Thermal Imaging Cameras for Home Security

All over the world, the perimeters of industrial parks, airports and harbors are being protected with the help of thermal imaging cameras from Flir Systems, but the security solution big companies choose to protect their assets can be used for home security as well. Extremely affordable, maintenance free and environmentally friendly, thermal imaging cameras can also be the ideal security solution for home protection.

A very good example of this is an estate near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, UK. The estate has been secured by Flir integrator Case Security. Andrew Herridge, Operations Director, explains why the owner of the estate opted for thermal imaging cameras. "These thermal imaging cameras need no light to function and are incredibly dependable." The company provides electronic security solutions for commercial markets and a limited number of high-end domestic customers. They deploy state-of-the-art technologies to control, deter and monitor their clients' premises, including thermal imaging cameras.

No Light Needed Whatsoever
Unlike other night vision systems, thermal imaging cameras detect the thermal radiation that is around us all the time, translating it into a visual image. This means that such thermal imaging cameras deliver 24/7 imaging capability, regardless of lighting conditions. And that's not all: thermal radiation penetrates atmospheric obscurants better and farther than visible light, allowing you to see what's out there through the haze, smoke, dust and even light fog.

"This estate has quite a lot of land", continues Mr. Herridge. "In this rural environment there are no streetlights, so to monitor the entire area with normal closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras we would need to install lights ourselves. That would not only be a very costly operation, it would also attract attention to the property, disturb the local wildlife and it would be bad for the environment with all the electricity needed to power those lights. And you also have to consider the cost of maintenance as lights tend to break down every once in a while. With thermal imaging cameras you don't have these problems."

User Friendly
The SR series thermal imaging cameras include the most advanced thermal imaging technology available on the market today, but in a user friendly package. The Flir SR-313 cameras incorporate an uncooled vanadium oxide microbolometer detector, producing crisp 320 x 240 pixel thermal images. Advanced internal camera software called Digital Detail Enhancement enhances these images further to ensure that even the smallest details can be seen.
Conventional CCTV cameras rely on color contrast to provide enough information for the viewer to detect a threat. Even at moderate ranges, weak contrast can render these cameras useless. Thermal cameras do not have this limitation. "The contrast on a thermal image is usually much better, due to the difference in temperature between a person and his surroundings", explains Mr. Herridge. "That means that, generally speaking, you can detect a person with a thermal imaging camera at a larger distance."

Long Range
Equipped with a 35mm lens, the SR-313 thermal imaging cameras can detect a human size target at 780 meters and a small vehicle at over 2 kilometers. Thanks to this excellent range, only a few cameras are needed to monitor the entire estate. "We've installed six cameras on the highest parts of the house that together cover all of the land belonging to the estate."

These six thermal imaging cameras and several other CCTV cameras are combined in a TCP/IP network. "The images from all of the sensors in the TCP/IP network, including the SR-313s, can be accessed from every television in the house."

Case Security installed the Flir Sensor Manager Pro software to manage the network. Whether protecting a large industrial park, an airport, a harbor or a residential building like the estate in Buckinghamshire, this software provides powerful and efficient management capabilities for any security installation that includes Flir cameras. It can also be used to control a wide variety of other sensors.

Video Analytics
"This software ensures that any occurrences are immediately brought to the owner's attention", explains Mr. Herridge. "It includes a video analytics module with motion and target detection. The user can place virtual trip wires and other triggers. If the system detects that someone is entering the perimeter a silent alarm will go off and the images that caused the alarm will be shown on the screen, so the user can immediately see if it really is a trespasser or an ‘unwanted' alarm. Further action, such as calling the police for example, can be taken immediately in the case of a real intrusion."

"All of the images are also constantly recorded for future use on a Flir network digital video recorder (nDVR), to present it to the ­police for instance", continues Mr. Herridge. "The video files are discarded after a week if nothing out of the ordinary occurs. If the owner manually overrides this or if an alarm is triggered, the files are preserved until the owner decides to discard them."

Monitoring the Alpacas' Behavior
According to Mr. Herridge in this particular installation, however, the owner also has another use for the thermal imaging cameras. "The owner keeps alpacas, small llama-like animals from South America that produce a fur similar to sheep's wool. These animals represent quite a large investment as they are not cheap to buy, so he uses the cameras to check whether his alpacas are behaving normally. He says he can quite easily see if one of them has escaped or if some of them are uneasy."

Installing the cameras was easy, according to Mr. Herridge. All SR series can be easily connected to the common power and video interfaces found in existing and new security system installations. They can be easily integrated into any existing CCTV infrastructure and the picture from the thermal imaging camera can be shown on virtually any display that accepts composite video.

Even more important is the low total cost of ownership (TCO), explains Mr. Herridge. "The Flir SR series cameras have uncooled detectors, so they do not need the maintenance that a thermal imaging camera with a cooled detector would require, and the absence of a motorized focus mechanism prevents mechanical breakdowns. They do not need any maintenance whatsoever, so the TCO of these thermal imaging cameras is extremely low."