Infrared illuminators can, quite literally, make the difference between night and day to your surveillance system, not to mention your electric bill. The eyes of any surveillance systems are, of course, the cameras. Just like any other cameras they need light to see and record pictures, whether it is video or still images that you need to record. Black and white digital surveillance cameras take better pictures in low light conditions than color cameras. For this reason some surveillance cameras are made to switch from color to black and white when the light level drops. This option gives them the ability to always get the best pictures possible. But they still need some light to do their job and just because we can’t see a certain light of the spectrum doesn’t mean that a camera can’t use it to see.
Infrared illuminators emit infrared light, the name gives that away. Infrared light is a wavelength on the spectrum of light that is just beyond the visible range for humans. What the name doesn’t tell you is that these illuminators function like light amplifiers for black and white surveillance cameras. A digital lens isn’t confined to the same set of wavelengths of light that our eyes are. By adding an infrared illuminator to your black and white surveillance camera you supply the light it needs to see in lighting conditions that any human would call total darkness, while to the camera, it’s as bright as day.
There are places where it is illegal, impractical or just plain rude to have bright lights on the outside of a building that are on all night long. In places where these conditions exist, Infrared illuminators are about as necessary, in outdoor applications, as the cameras themselves. Should none of these conditions apply consider that the wattage of the lights you would need can be a major factor in the cost of using your surveillance system at night.
The super bright bulbs that you would need to light a large outdoor area well enough for even a sensitive black and white surveillance camera to take decent pictures can use up to one full kilowatt hour, every hour, each. The highest power consuming infrared illuminators would take forty hours to use this much electricity. For the sake of comparison, that’s the same as a twenty five watt bulb. That means that they can run for about five full nights using the same amount of electricity as one 1,000 watt bulb uses in one hour. This could easily make the difference between night and day to your electric bill.
You may have a real need to use your surveillance system during the night. You may be concerned that your surveillance cameras won’t be able to get good pictures or pictures at all, with the small amount of available light in a particular area, even though you have a low light camera. You may also be concerned about paying the high cost of lighting these areas, or the restrictions on using this lighting. Using infrared illuminators will solve many problems associated with night time surveillance, not only outdoors but indoors as well.
Phillip R. Davis is the owner of Lifeline Products in Brooklyn NY, a retailer and wholesaler of surveillance systems, cameras, personal protection and self defense products and a member of the National Crime Prevention Council. He is an advocate for anti crime awareness as well as personal safety and self defense. If infrared illuminators would help you or would like to know more about them, please visit http://www.lifelinesurveillance.com/outdoor-infrared-illuminator.htm or go to http://www.lifelinesurveillance.com/ to learn more about surveillance cameras, equipment and systems.
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