The lighting product company Raytec is to present a Lighting Standard for Video Surveillance Applications – ‘POWERS’. It is designed to enable consultants, installers and end-users to more easily specify and compare the performance of illuminators. Raytec are hosting a webinar on the history, theory and practice of the new standard.
Historically, the firm says, there has been no standard way to specify and compare lighting products designed for Video Surveillance and their performance claims – particularly Infra-Red lighting. This ultimately causes confusion and potential disappointment for customers.
Lighting manufacturers publish very limited information, according to the firm; in the majority of cases they merely quote a maximum lighting performance distance. With the absence of standardisation, one manufacturer could claim a significantly different performance distance when compared to another manufacturer for a product that delivers exactly the same output. Security professionals are therefore unable to safely rely on the lighting performance claims of the manufacturer.
Calculating accurate lighting distances should be based around achieving a standardised level of light power on scene at your required distance – which in turn helps to ensure a standardised quality of image every time. But what is classed as acceptable light power on scene and what technique has been used to measure and calculate this?
Distance is only one area of lighting performance to consider. Determining angle output is another vitally important area which is currently left open to wildly different interpretation by manufacturers. Other criteria affect the true performance and overall ‘cost’ of your illuminator. These include: flexibility and adaptability, integration capability, consumption, environmental impact, reliability, lifetime, warranty, customer support and lighting partner credentials.
After facing this challenge almost daily for the last 25 years, the Directors at Raytec took the initiative to launch a Lighting Standard for Video Surveillance Applications – ‘POWERS’.
Tony Whiting, Raytec’s Managing Director (joint) and one of those behind the POWERS standard says: “We are delighted to be the first manufacturer to tackle this head on by publishing an easy to use guide which outlines key criteria for you to consider when choosing and comparing any lighting product and partner. The standard provides security professionals with an understanding as to how their chosen lighting product will perform and sets a lighting quality benchmark to help customers make an informed choice.”
Industries such as the traditional White-Light industry (street lighting/urban/commercial lighting etc) have long established standard testing methods which all manufacturers adhere to, meaning that all illuminators can be accurately compared. Raytec have invited all the major lighting manufacturers to play an active role in helping to formulate this new standard and add that they have generally agreed with the proposed standard.
Tony adds: “We can also guarantee that at Raytec we are working hard to ensure that the standard becomes widely adopted and used for the benefit of everyone across the industry.”
Raytec say that they will offer testing of third party products in accordance with the standard, so where there is no published information available, Raytec will measure the product and provide the relevant information.
Webinar – November 25, 2015 15:00 GMT (16:00 CET/10:00 EST/07:00 PST).
