Security Sales & Integration August 2023 - 16
SMARTS & PARTS
Fire Side Chat by Shane Clary
Thermal Cameras
Finally Enjoying
Day in the Sun
There are
a number
of thermal
cameras
that are on
the market
designed for
security uses.
A thermal
camera
used for fi re
detection
needs to be
designed for
that purpose.
▶ THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION
Association held its Annual Meeting and Expo in
Las Vegas in June. From all appearances, it seems
that there has been a full recovery from COVID-19.
Th e expo hall was very busy all three days.
In walking through the hall, I noticed that
there were a couple of fi rms that were showing
thermal detection cameras. Th is is the fi rst time
that I noticed that cameras were being displayed
that were designed for the detection of an incipient
fi re through the detection of temperature
increase within the fi eld of view.
I had a keen interest in this technology as I was
just prior to the expo asked about using thermal
cameras to detect a rise in temperature within a
pile of recycled refuse.
In my article last year after visiting the Essen Security
Expo in Germany, I reported that a manufacturer
was showing a prototype thermal detection
camera. Since the Essen show, this product has been
developed to the point that it was a viable product.
Th ermal detection cameras have been around
Shane Clary, Ph.D., is an
SSI Industry Hall of Famer
and has more than 45
years of security and fi re
alarm industry experience.
He serves on a number of
NFPA technical committees,
and is Vice President of
Codes and Standards
Compliance for Concord,
Calif.-headquartered Bay
Alarm Co.
16
for a number of years to be used as a portable
instrument by the fi re services to detect hot spots
within the walls, fl ooring and ceiling of a building
that has suff ered a fi re. Th ese cameras are
used to make certain that all hot spots are found
and knocked down so that a fi re does not rekindle
after the fi re department has departed.
Th is article is not an endorsement of the two products
that I will be covering, but is intended to provide
information to the readership of other detection
technologies that are coming into the market.
Th e fi rst is from Optris. Th e fi rm primarily manufactures
cameras designed for noncontact temperature
measurements. Th is includes infrared thermometers.
One industrial application is the monitoring of
insulators on high-voltage transmission lines.
Th e line of thermal cameras the companyoff ers
for the detection of an incipient thermal event is
very complex and these devices are not intended
to be connected to a fi re alarm control unit
Security Sales & Integration AUGUST 2023
smclary@bayalarm.com
(FACU). Software and analytics is required.
Th e camera feed is networked through a PC to
provide a real-time image of events that may be
occurring within the fi eld of view.
Planck Vision Systems was the second manufacturer
at the NFPA Expo showing off the latest
in thermal detection camera technology. Its
product was shown by Protectowire Fire Systems.
Planck Vision Systems was the product that I saw
at the Essen Expo in 2022. Th is product also is
not designed to connect directly into a FACU, but
instead goes to a separate video display. Th e product
also uses software that provides the analytics to
produce an early warning of a thermal event.
Th ermal cameras are not the same as a radiant
energy detector, also known as a fl ame detector.
Th ese devices will not operate until the UV and
IR signature of a fl ame is detected. A thermal
camera will detect an increase of heat prior to a
fl ame being produced.
Th e designer of a system needs to know which
type of fi re event is to be detected. A thermal camera
would be used to detect a buildup of heat within
a pile of trash to be recycled. A radiant energy
detector would be used to detect a fast-moving fi re
developing from an aircraft within a hanger.
Both of these types of detectors have special
requirements found within NFPA 72, National
Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.
When considering the use of a thermal camera
for fi re detection, the following should be reviewed:
1. Th e specifi cations of the thermal cameras.
2. Installation manual for the thermal cameras.
3. Th e Listing for the thermal cameras.
4. What is the size of the area the thermal cameras
will be viewing?
5. What is the calculated radiant energy absorption
of the atmosphere within the space?
6. Has the presence of extraneous sources of
radiant emissions been considered?
7. What is the ambient environment?
Th ere are a number of thermal cameras on the
market designed for security uses. A thermal camera
to be used for fi re detection needs to be designed
for that purpose. It is one thing to detect a
human moving across a fi eld of view that has an
ambient background. Th is is diff erent than viewing
a static image, looking for a gradual heat delta.
I believe that, within the next fi ve to 10
years, this technology will expand and at some
point be able to be integrated directly into a fi re
alarm system.
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Security Sales & Integration August 2023
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