Hilton Head Security Systems

Empty homes

About 1 in 4 homes in the town limits, roughly 7,600 of 30,100, is held for seasonal or occasional use (as of 2024). A camera or sensor that sends an alert to your phone matters when nobody is there to hear it.

Who owns the house

About 79 in 100 occupied homes in the town limits are owner-occupied (as of 2024), so most security work is the homeowner’s decision, not a landlord’s or an association’s.

Older homes

The median home in the town limits was built in 1987 (as of 2024). Many were built before cameras, smart locks and phone alerts, so ask what a company can add without opening walls.

Licensed work

South Carolina’s Contractor’s Licensing Board says it is unlawful to practice in the alarm system business without a license. Ask any installer for the license number.

Sheriff’s office

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has an office at 70 Shelter Cove Lane on Hilton Head, (843) 255-3300. The non-emergency dispatch line is (843) 524-2777; call 911 for an emergency.

Homes and businesses

Of the three companies below, DJ AVS Solutions installs for homes, and Connected HHI and Alarm, Fire & Security say their security work is for businesses.

For a house, the island’s listed installers are thin, so ask each company what it does before you book. DJ AVS Solutions lists security cameras with home networking, house wiring and pre-wire for new construction, and its reviewers describe work in houses. Connected HHI and Alarm, Fire & Security both describe business customers; call first and ask whether they take a home job.

For a business, a restaurant, an office or a shop, Connected HHI lists cameras and access control next to managed IT, and Alarm, Fire & Security lists security and access systems with fire alarms and inspections. Ask whether the quote includes monitoring and what it costs each month.

Cameras are only as good as the network behind them. DJ AVS Solutions customers describe cat 6 cabling run from the router to the nodes and the TV and office, and Connected HHI describes high-performance wired and wireless networks with failover as its own service. Ask who sets up the router, who keeps the recordings, and whether you can watch from a phone when you are off the island.

Access control means keycards, keypads or a door that unlocks from a phone, with a record of who came in. Connected HHI and Alarm, Fire & Security both list it. For a plain deadbolt or a rekey, see locksmiths on Hilton Head; for new wiring or a power circuit for a camera or gate, see electricians on Hilton Head.

A guard company staffs people; it does not install cameras or alarms. Island Security Services, at 11 Palmetto Pkwy on Hilton Head, says it has operated since 2019 and that every officer, armed or unarmed, is certified by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED); its website lists round-the-clock hours. Ask a guard company what the contract covers (hours, patrols, events) the way you would ask an installer about equipment.

If your community has a gate, security staff or association rules on cameras, check what it already provides before you add anything. For a house that sits empty, home watch companies walk through the house on a schedule, which a camera cannot do. For emergencies and non-emergency calls, see police and EMS on Hilton Head.

South Carolina’s Contractor’s Licensing Board, part of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, says it is unlawful to practice in the alarm system business in the state without a license. Ask an alarm installer for its South Carolina license number and look it up before you sign.

The Town of Hilton Head Island separately requires anyone doing business in the Town to hold a Town business license, and a permit when the work includes new electrical wiring; see electrical permits on Hilton Head. Camera and network work on its own is a licensing question for the installer to answer in writing.

With about 1 in 4 homes in the town limits held for seasonal or occasional use, many systems here watch an empty house. Pick equipment that sends alerts to a phone, and ask what it does during a power or internet outage while you are away. See the hurricane guide before the season starts, and second homes on Hilton Head for what other owners do.

None of the three companies publishes prices on its website, so we do not print a figure. The price follows the number of cameras and doors, how much cable has to be run through finished walls, whether the system has monthly monitoring, and whether the network needs upgrading first.

Ask for a written quote that splits equipment, labor and any monthly fee, and ask who owns the equipment and the recordings if you cancel. Newer construction can be wired before the walls close, which DJ AVS Solutions lists as pre-wire for new construction.