By the SightShield team · · 4 min read
Why lifts need their own plan
A lift car is one of the few places in a building where people are alone with strangers in a closed space, and it is where a lot of apartment complaints start: damaged panels, children playing with buttons, delivery staff going to the wrong floor, and arguments that turn into committee disputes. A camera in each car settles most of these quickly.
The difficulty is not the camera. It is getting video and power from a box that moves up and down a shaft, without upsetting the lift company or the lift’s own safety systems. That is what this guide covers.
Three ways to get the video out
| Method | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spare pairs in the travelling cable | Network extenders send IP video and power over two spare wires in the flat cable that already hangs from the car | Most existing lifts with spare cores | Needs the lift company to confirm which pairs are free; signal quality depends on cable length |
| Dedicated CCTV travelling cable | A new flexible cable with network and power cores is hung alongside the lift cable | New buildings and lift modernisation | Must be done by or with the lift company during installation or a shutdown |
| Lift wireless bridge | A small radio on the car roof talks to a second radio at the top or bottom of the shaft | Lifts with no spare pairs, or where the lift company will not allow cable work | Needs clear line of sight in the shaft; metal doors and counterweights can block the link in some positions |
Choosing the camera
- A small dome or corner-mount camera, so it cannot be knocked or turned by hand.
- A wide lens (about 2.8 mm or wider) placed in a top corner, so it sees the whole car including the door and button panel.
- IK10 vandal resistance in public and commercial lifts; passengers do hit cameras.
- Good low-light performance: lift lighting is often dim, and some cars dim the lights when idle.
- An IP camera on the same NVR as the rest of the building, so lift footage is searched like any other camera.
Power and the lift company
Most lift cameras are powered over the same link that carries the video: PoE through the extender or bridge, injected at the machine room or shaft end. Do not tap power from the lift controller or car lighting circuit; lift companies object to this and it can cause faults that are hard to trace.
Always involve the lift company. Their maintenance contract usually forbids third parties from working on the car roof or touching the travelling cable without their technician present. In practice we fix a date with the lift contractor, they take the lift out of service and give safe access to the car top, and our team fits the camera and radio or extender. A lift out of service for two to three hours is normal for one car.
Privacy and audio
A lift camera should show the car and the people in it, nothing more. Avoid recording audio unless the association has a clear reason and has informed residents, and put a CCTV notice in the car or at the lift lobby. Access to lift footage should be limited to the committee or facility manager, the same as the other common-area cameras.
Audio recording on CCTV →Worked example
A 120-flat apartment in Hennur has three blocks with two lifts each. Four of the six lifts had two spare pairs in the travelling cable; the other two had none. We used network-over-two-wire extenders on the four and lift wireless bridges on the remaining two, all feeding the block’s network switch and the main NVR at the security cabin. The lift company gave one Saturday per block. Total time in each car was about two hours, and the association now checks the lift cameras in the same app as the gates and basement.
Get a lift camera survey
We check each lift for spare pairs and shaft line of sight, coordinate with your lift contractor, and fit cameras that join your existing NVR.
CCTV installation →Quick answers
Can a CCTV camera be installed inside a lift?+
Yes. The video is carried out through spare wires in the travelling cable, a new CCTV travelling cable, or a lift wireless bridge.
Will a lift camera affect the lift?+
Not when it is powered over its own link and installed with the lift company’s technician present. It should never draw power from the lift controller.
Does the lift company need to approve it?+
In almost every case, yes. Their maintenance contract usually requires their technician for any car-top work.
Is a Wi-Fi camera enough for a lift?+
Usually not. Building Wi-Fi rarely reaches the shaft reliably. A dedicated lift wireless bridge is designed for this.
How long does it take?+
About two to three hours of lift downtime per car once cabling at the machine room or shaft end is ready.