Kilian Allen

Infrared Security Cameras: Surveillance and Equipment Monitoring

Most standard security cameras have what’s known as night vision; which means when darkness falls, the cameras have a built in infrared illuminator that uses infrared light instead of the regular lighting spectrum

Surveillance and CCTV “closed circuit television” have become a booming industry over the last few years. Cameras are being installed everywhere; locations such as traffic signals, parking lots, corporate and small businesses, supermarkets, industrial plants, hospitals, airports, all the way to the plains of the Serengeti for viewing wildlife via a wireless IP camera.

The simple fact is that there is probably some form of CCTV in every public place that we travel to and from. At the moment, CCTV is mainly used for security surveillance. Most standard security cameras have what’s known as night vision; which means when darkness falls, the cameras have a built in infrared illuminator that uses infrared light instead of the regular lighting spectrum in order to produce better images in complete darkness or low light conditions. This type of night vision camera only records in black and white, but some cameras will record color during the day. The main drawback to this type of infrared illuminator camera, is that the viewing distance of the camera is limited to the range of the infrared light emitter’s project. Do not confuse an infrared camera with a day/night camera. Day/night cameras can record in low light, but not in zero light and do not use infrared lighting that actually sees into the infrared spectrum.

True infrared cameras do not use IR illuminators instead they use a microbolometer; this is a special type of sensor the camera uses to see light from a different region of the electromagnetic spectrum than we normally use to see. This type of camera is not dependant on any light source to see. Now with several new advances in infrared technology; we are discovering new fields of use for true full spectrum infrared cameras integrated with CCTV units. Since all warm-blooded animals exude heat; Infrared cameras work great for security systems. Even at the zero light level, an infrared camera will still see the normally non visible light from your heat signature.

Obviously the ability to see at night without any light necessary is an excellent boost to any security system. But what other benefits can infrared cameras offer with surveillance systems? CCTV is now being used with infrared camera systems to monitor industrial equipment or anything temperature relevant, this can be used in a multitude of applications. Many industrial plants have been using this method to monitor temperature related situations; such as the temperature of a pipe or the liquid flowing through that pipe, analyzing simple or complex machinery, circuitry, or wiring to view what component is running above or below operation tolerances for the devices operational runtime.

In short, the Infrared CCTV cameras can be applied in many different modes. Remote or local security CCTV can operate in low or nonexistent light levels, especially at night. Infrared CCTV also has other applications such as, constant operational runtime monitoring, diagnosing, troubleshooting, and analysis.

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