While smoke detectors only report fire when it is too late and the fire has already broken out, thermal cameras offer the significant advantage that they can detect and report a temperature increase of just a few degrees. The time factor is often crucial here, as it means that electrical circuits with overheating components can be shut down if necessary before a fire starts.
The use of cameras is as varied as the objects that can be monitored. These include, for example, hazardous materials and chemical warehouses, freight centers, production lines, server rooms and data centers, as well as retail warehouses. The cameras have a long range and so even very large rooms can be monitored with a single camera.
Detection is performed by the camera's sensors, which, after detecting a temperature difference according to the settings in the camera's firmware, trigger an appropriate emergency signal and send an e-mail or SMS to preset addresses.