At night, our homes are more vulnerable than they are during the daylight hours. The cloud of night provides criminals darkness to help them get closer to our home without being seen. It is for this reason, that night vision cameras are important when we are securing our homes.
Even in a pitch-black environment, IR cameras can easily record
Infrared cameras are low-light capable cameras that have Infrared IR LEDs in the front of the camera that will turn on when light levels drop. These IR LEDs emit a spectrum of infrared light that is not visible to the naked eye, but that can be seen by the IR camera. While Infrared light is much more limited than visible light, in that it will show up as black and white images to the camera, it allows the camera to see even if it is pitch black.
These cameras become extremely helpful in cases where something occurs at night, because even if we were to witness the occurence in the dark, our own eyes might not catch as much detail as what the night vision infrared security cameras will.
ES-804-CCD outdoor home security camera with 45' IR range
Figure out where the camera will be mounted first. Then determine the distance (line-of-sight) from the camera to the area that is being monitored. Note: It is very important to use the line-of-sight distance, not just the distance from the house. Then select an infrared security camera where 40%-70% of the infrared distance covers the line-of-sight distance is covered within that 40-60%. This helps to ensure that the infrared will cover the needed area despite environmental conditions. For example, if the line-of-sight distance is 30 feet to the area being monitored, then you would want to select a camera that is rated for approximately 45-50 feet of infrared night vision, like our ES-804-CCD Outdoor infrared night vision camera.
CD-9255 Camera with 100' IR Night vision range
For a camera that will be viewing an area approx. 60 feet (line of sight), we would recommend a camera that is rated at approximately 100 feet of infrared illumination like our CD-9255 outdoor long-range infrared night vision cameras.
The reason that we recommend selecting a camera that covers the needed area in 40%-70% of the overall coverage range, is because environmental conditions can easily affect the strength and distance of the IR illumination. During cold weather, the air becomes more dense, and provides added resistance to the flow of IR light. Also times of high humidity can reduce the overall range of a camera, due to the added water content in the air also provides resistance to the IR light. IR cameras are generally rated in 70 degree air with minimal humidity levels in an indoor environment…so when placing these cameras outside, it is a great idea to select a camera that has greater infrared illumination distance than what is required for your installation.
So choose your outdoor infrared home security camera carefully, because you want a camera that will illuminate the desired area.
Michael Dunteman
Platinum CCTV Surveillance Solutions
http://Platinum-CCTV.com
