New License Plate Recognition Camera for Apartment and HOA Community Guide

Choosing the best license plate recognition camera for apartment complex and HOA community can be challenging – This guide will help you

1. How License Plate cameras work

Most license plate cameras are designed to maximize the ability of the camera to capture the license plate while blocking the reflective light of the license plate. New headlight technology (HCL) reduces the over-exposure of a car headlight, allowing the camera to capture the license plate numbers. High shutter speed allows the license plate recognition camera to view the image of the car moving as fast as 120 mph. In many jobs we performed in Houston and surrounding areas, we noticed companies installing regular cameras as license plate readers. Regular cameras may perform well during daylight and when cars are moving slowly or stopped. Still, traditional security cameras will not block the headlight or capture plates at high speed at night. Most license plate recognition cameras have powerful zoom capabilities and high frame rate recording to avoid the image being washed out.

2. Why Should Apartment Complexes and Home Owners’ Associations (HOA) use License Plate Recognition Cameras?

 Property managers and HOA members should invest in license plate recognition cameras and software because the benefits outweigh the investment. Having a camera can help you protect residents, visitors and improve property value. License Plate Recognition Cameras are a great way to keep track of who is coming in and out of your apartment building or HOA. They can be installed at the front gate entrance of your apartment complex or HOA for easy access. The cameras will take video and snapshots of license plates when people enter or exit the premises. These cameras can help increase safety and security and deter crime. They also provide evidence if something does happen. With all these benefits, it’s no wonder why many property managers and HOA members are choosing to install license plate cameras in their neighborhood community. Nexlar Security developed a new technology for HOA and apartment called Alfred360, which combines license plate recognition with access control. This system allows you to keep track of tenants, visitors, and contractors. 

Many apartment complexes have issues with gate damage due to tailgate and parking lot overcapacity. Alfred 360 allowed you to keep track of all license plates entering and exiting your gated community. Alfred’s unique features can increase your gated community safety and security because the system can detect unfamiliar cars and keep a database of cars that are not registered. The license plate can be blacklisted, giving the ability to receive notification and contact authority if a blacklisted license plate enters your apartment complex or gated community. If you would a to speak to an apartment complex license plate recognition expert, give us a quick call. We are located in Houston, Texas, and service gated communities and apartment complexes nationwide.

3. What license plate recognition camera is best for apartment complexes or HOA?

There are many options for license plate cameras for the apartment complex and HOA. A simple license plate camera that takes an image to license plate recognition integrated with access control. When selecting the right camera for your gated community, the best approach is to first contact an expert with experience in license plate recognition for the apartment complex and HOAs. Our team has done countless installations and can guide you on the best license plate recognition for the apartment complex and HOA system to give the best return for your investment. The first step is to understand the best technology available for your community and how you can benefit from having license plate recognition cameras installed at your apartment complex or HOA community.

The best license recognition camera will provide you with detailed information on who entered and exited your property. Send you notations when a blacklisted car enters your property and serves as a tool to protect, deter crime, increase property value and make your community safer. From our experience from many installations in apartment complexes and HOAs communities, license plate cameras have helped property managers identify people who damaged the gates, committed crimes, and clean the community making the apartment complex safer. Our recommendation is for you to utilize license plate recognition cameras for your apartment or HOA community as a proactive tool giving you the power and control over who enters the property, know if your parking lot is full, if their unauthorized guests, receive notifications of black listed car and use it as access control. Our recommendation is Alfred360 which will allow you to be proactive and help you control the access of your apartment complex and HOA and keep your community safer. Alfred360 license plate recognition access control allows you to know when a contractor enters and leaves your property, giving you the ability to ensure your contractor billed you correctly.

4. What is the difference between LPR vs. ANPR vs. LPC?

(LPC) A license plate camera is designed to capture license plate cameras and store them on an SD card, recorder, or on the cloud. This camera is designed with technology capable of dealing with challenges associated with capturing the license plates, such as car speed, car headlight, light reflecting from the license plate. 

(LPR ) License plate recognition cameras are designed similar with technology to a license plate capture camera. Still, they defer on its ability to decode the image of the license plate and convert the images into alphanumeric numbers. 

(ANPR) Automatic Number Recognition refers to the software which allows the system to recognize license plate numbers using optical character recognition.

5. Can I use a 4K camera as License plate recognition for my apartment or HOA? 

Clients always ask if they can use pan tilt and zoom cameras as well as HD cameras such as 4k to read license plates. This HD camera can perform well and capture a license plate during the day and when the car is moving slowly. Most 4K and PTZ cameras do not have HCL technology or high shutter speed, which makes these cameras less than ideal for license plate recognition for your HOA or Apartment complex.

6. What is the cost of license plate recognition cameras on my apartment complex or HOA community?

 The cost of a license plate recognition camera can vary greatly deepening on the technology, country of origin, and technology. An analog license plate capture camera starts around $300-500 and can increase based lenses type, processor technology, and other features. 

License plate recognition camera IP based for your HOA and Apartment complex will start around $400 and $50000 depending on technology and the application it’s used for. For most gated communities, the average cost of a license plate camera will be around $1500 for a license plate recognition camera with OCR technology.

Selecting the correct license plate recognition camera for apartment complex or HOA community is a great investment, and you can receive great benefits from using the correct equipment. 

Many of our clients that own apartment complexes in Houston, Texas, have seen a great return on investment. Most property managers can use cameras to help with evidence for evicting bad tenants making the property safer and more appealing for a potential renter. By having video, evidence is easy to prove who damaged the gate allowing the community to charge the insurance of the person who damaged the gate.

7. Installation cost of license plate recognition camera for HOA Gated Communities 

 The installation cost for license plate recognition cameras for HOA is usually between $300-$3000 depending on the type of camera, how far from the internet gateway, and the labor associated with installing all the devices required to support the license plate recognition camera ( LPR). Most job license plate recognition cameras we installed in Houston, TX we included NVR, NEMA enclosure, pole, AVR (Automatic Voltage regulator), router, and POE switch. For most HOA Gated communities, we installed 2-4 regular cameras to view the entrance gate, exit gate, entrance, exit, and two license plates recognition cameras, one to capture the front license plate and one to capture the back license plate.

8. Installation cost of license plate recognition camera for apartment complex

The installation cost for license plate camera cameras for apartment complex for one camera will vary between $300-$3000 plus all equipment required to support the camera. For most apartment complexes, we installed license plate recognition cameras in Houston. We usually install wireless access points between the office and entry gate to allow the NVR to record the license plate recognition camera (LPR). It is important to account for the installation of all the devices associated with the camera. Most entry gates we installed license plate recognition cameras in Houston, have 2-4 regular cameras to view the entrance gate, exit gate, entrance, exit, and two license plates recognition cameras, one to capture the front license plate and one to capture the back license plate. The total cost for most jobs with one entry gate was around $6000 to install two license plate recognition cameras, two cameras to view the gate, POE Switch, and wireless access for communication between the entry gate and apartment complex office.

9. How Accurate are license plate camera readers?

License plate cameras are very accurate according to our test on many HOA communities and apartment complexes. The industry standard given by most manufacturers is 98%. Many people are unaware of the accuracy level of license plate camera readers. Capturing an accurate number is crucial for law enforcement professionals because it can help identify criminals and keep communities safe. While many factors come into play, like lighting, how far away the license plate reader is from the car, what angle they’re at, etc., it’s important to know that these cameras have a high accuracy rate when used correctly.

10. Type of license plate recognition software for your apartment complex or HOA?

There is much software available for license plate recognition cameras. We will focus on license plate recognition camera software that benefits your HOA and apartment complex. Most LPR software available in the market has OCR ( Optical character recognition) to convert the license plate image into alphanumeric characters. This system will maintain a database of all cars that have entered your community and exit. The software we recommend for your community.

• AXIS License Plate recognition software: Axis recognition is a great software that allows you to blacklist license plates, provide access control and keep track of license plate numbers on the database.
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• Avigilon license plate recognition software is one of the most advanced software in the market. Avigilon LPR software uses the power of Artificial intelligence to Identify license plates, the color of the car, and unique behavior on your premises.
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• Alfred360 License Plate recognition with access control is the most complete license plate camera system designed for apartment complexes and HOA communities. Alfred360 integrated license plate recognition with a telephone entry system, visitor management, and access control to allow you to get the most benefit of your LPR system.
• Alfred360 can recognize an unfamiliar car and notify you when a blacklisted car enters your premises.

11. How to select the right company to install your license plate camera recognition

There are a lot of companies out there that offer license plate camera recognition systems installation for your apartment complex or HOA. You might be wondering how to find the right company for you, so we have put together some helpful tips to help you through this process. We will also show you what sets us apart from other companies in this field so that you can make an educated decision about which company is best for your needs.

The first thing in most states security companies must be licensed and meet insurance requirements for the license. Our recommendation is for you to make sure the company working for your apartment complex and HOA community should have a minimum of 1 million in general liability, 1 million in auto insurance, and 1 million in workers’ compensation.

The second recommendation is to ensure the company has experience with access control, telephone entry systems, and automatic gates to help you deal with only one company instead of multiple contractors.

The third recommendation is the security company should have specialized in HOA and apartment complexes and be able to handle challenges associated with this industry.

If you are looking for consulting, system design, and license plate recognition cameras for your apartment complex and HOA, we are here to help. Feel free to call us at (281) 407-0768. We are here to help, and we offer a free consultation for your gated community.