When setting up your outdoor cameras you'll need to make sure they have access to both power and data. There are three main ways to get power and data to and from outdoor cameras, and here we explain what each of these are.
Before running though these 3 methods, it's important to note that to mount outdoor cameras to the exterior of a property you will probably need to drill a hole through a wall or an eave so that you can pass a cable from inside to outside.
Here are the 3 types of power and signal transmission:
1. Mains powered, data over WiFi
If you want to power the outdoor camera using a power cable, and connect it using WiFi, then you just need to drill a small hole (12mm or 1/2inch is ample) through a wall to pass a power cable from inside to outside. You will need to have a power outlet on the inside of the wall. Some homes have a power point in the ceiling space, especially if there is an in-ceiling heating, cooling or air transfer system installed. Using this power power point and running an extended cable to a hole drilled in the eave is a common method. The other option is to have an electrician install an exterior outlet.
Note: the outdoor camera must have it's antenna attached and should be close to your router, otherwise the WiFi signal may not be sufficient for the camera to operate consistently. A poor WiFi signal would cause the camera to be unstable and go offline intermittently, in which case you would need to use some form of WiFi booster.
2. Mains powered, data over Ethernet cable
This method requires a larger hole to be drilled in the wall because you'll need to have both a power cable and an ethernet cable running from inside to outside. However, it provides a more steady signal than using WiFi. If you don't want to run two wires and drill a larger hole, then the third option might be for you, but it is slightly more technical.
3. Power over Ethernet cable (PoE)
This method uses a single ethernet cable to transmit both power and data. You will only need to have a single ethernet cable passing through a hole in your wall and this option also provides a more stable data signal than using WiFi.
You can refer to this solution for more info about PoE.