and it supports higher resolutions and longer recording than wireless usually manages. The cabling follows the same Power over Ethernet method described on our data cabling page, a single cable both powering each camera and carrying its footage. For a system that has to work when it is finally needed, the wired approach is the sound one. That dependability is exactly what counts when footage is in fact called for. A wired link simply does not drop out at the wrong moment.

Wireless and battery cameras still have a real place in the right spot. A WiFi or battery camera truly suits a rental where cabling is not allowed, a quick cover for a new blind spot, or a position where running cable would be a major job, and the better ones do those tasks well. Their limits, a reliance on WiFi coverage, the ongoing battery care, and generally lower capability, mean they fit supplementary or temporary use, not a whole-property system. A good installer will say where a wireless camera is the right answer and where a wired one merits the extra. Choosing the right type for each spot is part of a system that performs. The right camera in the right place is what makes a system reliable.

Recording, Storage and Remote Viewing

The recorder is the heart of a wired camera system. A network video recorder takes the footage from the cameras over the cabling, writes it to a hard drive, and manages playback and remote access, which makes the recorder and its storage every bit as important as the cameras themselves. A quality recorder sized for the number and resolution of the cameras is what keeps footage reliably on hand when it is wanted. Pairing good cameras with a weak recorder undermines everything else entirely.

The recorder is where the footage actually lives, so its quality counts every bit as much as the cameras feeding it. Recorder specification deserves exactly the same scrutiny the cameras themselves get.

Storage decides how far back you can look. The drive holds a rolling record that overwrites the oldest footage as it fills, so the drive size, the number and resolution of cameras, and whether they record around the clock or only on motion together set how many days or weeks the system keeps. Enough retention matters, because an incident is often not noticed for days, and footage already overwritten is simply gone. A good installer sizes the storage to give a sensible window for the household. The right retention is what makes the footage still there when someone finally goes looking for it. Enough retention bridges the gap between an incident and its discovery.

Remote viewing is what makes a modern system so useful in daily life. With the recorder on the home network, an owner can watch live and review recordings from a phone or computer anywhere, and get an alert when something is detected, which turns a passive record into an active eye on the property. That remote access depends on the system being connected and set up properly, which a good installer configures and demonstrates before leaving. Being able to glance at the property from anywhere is, for many owners, the feature they reach for most. The remote view is what brings a system into everyday use. A phone in the pocket becomes a window onto the property.

Night Vision and Smart Detection

Since so much trouble happens after dark, low-light performance is central, not an afterthought. A camera that gives a crisp picture by day and a useless smear by night only does half its job, so night vision deserves as much weight as daytime resolution. Most cameras use infrared to see in complete darkness, producing a clear black-and-white image out to a stated range, which handles most home positions well. The night image is often where a camera proves its worth, because that is when it is most likely to be needed.

Many systems are judged on the night image, since that is when incidents cluster. A camera that fails after dark covers only the easier half of the threat.

Newer cameras add full-colour night vision, which can be more telling again. Some hold a colour image after dark, either with a built-in light or through highly sensitive sensors working off ambient light such as a street lamp, and colour helps far more than grey when it comes to picking out clothing, vehicles or other detail. This works best where there is some ambient light, which is one reason cameras and security lighting complement each other so neatly. Pairing the cameras with sensible lighting gives both a deterrent and the light to capture colour detail. Where identification matters most, colour at night repays seeking out. Colour detail after dark is often what turns footage from suggestive into identifying.

Smart detection is what lifts a modern system above a basic one. Rather than alerting on every shadow, the system can tell a person or a vehicle from a swaying tree or a passing cat, which cuts the flood of false alerts that made older motion detection so tiresome. That means an owner is notified when something that matters is seen, so the alerts are in fact worth reading, and the better systems let you search days of footage by what it contains instead of scrubbing through hours. This intelligence is increasingly what separates systems at different prices. It turns a heap of useless notifications into a handful of meaningful ones. Alerts worth reading are alerts that actually get read.

Where to Mount Cameras

Good placement is what makes a system work, and it takes more thought than it looks. The priority spots are the ways in, the front and back doors, the garage, and any other entry, since these are where an intruder must pass and where identifying footage is most valuable. Beyond the entries, cameras cover the perimeter, the driveway and the blind spots, building a picture of every approach to the property. The aim is that anyone coming or going is caught clearly, with no useful gaps left open.

A property covered without gaps gives an intruder nowhere to pass unseen. The completeness of the coverage is what makes it effective.

Height and angle decide whether the footage identifies or merely records. A camera set too high looks down on the crown of a head and catches little of a face, while one within easy reach can be tampered with, so the right height balances a clear view of faces against being out of reach. The angle is set to catch faces and detail rather than just the scene, and to keep the sun or a light out of frame at the times the camera is most needed. These are exactly the details a skilled installer gets right and an amateur often does not. The mounting matters as much to useful footage as the camera itself. A good camera mounted poorly delivers poor footage.

Covering the gaps and dodging the common traps is the rest of the craft. A system with cameras only at the front leaves the back and sides open, a camera shooting through glass reflects back at night, and one slowly swallowed by a growing branch sees nothing, so a good installer plans coverage that genuinely surrounds the property and steers clear of these mistakes. Walking the property and thinking like an intruder is how the right positions are found. That planning is the difference between a system that covers the property and one that merely has cameras on it. The coverage is designed, not assumed.

It justifies thinking about how cameras work alongside the rest of a property's security at the planning stage. A camera that overlooks an entrance also covered by an alarm sensor and lit by good security lighting is part of a layered defence far harder to beat than any single measure, and the wider electrical and security picture is set out in our electrical services guide. A camera shows what happened, an alarm calls for help, and lighting removes the cover an intruder relies on, each doing what the others cannot. Designing these together rather than piecemeal produces a property that is truly hard to target.

A camera at a well-lit, alarmed entrance is worth more than one peering into an unlit corner alone. The layers are stronger together than apart.

Privacy and the Law in Queensland

Filming your own property is generally fine, but the law around the edges repays knowing. A homeowner can usually fit cameras to watch over their own place, which is why home cameras are so common, yet cameras that capture areas beyond the boundary, especially a neighbour's yard, windows or living spaces, can raise privacy concerns and spark disputes. The neighbourly and sensible course is to aim cameras at your own property and its approaches, not over the fence. That keeps you clear of trouble and keeps relations with the neighbours sound. A camera aimed sensibly protects your property without intruding on anyone else's. Neighbourly placement avoids the disputes that catch some camera owners out.

Audio is treated more strictly than vision, and this catches many people out. Queensland restricts the recording of private conversations through surveillance and listening-device law, so while filming your property is generally fine, recording other people's private conversations without consent is a separate and more sensitive matter that can cross a legal line. For that reason many home systems disable audio or use it with care, and an installer who knows the rules will raise it with you. The detail of the privacy and surveillance laws is published by the Queensland Government, and anyone unsure how it applies should check the current position.

Businesses and rental situations carry a little more to think about. A business using cameras may need to notify people that recording is taking place and to handle the footage as personal information, and a landlord or a shared building raises its own questions, so these go beyond a simple home install. Signage warning that a property is under surveillance is good practice and, in some settings, expected, and it adds to the deterrent. Where a situation is anything other than straightforward home use, checking the current obligations, with guidance through the Queensland Department of Justice, is the wise step.

The rules are not heavy, but they repay knowing before the cameras go up. A little awareness keeps an install clear of trouble from the start.

Cabling, Power and the Recorder

A wired camera system rests on the cabling that connects it. Each camera is fed by a cable carrying both data and power over Power over Ethernet, run back to the recorder and a network switch, the same structured method set out on our data cabling page. Running that cabling tidily, through eaves, roof spaces and walls to each camera, is much of the work of a wired job and is what makes it reliable. The cabling is the quiet foundation a wired system depends on, and doing it properly is what marks a clean install from a messy one. Neat, well-routed cabling is the hidden mark of a careful installer. The work behind the walls is exactly where quality shows.

The recorder and network gear need power and a sensible home. The recorder, switch and related kit sit best in a tidy, ventilated spot with power, often a cupboard, study or garage, and providing the power point there is electrical work for a licensed electrician. Where the chosen spot has no convenient power, the electrician runs a suitable point, occasionally involving the switchboard, and where the board is old or full a switchboard upgrade may be the moment to address it. Planning the recorder's location, power and cabling together gives a tidy, dependable hub. That hub is where the system is managed and where its reliability is anchored. A well-set hub keeps everything dependable.

Surge protection deserves a thought for the recorder and cameras. The recorder holds the footage and is the heart of the system, and it, with the cameras, can be knocked out by a power surge from a storm or the grid, which our surge protection page covers, a genuine consideration in storm-prone Queensland. Losing the recorder to a surge means losing the system and its footage in one stroke. Guarding it with surge protection is a small and sensible measure.

Protecting the heart of the system is part of installing it well. The recorder is too important to leave unprotected through a storm season.

Installer Licensing in Queensland

Fitting security cameras for others is licensed work in Queensland, which surprises many people. A business that installs security equipment such as cameras for others generally must hold a security provider licence as a security equipment installer, under the legislation administered by the Office of Fair Trading, which exists so that those fitting security systems are qualified and accountable. This sits separately from an electrical or cabling qualification, reflecting the security nature of the work. Confirming an installer holds the right security licence is a sensible check and one that is easy to overlook. The licence is the assurance that the installer is qualified and accountable. It is a quick check that protects you on a job that matters.

The cabling and any electrical work carry their own requirements on top. Running the data cabling that links the cameras is work for a registered cabler, as set out on our data cabling page, while providing power for the recorder or any mains work is for a licensed electrician, so a full install can touch more than one set of credentials. A reputable installer either holds or coordinates the right qualifications for each part of the job. That is why the licensing on a camera job runs a little wider than on a simple electrical one. The right credentials for each part are what make the install both lawful and sound. The credentials are not red tape but the assurance that the work is done properly and accountably. Confirming them protects the household on a job that matters.

Many established installers carry the relevant mix of qualifications. Because camera work so often brings together the security installation, the cabling and a little electrical work, experienced installers commonly hold or work with the security licence, the cabling registration and an electrician as needed, handling the job end to end under the right credentials. Confirming that the installer is licensed for the security work, and that the cabling and any electrical work are properly covered, is the sensible check before you commit. A reputable installer answers these questions without hesitation.

That combination of credentials is the foundation of a properly installed system. The right mix of skills, held by one trade or coordinated across several, is what the job needs.

Keeping a Camera System Working

A camera system rewards a little occasional care, especially in the Queensland climate. Lenses gather dust, cobwebs and grime over time, more so in exposed positions, and a camera with a dirty or obscured lens captures far less than it should, so a periodic clean and check keeps the footage clear. Confirming the recorder is still recording, the storage is healthy and the remote view still works keeps the system dependable rather than letting a fault surface only when footage is needed. A quick periodic check, by the owner or the installer, is cheap insurance for a system relied on for security. A neglected system can quietly stop doing its job.

Seasonal weather in Queensland makes that occasional attention more worthwhile than in milder climates. Driving rain, dust carried on storms, and the spiders and insects drawn to camera infrared all build up on exposed lenses and housings over a wet season, so a quick clean before and after the storm season keeps the footage clear when it is most likely to be needed. Heat and humidity also test cheaper cameras, which is a further argument for quality gear rated for outdoor use. A camera chosen and maintained for the local conditions keeps performing where a neglected one quietly fades. The climate is a real factor in how a system is specified and cared for. Planning for the conditions is part of a system that lasts.

A system can be built up over time instead of fitted all at once. A household can start with cameras at the key spots and a recorder with spare capacity, then add cameras to cover more of the property as budget allows, which spreads the cost while still securing the most important positions first. Planning the initial system with this growth in mind, with a recorder sized to take more cameras later, keeps the additions simple. This staged approach suits a household wanting good coverage of the entries now and fuller coverage in time.

The key is to secure the priority positions first and build from a sound base. A recorder with room to grow makes each later addition straightforward.

Cameras also sit comfortably within a wider connected home. The footage and alerts can fold into a broader smart-home setup so the cameras, the alarm and the lighting work together rather than as separate apps, part of the home's wider electrical and connected-home setup, and the structured cabling underpins all of it. For a household heading that way, planning the cameras with the wider system in mind avoids reworking it later. A good installer can advise on cameras that fit the home a household is building toward. The cameras are most powerful as part of a coordinated whole, not a stand-alone product.

Households increasingly want their cameras to talk to the rest of the home, which merits planning for early. Cameras that feed a single app alongside the lighting, the alarm and the entry points make it all easier to use and more likely to be used, and the structured data cabling that carries the cameras is the same backbone a connected home relies on. Running generous cabling at the outset leaves room to add cameras and other devices later without reopening walls. A household heading toward a connected home does well to plan the cameras with that in mind. The cabling laid in now is the cheapest it will ever be. Forethought at the cabling stage saves a great deal of disruption later.

What Camera Installation Costs

A camera system is a worthwhile investment in security, with the price riding mostly on the number of cameras and the system's capability. One camera supplied and fitted runs roughly one hundred and fifty to four hundred dollars, a four-camera wired system with a recorder and storage eight hundred to two thousand, and a six to eight camera system covering a whole property one thousand five hundred to three thousand five hundred. A premium system with four-K cameras and smart detection runs higher again, while a wireless or battery camera is cheaper to fit but more limited. The number of cameras and their resolution and features are the main drivers. The five-year picture, including monitoring and storage, is broken down at security alarm and CCTV costs.

A modest setup at the key points sits at the low end, while a capable whole-property system sits well above it. Where a job lands depends mostly on how much of the property is covered and how well.

Running costs are modest but belong alongside the install price. A wired system draws very little power and stores footage locally on the recorder at no ongoing cost, while some wireless and app-based cameras lean on cloud storage that can carry a monthly subscription. Asking whether a system stores footage locally or relies on a paid cloud plan avoids a surprise after the install. For most households a local recorder with generous storage is both cheaper over time and keeps the footage in their own hands. Weighing the ongoing cost, not just the upfront price, is part of choosing well.

A handful of factors move the price within those ranges. The number of cameras sets much of it, with the resolution and smart features, whether the system is wired or wireless, the storage in the recorder, and the difficulty of the cabling all feeding in. A wired system costs more to fit than a wireless one because of the cabling labour, but repays it in reliability and capability. The wider picture of what drives electrical and connected-home pricing is set out in the electrical services guide. A wired whole-property system is the larger investment, while a few cameras at the key points is a modest one.

Value in a camera system is footage that in fact identifies, not the lowest quote. The cheapest systems tend to pair low-resolution cameras with too little storage and a quick install, producing footage too vague to identify anyone and overwritten before an incident is even noticed, which defeats the purpose entirely. A well-chosen system, with adequate resolution where it matters, sensible storage and proper placement, gives footage that is genuinely useful when it counts. Because the cameras exist for exactly the moment something goes wrong, the small saving from a cut-price system is a poor trade. The right question is whether the footage will be useful, not whether the system was cheap.

What to Look Out For

Confirm the installer is properly licensed. A business installing security cameras for others generally needs a security installer licence under the legislation administered by the Office of Fair Trading, with the cabling requiring a registered cabler and any electrical work a licensed electrician, so confirming the relevant credentials is a sensible check that many overlook. An installer who cannot clearly confirm the right security licence is one to question. The right credentials for the security, cabling and electrical parts are the foundation of a sound and lawful install. The credentials confirm the work meets the rules that govern security equipment. With them confirmed, a household knows the job is in proper hands.

Insist on a quote that describes the system, not just a camera count. A proper quote names the cameras and their resolution, the recorder and the storage it gives, whether the system is wired or wireless, where the cameras will go, and the remote-viewing setup, in place of a bare figure for so many cameras. A quote well under the others often pairs low-resolution cameras with minimal storage and a rushed install, the shortfall showing up as vague footage or too little retention later. The specific, itemised quote that names the cameras and the storage is the one to trust. It is also the one you can compare fairly against the rest.

Watch for the corners that quietly undermine a system. Low-resolution cameras that cannot identify anyone, too little storage so footage is gone before it is needed, poor placement that leaves gaps or catches only the tops of heads, and cameras pointed through glass or into glare are the common faults that leave a system looking complete but failing when it matters. An installer who talks through resolution, retention and placement properly is steering clear of exactly these. A confident installer walks the property and explains the coverage. Those details decide whether the footage is useful or useless.

Finally, weigh the privacy and neighbourly side. Aiming cameras at your own property rather than a neighbour's private space, and handling audio carefully given the stricter rules on recording conversations, keeps an install both lawful and free of disputes. The consumer protections that apply are administered by the ACCC, with crime-prevention advice from the Queensland Police Service. A licensed installer who designs the coverage properly, sizes the storage sensibly and respects the privacy rules is the one to trust. Getting these right is what makes a camera system an asset instead of a liability.

How to Get Useful Quotes

A useful quote starts with a clear picture of the property and the goal. Telling the installer how big the property is, how many entries and areas need covering, whether you want a wired or wireless system, and what you most want from it, deterrence, identification, remote viewing or all three, helps them propose the right system. Mentioning any existing cabling, alarm or smart-home setup helps them fit the cameras into it. A clear brief turns a generic camera count into a properly designed system. The more an installer understands the goal, the better the system they can propose. A few minutes describing the property pays off in a sharper quote.

A site visit matters for a camera system. Because the coverage, the cabling and the placement all turn on the property, a good installer walks it to spot the positions, the cable routes and the blind spots before quoting, which beats a price given sight unseen. The walk-through is also where an installer notices the gaps and the privacy points a plan on paper would miss. Be wary of a fixed price for a whole-property system offered without any look at the property. The visit is what turns a guess into a system designed for the place.

Getting a couple of quotes is sensible, and the platform makes it easy by putting your job in front of several licensed installers at once. Compare the quotes on the cameras and their resolution, the recorder and storage, the placement and the licensing rather than the headline figure, and ask each the same questions about resolution, retention and credentials. Where the cameras are part of a wider security or connected setup, an installer who can also handle the cabling or an alarm brings a useful continuity. Posting the job through The Quote Yard reaches multiple licensed Queensland installers in one step.

Insurance, Warranty and Australian Consumer Law

Public liability insurance is the cover that protects you if something is damaged during the work, and a reputable installer carries it as standard. Cover in the range of five to twenty million dollars is normal for work of this kind, which involves working around a property and its wiring, and confirming it is reasonable. An established business answers the question readily, while a reluctance to confirm cover is a reason to look elsewhere. The cover is part of a professional service rather than an optional extra, built into a fair rate. Its absence is a false economy on any work around the home.

Warranty on a camera system comes in two layers. The installer's workmanship is typically warranted for a period, so a fault in how the system was fitted is put right at no further cost, while the cameras, recorder and other hardware carry their own manufacturer warranties, which on quality gear run for several years. Choosing quality equipment from established makers matters for both reliability and the warranty behind it, since a cheap system that fails early is no economy. Keeping the documentation, including the equipment details and the setup, supports both maintenance and any future claim. The documentation also helps anyone servicing or extending the system later.

Australian Consumer Law applies to the work and cannot be signed away. The consumer guarantees require services to be carried out with due care and skill and goods to be of acceptable quality, which covers both the install and the equipment regardless of what a contract says. Where a dispute cannot be sorted directly, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading and the national consumer regulator provide the avenues, with information published by the ACCC. Tradespeople looking for work can find paid project leads on the Queensland tradie job leads board, with related categories at electrician jobs in Queensland and tradie jobs across the state. Settle each of those before anybody quotes, and the system ends up doing what you installed it to do.