Since their inception for use by the U.S. military in the forests of Korea, infrared cameras have been put to use in any number of industries - from medicine to geological surveys. They’ve also grown into a pivotal tool in home security surveillance, rendering security systems complete in a way never before thought possible.
There’s a fair amount of confusion regarding infrared security cameras, as many people erroneously associate the term with so-called ‘night vision’ security cameras. Night vision cameras utilize the World War II technology of night glasses, which use a large diameter objective along with numerous lenses to amplify light up to levels six or seven times greater than would normally be perceived by the human eye. Alternatively, some of them use so-called ‘active infrared’, whereby the camera is equipped with a torch which provides illumination just below the wavelength visible to the human eye, while the camera’s lens is a CCD lens sensitive to light on this wavelength.
Neither of these designs is known for producing high-quality imagery. In point of fact, traditional night-glasses technology renders scenes into fuzzy, 8-bit visuals, whereas CCD cameras flatten scenes with their single light source, making it hard to distinguish between people and backgrounds.
Enter the infrared security camera. This vastly more sophisticated machine makes us of a microbolometer, a device capable of detecting the black body radiation of objects. Black body radiation exists in direct proportion to the heat a creature or object produces, and thus can be viewed entirely regardless of any source of illumination. The imagery that results, while it ordinarily won’t allow you to create a particularly detailed picture of the intruder, will help you to find things such as their body structure, gender, and where in your home they might have left fingerprint evidence. If you go the extra mile and get wireless infrared surveillance cameras, not only will you not have to bother with running wiring all over your house - you’ll also be able to ensure that the footage captured by your home security surveillance system is beyond the reach of intruders, sent instantly off to a storage cluster or private website for later viewing.
White the footage they record might be difficult for the average person to puzzle through, properly trained thermographic analysts can often formulate accurate pictures of those caught on camera. As such, infrared security cameras can be a great boon for home security surveillance where ordinary wireless surveillance cameras are rendered insufficient due to inadequate outdoor lighting conditions.
Thermal cameras from FLIR, the leading manufacturer of infrared security cameras in the world, start at about $2000. Since even the most basic model is, obviously, a substantially pricey piece of technology, you should do a thorough evaluation of your home to determine if an infrared security camera is even really necessary. If you live in a very well lit area with good visibility even during the night, an ordinary wireless surveillance camera should do the trick. You can further eliminate the need for infrared security cameras by having motion activated lighting on all sides of your home (instead of just in the standard location by the driveway or front door).
One truly wonderful thing about infrared security cameras is that, due to their ability to detect temperature changes, they not only beef up your home security surveillance system, but also completely eliminate the need for smoke detectors. You can simply have your cameras set up so as signal the fire department when the cameras detect that ambient temperature has gone over a certain level. This is something you should factor into your reasoning when debating the affordability of the technology.
For more useful tips on Home Security Surveillance be sure to check out www.Home-Security-Pro.com.
- Jeffrey Parker